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Alvin hails from a small town in Illinois. His earliest memories of music are his mother, grandmother, and aunt singing hymns in church. This eventually gave way to MTV and rock guitar. He wasted little time in learning every Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and Metallica song he could and playing in numerous garage bands.

As time went on, Alvin settled into a bar band that played primarily in the St. Louis area. It was a great experience having steady gigs, but a combination of his changing tastes in music and covering the same material every gig made the experience feel tedious. In order to alleviate some of the tedium, he began to write and record his own music as well as play in other bands. At this time, Alvin's compositions were an amalgamation of his jazz, blues, rock, classical, and progressive-rock influences. He says that composing was his great escape. Almost a place where he could create his own world, rules, and characters. Even more so now in the world of film music.

Eventually Alvin left the band scene behind and studied Radio and Television Broadcasting at a nearby college. While studying, he continued to write and record his own music as well as teach the guitar, and lend his services to recording sessions. Alvin says that this was a very productive time for him musically. He also feels that he learned things about himself as a composer that can't be taught, but must be experienced is one's own life.

Three months after earning his Associates Degree Alvin moved to Boston, Massachusettes to study at the Berklee College of Music. "Radio and television were a great experience," says Alvin,"especially television editing, but I knew that my life had to be spent in music." He studied guitar performance for two years before he left Berklee for a steady gig. However, the gig began to feel like a job, and tedious. He says, "If this and playing weddings was going to be my career, I would end up hating music."

He loved composition. He also loved film. The choice was obvious to Alvin. He went back to Berklee and earned his Bachelor of Music in Film Scoring. It's a decision he has never regretted.

Since graduating in 2001, Alvin has worked on student films, idependent features, theatrical plays, documentaries, research foundation videos, and short films. "Film Scoring is one of the strongest passion in my life. I hope to do it for a very long time."