I was awarded the Sammy Nestico Award in jazz arranging in 2010. My piece,"Blues for Pembroke" was performed by the Airmen of Note as part of a concert at George Washington University. It was a great honor meeting Sammy Nestico, one of my earliest writing influences. Being told by Sammy that your chart "really swung", is something I will always remember. As you can imagine, the band sounded fantastic. I recently wrote a new commission for the Airmen that will be performed later this year on tour.