Bartending

From 2017-2020 I bartended at a number of restaurants around Baltimore. My first gig was at the bar of the Inn at the Colonnade - Double Tree. There, I enjoyed chatting with a wide variety of patrons from across the globe who had come to JHU for their kids, for conferences, and for fun. It was possibly one of the best experiences I have had which enabled me to become more worldy and understand who people are and where they come from.

My next bartending job was at Homeslyce, a pizza/sports bar which served a much younger crowd. I was the first and lead bartender there, so I set up the bar’s layout, our opening and closing routines, managed inventory, and more. This job required more responsibility and planning, but offered less variety than my previous bartending job.

Instrument Restoration

In 2019, I took a course at Peabody where we built cellos out of reclaimed wood from demolished Baltimore houses. This was an extremely fun project and really sparked my interest in subtractive manufacturing as a whole. It led to me being proficient with wood-carving tools, power tools, and eventually to a machine shop certification. My group was the only group in the class to successfully finish the cello in the alloted timeframe.

In 2025, I found a destroyed cello and decided it would be my next project. I approached Scherer Violins, a local luthier, and we struck up a barter: He would teach me how to restore a cello and I would help set up his POS system for his shop. Since then, I have been spending my weekends at his shop either repairing cellos or working with the POS system Square.

One of my cats enjoying his new bed (the cello I was repairing).

Cello Performance

I have been playing cello for nearly 20 years. Granted, my cello has spent a couple of those years in its case never seeing the light of day, but it’s always ready to be dusted off. I was 2nd chair cellist in LaGuardia High School’s Senior Orchestra for my last two years of high school. During that time, I performed in Avery Fischer Hall at Lincoln Center, at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, on street corners throughout Manhattan, and at a number of private weddings, galas, concerts, and more. My favorite musical endeavor was playing in the show and opera pits.

I studied cello under Troy Stuart at Peabody Conservatory. During this time I performed with the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra, participated in a number of productions at both JHU and MICA, helped write an original musical as a part of my music minor (it was horrible, please do not asked me for a recording), and more.

Sports

I was a fairly good soccer goalie in high school (17th best in New York State). That’s about the last time I played though, so don’t expect much.

Me making a save in 2015.