A Word about our Conductor

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Hello friends! Ring Finger here - I am thrilled to be returning for my second year as conductor of PlayaPops. As a community-focused musician, I strongly believe in music's role in building strong communal bonds with those around us. I also have participated and led many projects which include creating art in new and unique spaces, to reach audiences on whatever level they choose to engage.

Outside the Black Rock Desert, I am an active performer, music educator, and New Music advocate hailing from Reno, Nevada. As a founding member of Reno Modern Brass, a New Music-focused brass ensemble, I have helped to commission and premiere over a dozen works written by local composers since the group's founding in 2018, including many interdisciplinary projects combining newly-written music with nature, history, astronomy, and visual art.

As a trombonist, I've performed many times with groups such as the Reno Philharmonic, Reno Chamber Orchestra, Reno Jazz Orchestra, and many others throughout the region. I have appeared as a featured soloist with Ruby Mountain Symphony (Elko, NV), Hickman Brass Ensemble (Reno, NV), and Toccata Symphony (Lake Tahoe).

I've received degrees in music performance and education from The Boston Conservatory and University of Nevada, Reno. When not teaching elementary music or playing trombone, I enjoy spending time with my wife and two daughters (11 and 8). Hobbies include jogging, riding bikes, and coaching his school's award-winning LEGO Robotics team.

-Ring Finger