Herb was born in the "Big Apple" and moved to the Bay Area in 1981 to access the better weather, wine, and work.
At a tender single-digit age Herb started the ubiquitous piano lessons; after about three years and several teachers, he stopped taking lessons, but continued to play and improvise piano from then on whenever he could. Although his formal schooling never included any musical training, High School kept him busy nevertheless, perhaps as a precursor to his current "musical overdoing"; in his senior year he was an active member of the Math Team, a nominal member of the Track Team (1/4 mile, groan!), Co-editor of the Physical Sciences Journal (originally approached by the editor to help type), held two paper routes, and worked part time at a stamp dealer. He has been an avid classical music fan and record collector since college days.
After some partial stints at Queens College (NYC) [Math], and Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute (NY) [Chemistry -> Math], and then dropping out for two years in the middle of the Vietnamese War draft era, he went on to get a B.A. in CompSci at SUNY Potsdam. While there, he used to sneak into the (now old) Crane building (Crane School of Music) at night to find an open piano practice room. He also took over the campus radio station's classical music program. Continuing on, he got an M.S. in CompSci at Penn State, then worked 8 years at AT&T; Bell Labs in New Jersey, and 6 years at the now defunct Fairchild Semiconductor, before coming to HP in 1987.
Not too long after arriving in CA he purchased his first synthesizer (the venerable Yamaha DX-7 that has graced our concerts) and began to dream about doing real composition some day. Many synthesizers and computers later, he finally decided to stop "fooling around" with them and DO IT with the aid of the relatively new notation software.
In addition to reading very dry composition et. al. text books, and as a means to educate himself directly with the capabilities and nuances of real orchestral instruments, he began a personal training program (continuing) by first taking up violin lessons (June 1992) and then Oboe/English Horn lessons (August 1994), both from San Jose Symphony musicians, which also gives him a perspective from the professional's viewpoint. His wife Karen won't let him take up anything really loud or big yet (like timpani or trombone) until we buy a house where she can position herself at the opposite end.
Somewhat orthogonal to the above, Herb created the Hewlett-Packard Symphony Orchestra in May 1993 to play as part of the entertainment at the "1st Annual Cupertino Site Performing Arts Faire", which was also Herb's doing. In fact, the Faire was created to help advertise South Bay/Peninsula arts groups, and especially the San Jose Symphony, of which Herb has become a big fan. The HPSO decided to continue on after the Faire on a regular basis, and now gives concerts in the Fall and Spring at various HP sites in the South Bay.