 He played oboe with the Sydney Youth Orchestra and was a member of the Epping Boys High School Band where he also played the euphonium.He went on to be an oboe and composition student at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music, but dropped out at age 21 to pursue a professional career.Three floors down in the YMCA Basement in Sydney was a regular folk and acoustic music venue which featured artists such as Bob Hudson, Mike McClellan, Al Ward, Pat and Geoff Drummond, Al Head, Marion Henderson, Margret RoadKnight and Graham Lowndes.