It all started when I heard a piece of music that turned my world sideways.

It was around the year 2000, when I was about 12 years old. The scene was a lovely wooden church sanctuary, mostly dark except for some basic stage lighting, where I had my piano lessons at a good-sized Yamaha grand piano. (Looking back, I realize that this was a rather nice place to have lessons.)

My teacher, Mike Janzen, had brought his computer and set up microphones around the piano, to do some recording after our lesson, as mine was the last one of the day.

Near the end of our lesson, he asked if I’d like to hear what he was working on, which he said was music for a nature documentary. I of course said yes. He turned on the computer, opened up the project file, and I put the headphones on.

And then he hit play.

And what I heard was so profoundly beautiful and stirring that it just about knocked me over. It was music that swept me off my feet, catching me up in an amazing combination of strings, percussion, and a uniquely motivating chord progression. To this day, I’ve never heard the piece again, but I also don’t want to, as the magic of this moment is forever etched on my mind.

Two things struck me when this happened. The first, was the realization that music has this profound capacity to connect with people on a level deeper than words can express, which I had just witnessed firsthand. The second, was that I wanted to learn how to do this for others.

Since then, I am grateful to have attended an arts high school, and to have earned two degrees in music composition. But I’m learning though, that this basic goal of creating music for others is not always a clear-cut path in today’s world, and that there’s a level growing up and maturity that has to go along with it. There’s also a lot of noise and distractions competing for people’s attention, and it’s easy to lose focus in this area.

There’s a lot of lessons I’ve learned on this journey, but much more yet to learn. Over the coming weeks and months, it’d be a joy to share these lessons with you, if you find yourself on a similar journey.