I'm a gilder, sailor, surfer, writer, classical musician and a documentary film maker.
I still dive, but gilding and writing have taken over.
I've lived in London, New York City, L.A. , Brussels, Cologne, Potsdam, Melbourne, Sydney and Barcelona, but they were all chosen for me by either music studies, or work.
Barcelona is the exception, actually.
Moving to my final destination at the age of forty-nine was rougher than any previous change of address, and I expect never to move city again.
New York City had its claws in me for twenty years during which time I went from Doctoral viola student to Professor, from SCUBA diving instructor to cave diver and underwater film maker, from blogger to reporter for the New York Post, and from commercial video editor to documentary film producer.
Moving to Spain meant speaking another language, practicing up on the viola again, having left it for nearly a decade.
The Barcelona Symphony welcomed me, inviting me to lead the section from time to time, which I found challenging as I wasn't used to it anymore.
I moved myself back into the section as a freelancer for a few years, and also played occasionally in the opera orchestra, housed in the beautiful Liceu Opera House. Now I teach both violin and viola.
I met my wife, Rinat Shaham, back in 2001. Her career as an opera singer has been fun to watch. She has my total respect, surviving in the opera world for thirty years, outlasting not only thousands of other opera singers, but also agents, their agencies, and even opera houses.
I currently spend a great deal of time on the water, paddle surfing, sailing in a laser 4000 and diving. I worked as a scuba instructor here for a while, and continue to dive with my colleagues.
I've published a couple of instructional books in my areas of expertise, and also two in a series of spy fiction novels, written under a pen name.
The Vietnam documentary that I shot and edited, has been picked up by Australian television (SBS) and is is available here.