Along with hearing my dad sing in his barbershop quartet and listening to my mom play piano at church, my early music exposure started with watching “Name That Tune”, a television show in the early 1950’s when I heard my first opera chorus from “Carmen”.    Also, Saturday morning  cartoons were often backed with delightful soundtracks of classical music.  I wanted to hear more!

 

 

My first piano lessons were with my mother before grade school where we sang every day and as I progressed I was asked to accompany the school chorus.  Flute lessons started in the 6th grade and I still remember that first band concert when we played a childhood favorite “Toyland”.

 

Becoming serious about the flute in high school I was selected to play with the Youngstown Youth Symphony and studied with Walter Mayhall, a professor at Dana School of Music in Ohio.   He then encouraged me to study with his teacher, Maurice Sharp, at The Cleveland Institute of Music.

 

After obtaining a B.Mus. degree and Masters degree in Family and Early Childhood Studies, I used my musical skills to enhance congregational music as choir director for children and adult choirs, accompanied vocal soloists and hymn singing and worked as an organist before focusing again on the flute and performing with Tampa Bay Symphony as principal flutist and creating chamber music opportunities with other classical musicians. And for fun, the occasional karaoke and restaurant gigs as a singer and side musician and teaching music history to homeschoolers rounded out my musical endeavors, along with teaching piano and flute students.

 

I enjoy helping children and adults find and engage their musical voices and to enjoy playing music!