About

When we reach a certain age, most people find themselves saying: “If only I knew then what I know now”.  I was no different. So I then asked myself: “What could I bring forward from my youth and apply to the present?”…

For me, the answer was to bring forward that youthful sense of idealism and passion, by composing and playing with creative freedom and abandon.

I started my career as a guitar player – working as a studio musician, and touring with recording bands. In 1984, I set up my company Tambre Productions, which became a very successful full service music and audio production house. I’m very proud of all the great work and the many achievements of all at Tambre (please see the Tambre pull-down); but, after considerable and honest soul searching, I realized I needed to reignite that creative spirit of my younger self.

A new plan was put in place and now over a decade later, here I am, past the transition stage and on to the next chapter of my life. I am still composing and  producing, but now, in my second part-time home in Costa Rica, I also find myself sharing my experience with a variety of local talent. Reciprocally, through them, I continue to expand my own musical and human understandings. And I am playing live again… which means more practicing. Ok, it’s not all fun.

Between my studio in Toronto, and my satellite studio in Costa Rica, I am still happily keeping my Tambre shingle on the door to accept work as a composer. I continue to love writing music for the screen and being able to create within a team of respected colleagues. It is a joy and a blessing that I will never walk away from or take for granted. How could I not continue exploring this passion and craft that I have gained so much knowledge and experience from doing for so long? Music. What a gift – we, who create music, have been given, and what a larger gift to have been able to make a living from it.

Of course, the one thing that cannot be brought forward from my youth is the invaluable experience and knowledge that I’ve gained over the years. In 2008, as an established member of my community, I was asked if I would serve as president of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada, the SCGC. I was honoured, and accepted. I didn’t realize at the time that becoming an advocate for creators’ rights during this time in history, would take me on a journey both domestically and internationally that I would never have imagined for myself. Please refer to the advocacy pull down.