Videos
January 1, 2023 - Happy New Year!
I put together and sang this arrangment of Dvorak and Fisher's "Going Home" at an intimate church gathering at Peace United Church of Christ in Santa Cruz, CA. I'm always humbled to sing songs like this that speak so simply and beautifully about home and family.
June 27 was kind of a boring morning, and I had a few minutes to kill. Decided to sing a song that has been on my mind and weighing on me: Sister Golden Hair by America. I had my phone on me and my laptop, so I just did a take and did a quick edit. Audio quality is kind of crappy from my phone, but I think it turned ok anyway. Enjoy!
As I approach the end of this year teaching at the University of Wisconsin in Stevens Point, I am reflecting on my students, past and present, here and there and scattered to the winds, and I am waxing both proud and nostalgic. I love teaching, and I love love love love LOVE my students. Every ounce of compassion and determination I give I feel like I receive back tenfold from them. I'm especially proud of my graduating seniors, and I'm proud to share their BFA Showcase video with the world! They are all brimming with talent and potential, and their futures are bright.
Congratulations to the UWSP BFA class of 2022!
Leader of the Band by Dan Fogelberg, featuring myself on piano/vocals and the immeasurably talented Lori Rivera on vocals.. It's a beautiful tribute to fathers, it teaches us about legacy and manhood, and more than anything it reminds me of my own father, Paul Shepherd, who in so many ways is the "Leader of the Band" in my book. "Papa, I don't think I said 'I love you' near enough..."
In honor of Memorial Day, I recorded this to say thank you to the veterans who have given their time, talent, and even their lives for all of us.
I was making an accompaniment track one morning (as I so often do) for a friend at UCI who is working on this song, and I just felt so moved as I played the piece. I have been so busy and ragged lately (pandemic fatigue) that I haven't really taken much time at all for myself, so I took a couple minutes to just sing this simple, beautiful, honest song. Even though this only took me a few minutes, and even though this will only take you a couple minutes to listen to, please take a moment to put on a pair of headphones, close your eyes, and listen to something simple, beautiful, and honest. I hope you enjoy "Simple Little Things".
My new musical that's currently in the works, I Like That. This is a 10 minute version of the show that we put together for the UCI 10-Minute Musical show. The cast for this performance included Jalon Matthews, Ciarra Stroud, Amin Fuson, and Sophia Metcalf. Thank you to Joshua Price for putting this video together for us!
Check out this music direction reel with clips from recent projects.
COVID-19 quarantine cover from my phone. I got kind of choked up towards the end (sorry!) This self isolation business has me pretty bummed out, but I hope this song lifts someone else up the way it does for me.
December 5, 2019, I performed "I Believe" from The Book of Mormon for the students at UCI for the MT3 song final. Good times were had by all.