I have been a performer of violin and viola for more than a quarter-century.
Individually or as part of a duo, trio, quartet or larger ensemble, I frequently perform around Seattle and Washington State. While my formal training is classical, I am equally comfortable with new music and other forms of musical expression. I am a member of The Desperate, an indie punk-rock band that plays in a variety of venues. I have performed with such other professional groups as Pacific Northwest Ballet, Candlelight Concerts in Seattle, Seattle Modern Orchestra, Yakima Symphony Orchestra and the Pacifica Chamber Orchestra. I can put together a quartet, or a bigger or smaller group, to perform at your event. Contact me for details.
I teach students of all ages individually or collectively, privately or institutionally. I have taught violin and viola at Holy Names Academy in Seattle.
In addition to performing and teaching, I also have composed original works. Click here to hear me perform a piece I wrote for viola and two violins, Déjà Vu of Nostalgic Dreams (I’m the one in the middle). My latest work, La Foliage for violin and viola, had its world premier in the University of Washington’s Meany Hall in 2022.
I earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Washington School of Music in Seattle, where I also received my Master of Music degree. My doctoral dissertation: “Upper-String Instrumentalists as Micro-Athletes: A Framework for Integrating a Cognitive and Physical Strength and Endurance Regimen in (and out of) the Practice Room.” You can download and read my entire 261-page dissertation, which informs much of my teaching and playing, by clicking here.
One ensemble I helped form, the Daana String Quartet, won a once-every-two-year competition to become the School of Music scholarship ensemble for the 2015-2016 school year. Watch and listen to us play in a concert by clicking here . (I’m the one on the right). Our ensemble was profiled in The Seattle Times. To see that article, click here. In 2016 we also won the Washington State college chamber music competition of the Music Teachers National Association.
In addition to my graduate degrees, I hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree specializing in violin and viola performance from the California Institute of the Arts, in Valencia, California. During that time, I played in numerous collegiate ensembles both on the campus and around the Los Angeles area.
Over the years I have also studied and performed at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute in Massachusetts, the International Music Academy Pilsen in the Czech Republic, the Kinhaven Music School in Vermont, the Idyllwild Arts Academy in California, Composers Forum at the University of Oregon, UCLA and the California State Summer School for the Arts.
During high school I was associate concertmaster of the California All-State Honors String Orchestra and a member of the California All-State Honors Orchestra, as well as concertmaster all four years of my school orchestra. (My graduating class voted me Best Female Musician!)
At age 13 I soloed with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra. My performance career includes concerts on five continents, including such places as Kathmandu, Nepal; Ubud, Bali; Rio de Janeiro; Delhi, India; and Kilgali, Rwanda. For two years I was in in the Los Angeles-based American Youth Symphony, widely considered the nation’s top entry-level musical orchestral group.
I also have completed the certificate program in “Essentials of Performing Arts Health–Instrument Music” of the Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). In addition I am a certified yoga instructor, endeavoring to incorporate some of those principles into my teaching and performing.