I first met Dr. Turner in 1984, as a composition student at the University of Manitoba School of Music.  My one-on-one sessions with him (he as composition mentor and me as immature farm boy) were notable for his incredibly patient “bedside manner”.  That so accomplished a composer as Dr. Turner nurtured me as graciously as he did, strikes me as remarkable.  Not only did he embrace my fixation on pop music, he was the first composer whom I admired that suggested my strengths lay in musical theatre.  I remember him matter-of-factly stating, “Your writing shows a profound Broadway influence.  You should pursue musicals.”  It was at that moment that I thought, “If Dr. Turner thinks I can, I will.”  And I did.