Adam is a graduate of Clarke University in Dubuque, IA (BA in music) and Bowling Green State University (Master of Music in Composition) and is currently finishing his DMA in composition through a fellowship from The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. His career has taken him across the country and around the globe as a composer, performer, and presenter on the topics of evolutionary musicology, music theory, and choral music. His work as a composer has garnered awards from such institutions as ABLAZE Records, Make Music, Inc., and the Kennedy Center, and led to collaborations with the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra, the Toledo Symphony, the Peabody Opera Theatre, and the Brno Philharmonic, among others.

His interest in music ministry is grounded in the belief that music has the power to comfort and heal, but also to challenge its listeners and practitioners to greater levels of understanding and action.