Biography
Music has been a prominent part of my life since I was a little girl. I began taking piano lessons at the age of 9, but my musical influences began much earlier. My father played jazz piano and my mother sang to me often, and I've grown up participating in music with my entire family. I began singing when I was just a baby, and picked up the guitar in my early teens. I've had opportunities to enjoy music as a pianist, vocalist, chorister, and guitarist, and I love many types of music: classical, bluegrass, fiddle, jazz, religious and even good classic rock and pop!
In 2012 I earned a Master of Music degree in Piano Pedagogy and Performance Studies from the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, where I also received my Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Music. In July 2012 I became a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM), and am a member of the Music Teachers National Association, Wisconsin Music Teachers Association, and the Oshkosh Area Music Teachers Association, for which I am the current president. I have taught private piano lessons since 2004, and am a freelance accompanist for soloists and ensembles in the area. I am also an active vocalist, and have sung in multiple ensembles including the Oshkosh Chamber Singers, the Des Moines Vocal Arts Ensemble, and more.
I have enjoyed a budding musical career as a studio piano instructor, accompanist, church pianist, youth choir director, vocalist, adjudicator and performer. I have done solo and ensemble performances at the University of Idaho, Treasure Valley Community College, and at various churches and professional venues. While a graduate student at the University of Idaho, I held a full teaching assistantship and taught class piano for music majors and minors, class piano for non-majors and applied piano. In 2012 I was a piano teaching assistant at Interlochen Arts Camp, co-authored an article featured in the February edition of the MTNA e-journal titled New Music And The American Pianist, and completed my master’s thesis on performance-injuries, titled "Pianists and Pain: Occurrence, Treatment, and Prevention of Playing-Related Injuries." I have served in many musical leadership rolls, presented on multiple pedagogical topics at the local and state level, and received awards in area music festivals for my sensitive and expressive playing style.
Music has been a prominent part of my life since I was a little girl. I began taking piano lessons at the age of 9, but my musical influences began much earlier. My father played jazz piano and my mother sang to me often, and I've grown up participating in music with my entire family. I began singing when I was just a baby, and picked up the guitar in my early teens. I've had opportunities to enjoy music as a pianist, vocalist, chorister, and guitarist, and I love many types of music: classical, bluegrass, fiddle, jazz, religious and even good classic rock and pop!
In 2012 I earned a Master of Music degree in Piano Pedagogy and Performance Studies from the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, where I also received my Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Music. In July 2012 I became a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM), and am a member of the Music Teachers National Association, Wisconsin Music Teachers Association, and the Oshkosh Area Music Teachers Association, for which I am the current president. I have taught private piano lessons since 2004, and am a freelance accompanist for soloists and ensembles in the area. I am also an active vocalist, and have sung in multiple ensembles including the Oshkosh Chamber Singers, the Des Moines Vocal Arts Ensemble, and more.
I have enjoyed a budding musical career as a studio piano instructor, accompanist, church pianist, youth choir director, vocalist, adjudicator and performer. I have done solo and ensemble performances at the University of Idaho, Treasure Valley Community College, and at various churches and professional venues. While a graduate student at the University of Idaho, I held a full teaching assistantship and taught class piano for music majors and minors, class piano for non-majors and applied piano. In 2012 I was a piano teaching assistant at Interlochen Arts Camp, co-authored an article featured in the February edition of the MTNA e-journal titled New Music And The American Pianist, and completed my master’s thesis on performance-injuries, titled "Pianists and Pain: Occurrence, Treatment, and Prevention of Playing-Related Injuries." I have served in many musical leadership rolls, presented on multiple pedagogical topics at the local and state level, and received awards in area music festivals for my sensitive and expressive playing style.
