Musical Background

I am a Denver-based musician who grew up in the neighboring state of Kansas. Being from a musical family, I’ve always been a singer, but started my musical studies officially on piano at the age of 5. Upon moving to Kansas, I switched over to the violin at about 9 years old. Throughout high school, I was a member of a string quartet and a string youth orchestra, which ignited my love for chamber music and was most likely the reason I continued my musical studies and eventually turned music into a career!

My professional life as a violinist began in Madison, WI with the Madison Symphony while in college. After moving to Colorado, I played with the Ft. Collins Symphony, the Cheyenne Symphony, and a few others along the I-25 corridor. A move from Boulder to Denver led me to folk and bluegrass music, and I began to diversify my playing abilities with improvisation skills!

In addition to being a founding member and violinist for Sphere Ensemble, I am the violinist for the Arvada Center’s main stage productions, most recently playing Beauty and the Beast, and Damn Yankees. I also collaborate frequently with Covenhoven, the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, and am also a weekly musician at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Denver.

Over the span of my lifetime as a performer, I’ve played many notable venues and locations. A few highlights include Red Rocks Amphitheater, Boettcher Concert Hall (as a soloist with the Colorado Symphony), The Bluebird Theater in Denver, ETown Hall in Boulder, Planet Bluegrass in Lyons, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, The National Gallery, The Castro Theater, and a few venues internationally in England, Spain, and Italy.

You can check out a few examples of my recent performances here!

Another side to being a performer is recording in the studio. I’ve experienced both ends of the spectrum, with full length albums such as Monocle Band’s The Clearing, Sphere Ensemble’s Divergence, Jesse Manley and His Band’s three albums A Gothic Folktale; Winter; and Dust, The Belle Jar’s Union Station, and Blow the Vault’s EP Cause/Effect. I’ve also contributed to various singer/songwriter albums.

Education

Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Master of Music in Violin from the University of Colorado at Boulder

Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Denver

Non-performing activities

I teach violin, fiddle, and viola privately as well as at Swallow Hill Music and Do Re Mi Lessons. See my Lesson Studio page for more info.

I also compose music occasionally, mostly fiddle tunes, and wrote music for a ballet, A Moment of One, with my husband, cellist and arranger David Short.