It’s all about the stories.

Aaron first appeared on stage at age 6, in the ensemble of a Bowling Green summer theatre production of Oklohoma. He acted in many other productions as a child, including such roles as Kurt in The Sound Of Music, where he played the guitar live on stage and stood on the wrong X every single performance, and Winthrop in the Music Man where he sliced his finger open just before his solo in Wells Fargo Wagon, using his hat to hide the wound until intermission.

He studied piano through high school, where he took up guitar to be one of the cool kids, playing various coffee shop gigs and also in the rock band Robo Shogun. In College he studied music more formally, earning a bachelor’s in music composition from Bowling Green State University, then a master’s degree from the UMKC conservatory of music. While in college and beyond he also participated in many ensembles, singing baritone in various choirs including the Kansas City Symphonic Chorus, playing trumpet in jazz bands, playing horn in various orchestras.

Along the way, he developed a love for writing, especially fantasy short stories, several of which have been published. Because stories are the fundamental experience of being alive. Stories let him explore a character, an idea, an emotion.

In 2018, he started playing in pit orchestras and music and directed his first production, Sweeney Todd, in 2019. When the pandemic shut down theatres, he wrote and produced a few shows for Zoom actors and put together a few virtual choirs to keep making music and telling stories.

He approaches music direction with a laser-focus on the story. Musical theatre is the apex of storytelling because it combines the transient collective experience of live theatre with the potency of music. Music gives structure to the stories in a way that music-less can’t. Music gives a character more material to use to explore their problems and desires.

What does that mean, tactically? It means he does whatever he can to help actors unlock their characters with what the score provides them to work with. Music direction is the intersection of the composer’s intent, the director’s vision, and the actor’s character development. With a depth of experience making music of all kinds and creating stories of all kinds, Aaron is perfectly suited to tease out the stories that make theatre magical.