Before I was a musician, writer or coach, I told stories. 

Most of my career has been spent as a performing musician, playing the viola in symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles and solo recitals. I love playing the viola. I began in middle school, and was inspired by truly remarkable teachers throughout my studies. Earning a spot at the Interlochen Arts Academy was an honor and a natural progression for me, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my performing career, which is now in its fifth decade.

Because of the transformative experiences I’ve had with wonderful and dedicated teachers, teaching has been a lifelong joy and privilege for me. I have had a private studio of students for most of the years since I was in college, and have also taught in colleges and universities. While initially, I thought teaching was about training the next generation of violists, it has evolved for me into a deeper passion for learning how students learn, what they need and want to do in the world, and using our viola studies to achieve those goals. In service of my performing and teaching, I have studied body movement and injury prevention, neuroscience, pedagogy and, of course, classical music.

In 2026, I’m developing an online course titled The Music Literacy Lab. In my own teaching, I have seen how students often struggle just to learn the notes, with little energy and attention left over for thinking about how they want to sound. Over the summer, high school students of violin and viola will go from reading music based on fingerings to a full and robust knowledge of music theory that is intuitive and fluent in their actual playing. I am incredibly excited to help them discover a level of facility that will free them to play with more ease, more passion and more joy.

In recent years I’ve  begun writing in a variety of genres - memoir, essays, short fiction, and even some attempts at writing longer form fiction. I have come to understand that seeing relationships and experiences in my life as pieces of stories - both mine and others’ - is a way to make sense of my work, my own history and my whole life. As a performer, creating stories about a piece or learning about how it came to be, has opened up worlds of meaning and expression. As a teacher, inviting my students to approach their work through the lens of story is delightful, and even more important, meaningful.

As a coach, I feel deeply honored to be entrusted with the stories, struggles and dreams that clients share with me. Together, we ask and answer questions that lead them to rely on their own wisdom and experience.

At this point, everything I do starts to look like telling stories, whether through music or writing or working with others on achieving their goals in life.  I am embracing all types of expression in both work and play, whether that’s through music performance, working with students or coaching clients, or in my world of words on a page.