Lew came from a musical family and started singing when he was quite young. In high school, he learned to play the guitar and played in folk groups with his banjo-playing brother. Lew graduated from the University of Hawaii and did his postgraduate work at San Jose State and Humboldt State Universities. College brought more professional singing and playing. He is a singer/songwriter and directed a folk choir and several children's choirs at Northern California churches. Lew has been a general music, band, and chorus teacher in elementary schools. He has taught children's music and musicianship classes at the college level and has been a guitar instructor for College of the Redwoods and Folsom Lake College for more than twenty years. He enjoys teaching privately, collaborating with colleagues, and playing his ukuleles.