Lisa and I have been married for 22 years. We have a daughter, Sarah, who is 20 years old, and a son, Michael, who is 17 years old. Lisa was a mechanical engineer with GE Power Systems, working in the Generator division. Sarah is pursuing computer science and physics in college. Michael is planning to pursue a computer science degree when he heads off to college next year.
My hobbies include cooking, music, bicycling, and video production. I have included a few of my favorite recipes for your enjoyment. I enjoy most types of music and have a varied collection of CDs. My piano playing is ok, at least my family can put up with it!
I have begun capturing my old college audio tapes and videos (shot on Beta!) to digital format. I have uploaded a few as MP3 audio and soon will upload some Real Media video format files. See the Monead History section (below) to learn more.
I enjoy composing and mixing music on my computer. I use gvox's Encore for scoring and printing.
My family typically attends services at Scotia UMC. While at another UMC I created a hangman game to help in remembering the books of the bible. Feel free to play the game as a refresher.
Years ago Lisa and I visited Oak Bluffs, MA, which began as a place where Methodist's gathered annually and held revival meetings. I have uploaded a few pictures and background descriptions about the town and its history.
Music is a major part of my life. My initial college focus was music, majoring in education. My principle instrument was voice with a minor in piano. Although my career has gone in a different direction I enjoy music as an avocation. This includes singing, accompanying, and leading the children's choir and youth instrumental ensemble at church.
Some of the church performances are available on YouTube (channel Monead). In addition, I've included links to audio recordings of me singing three of the pieces from Ralph Vaughan-Williams' (1872-1958) "Five Mystical Songs" which are beautiful settings of poems by George Herbert (1593-1633).
| Title | Accompanist | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Love Bade Me Welcome | Nancy Walden | 7.2 MB |
| The Call | Dominick Giaquinto | 4 MB |
| Antiphon | Nancy Walden | 5.2 MB |
A team from Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School, and including a member from O'Rourke Middle School, placed second in the 2009 NYS Odyssey of the Mind (OotM) Region 7 competition. The team includes my daughter, Sarah, and son, Michael. The team's hard work on their long term problem, as well as their ability to work together as a team for their spontaneous, allowed them to make a strong showing. This was their first year in Division III and showed that they are ready for the challenge.
Here is the video of their long term solution performance:
For more information regarding Odyssey of the Mind, please check out their website at http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/.
Monead began in 1981 at Westminster Choir College (now affiliated with Rider University) in Princeton, NJ. Michael Monaghan and David Read (Monead) met in Taylor dorm and the rest is history. Through years of collaboration which included hit singles, radio plays, dorm government, software marketing and video production, Monead created a virtual world of its own. You can visit the Monead Museum for more in-depth exploration.
If you are using a browser with support for playing MIDI files and have a sound card you can listen to a MIDI version of A Star For Light, a Christmas piece I wrote to commemorate my daughter's birth.