It was 2 years ago today that my family and I rolled into LA. I haven’t posted much on this forum for quite awhile, but I lurk often, and I’m very grateful for it.
One member of this forum I am particularly thankful for, that I have to give a shout-out to on this anniversary, is Christy Carew Marshall. She may not realize how much she’s helped me. For whatever reason, I had a very difficult time finding full-time (bill-paying!) work here. I don’t know how many jobs I applied for — engineering jobs, scheduling coordinator jobs, whatever. I couldn’t get a call back. Or if I did, I got the “you’re over-qualified” line, which is basically another way of saying “you’re too old.” Haha!
Anyway, Christie got me my first work here in LA as a piano accompanist. It’s funny that prior to coming to LA working full-time as an accompanist never really crossed my mind as a possibility, even though I’m perfectly suited for it. I suppose it’s because I came from a town that was too small to support a “career” as an accompanist, so it just never crossed my mind to pursue that line of work. But, just like in the world of composing, that first job Christy helped me get turned into a second, which turned into a third, etc.
Now, two years later, I piece together a full-time living as an accompanist between 2 schools, 2 churches, and a temple. And, I can trace most of my existing work either directly or indirectly back to Christy. So, thank you so much for your generosity, Christy. You have touched my life for the better.
This, of course, gives me the breathing room to build up my composing business. I’m still on the low-paying end of the scale, BUT I’m proud to say that all the films I get now are paid. This summer, in particular, has been quite busy with scoring.
I know this is a long post. Thank you for reading to the end. 
I just wanted to mark my two-year LAnniversary by expressing gratitude for this forum, and the connections I’ve made here, and the help I’ve received from those connections.
