I compose original music for film, live theatre and podcasts. My SoundCloud account has more than three-hundred original tracks. There you'll find 30-second scene cues for theatre, five-minute themes for movies and short cues to cover episodic change during podcasts. No one style dominates the music. You may hear a light jazz duo of upright bass and piano, or a full throttle symphony orchestra. The playlists are updated whenever new work is available. Listen to recordings of my original music.
Salts
My trio performs for Road Scholars programs sponsored by Chincoteague Bay Field Station and the Museum of Chincoteague Island. We’ve been at it for fifteen years. It’s is great fun playing our original songs and telling the history of our region to visitors who spend three to five days touring, cycling, kayaking the Islands. Our 90-minute shows are high points during their Road Scholars experience. Contact the sponsoring organizations for details about the programs they offer. Programs run from March into November. We don’t perform for all the programs these sponsors offer. But, during a typical year, we will perform about forty shows. So, lot’s of opportunities to catch our act! We are: Thom Nolan - voice, bodhrán.... John Hines - fiddle, dobro, voice....Bill Troxler - cittern, banjo, guitar, bodhrán and voice.
Chincoteague Bay Field Station
adultandfamily@cbfieldstation.org
757-824-5636 x110
Museum of Chincogteague Island
757-336-6117
This film tells the story of tundra swans, monarch butterflies, eels and shore birds as they migrate into and out of Chesapeake Bay. The film premiered at the DC Environmental Film Festival in March 2025. Maryland Public Television broadcast the film in April 2025. View Chesapeake Rhythms on the YouTube channel of Chesapeake Bay Journal.
The European green crab has invaded the coastal waters of New England. This unwelcome, out of control, interloper is devastating the shell-fishery of New England. The film premieres on Martha’s Vineyard in March 2025. Click on the image to view the trailer.
This 42- minute nature documentary explores the creative ways watermen, aquaculture farmers and the State of Maryland are working together to expand the oyster population in Chesapeake Bay. View the film on the YouTube Channel of Chesapeake Bay Journal.
This film by Dave Harp and Sandy Cannon-Brown, premiered at the 2022 Chesapeake Film Festival in Easton, MD Sept. 30. It tells the story of four teenagers challenged to find the source of the Cooper River that runs through Camden County, NJ. They kayaked, hiked, mucked, and bushwhacked over six days and 17 miles on this unprecedented journey of discovery. 30 delightful minutes.
Making a small, family farm successful is extremely difficult. Pop’s Old Place tells the story of one family’s successful, small farm. One of the reasons for their success is their use of regenerative farming techniques. View the film at the YouTube channel of Chesapeake By Journal. this link:
This 90-minute, historical drama tells the story of Chincoteague Island from about 1790 to 1861 when the Battle of Mosquito Creek took place. Union forces defeated the Rebels on the western shore of Chincoteague Bay and turned the course of the war to favor the Union’s ultimate victory. Post production work on the film has been interrupted by the terrible wildfires of 2024-2025 around Los Angles. Before the Lighthouse will premiere on May 16 at the Island Theater on Chincoteague. The film will be available at HistoryFix.com soon after that.
Theatre
I compose music for live theatre produced by Chincoteague Island Theatre Company and North Street Playhouse
The work is astonishingly varied. Comedies, mysteries, love stories, you name it. Unlike film work, this music has to be succinct. Scene cues generally run about 30-seconds while the stage crew changes the set. Opening music, intermission music and the curtain call may run up to 90- seconds. The music has to support the performance by underscoring or predicting the action or mood. That means the genera of the music changes with every production. Occasionally the work requires leitmotifs to draw the audience into specific characters. The instrumentation ranges from conventional symphonic orchestral voices to world music.
You might hear a jazz piece or an folk dance, or a big cinematic theme. Composing for theatre is always intense and always rewarding.
No video of the productions are available. However, you can sample some of my compositions on my SoundCloud account.
Compositions for Live Theatre (58 tracks, run time 47 minutes)
I am delighted and proud to be on the production staff for The Bivalve Trail Podcast. Lexi Hubb created this collection of historical stories about the people of the Virginia Shore. Learn some history and have some fun! Listen to the Bivalve Trail Podcast where ever you link to podcasts
Longtayle Studios
Longtayle Studios is an occasional gathering of like-minded writers, actors, musicians and technologist. We create videos to support community theatre.
The name “Longtayle” was given to the first ship built by Europeans in the Virginia colony. It was a modest shallop that saw much duty including conflicts with the Maryland colony over which colony owned the island in Chesapeake Bay. Spelling had not be standardized in the 17th century.
Longtayle appears in written documents with many different spellings. We chose the version that presents the name as a single word and with the charming “y”.
View some of our work at these links.