My Story.
Hello, and welcome!
Many times we hear stories of our past and by hearing them so many times, they actually become a part of our memory, even if you don’t actually remember the experience yourself? That’s how my story begins.
Music has always been a part of my life. I was really lucky that way. My mom was a piano teacher and when I was young there were always students coming over to the house for lessons. I remember that clearly (and also climbing the trees in our backyard, waiting for her to finish teaching) but I don’t exactly remember actually starting piano lessons or my first concert(s). As the story goes, though, my debut performance was at a church recital when I was 4 and shortly thereafter I played at my preschool graduation and they couldn't get me off of the piano bench - I kept playing and playing! I don’t remember it, but there are pictures, so I guess it happened!
It was apparent then that love of music was instilled in me, & I am forever grateful. Of course, the lovely journey of music-making didn’t come without toil. When I was 6, I remember practicing with my dad, as early as 6 am, before the school bus would pick us up from the farm. When I was 8 or 9, I was practicing several hours a day, and would gladly practice in order to get out of doing the daily chores at our house (clever work, Mom!) And there were a lot of times when I had to make hard choices as a kid between doing something fun & playing with friends, or finishing the practicing work I had to do. Those choices weren’t easy, especially for a 12 year old.
All that being said, I’m proud of the work I’ve put in, and I’m thrilled to be living a version of the dream that I envisioned growing up.
The Harp.
So the stats: I started piano lessons at age 3 and began harp lessons at age 11. I experimented with other instruments through the public school system in Nebraska and continued to sing and play flute, violin, clarinet & calliope through the years but found my real passion on the piano and harp. I come from a small farm community and harp wasn’t offered in the public schools - I happen to see it at a community orchestra concert and it only took me 2 years to convince my parents that I was serious about the instrument! Yay! (My parents are still suffering from my stubbornness!)
But when I first received an instrument, I knew the harp was something special. I progressed quickly and am grateful for all of the guidance, support and love along the way. I had to work through my issues - the technique didn’t always come easy and I started over with my style & approach several times in order to make my playing easier & more efficient. But I found a method that spoke to me and I progressed from one challenge to the next.
As a musician, making music and performing is a natural and important way to develop our craft. Growing up, I was always playing concerts, on all of my instruments! Aside from school concerts, we had Sunday evening recitals at our house and there was always a state piano competition to works towards. For the harp, I had to “make things up” a bit more as there weren’t quite as many competition opportunities to keep me moving. What I wanted most, though, was my own instrument so I decided to do a series of recitals during my sophomore year in high school to gather community support to purchase my own harp. I am still SO grateful to my hometown community for helping me pursue my dreams. I was able to purchase a Lyon & Healy 23 at the end of my junior year in high school!
The Big Dream.
I knew I wanted to pursue the harp and I had a few orchestral opportunities in high school but the real dream of playing in an professional orchestra came much later. When I arrived at The Cleveland Institute of Music as a freshman, I didn’t have many goals. Oh, sure, learn some excerpts & play a few solos, I could do that. But nothing bigger. The summer between my sophomore & junior year, things shifted for me. I felt I needed something to really go after. Somehow I got this crazy idea to compete in the USA International Harp Competition the following summer. I barely even knew about the competition & certainly didn’t know anyone who had competed in it. I also didn’t know any of the required repertoire. You really need years of preparation, but a minimum of 9 months to prepare for a major competition like that. Well, I had exactly 9 months! When I got back to school that fall, my teacher, Yolanda Kondonassis, was surprised when I announced what I wanted to do, but she was all for it, so we dug in!
That year and the experience of preparing for that competition really changed me. It was going for the biggest thing in my life and not caring about the outcome. I put everything into the preparation and honestly had no goals but to play my best. I did my thing, stayed focused, and amazingly made it to the finals! I won 3rd prize at the competition!
It was an incredible experience but I will state, for the record, that competitions are not for everyone. They can be great motivators & fantastic deadlines to get work done, but every single one is different and you certainly can never predict about the outcome. You have to be mentally & physically prepared for a whirlwind experience, so they do train you to always be on your toes! What I learned, most of all, is that anything is possible if you do the hard work. If you want it enough.
What does this competition have to do with playing in an orchestra? Well, everything for me. It was my training ground for orchestral auditions in the note-learning process, studying of the scores, dealing with performance anxiety, and keeping my mental home uncluttered. It taught me that I could do it, if I wanted to. And you can, too. As they say, “Aim for the moon & you’ll be sure to land among the stars.” Or, in other words, AIM HIGH!
If any of this resonates with you - questions about your technique, performing issues, or maybe making sense of YOUR big dreams on the harp, let me know and perhaps I can help you!
New Music.
In my current position, I have enjoyed creating new projects and opportunities, collaborating with amazing musicians and friends from around the world. I am a founding member of The Myriad Trio, a flute, viola, & harp ensemble, and regularly perform on various chamber concert series in San Diego, which help to commission new music. It’s always an exciting opportunity to present new music to the world & I really enjoy the process of working with composers to figure out how best to use the instrument to communicate what they want to say. I’m interested in the longevity of a piece & for the music to be played so I feel it’s important for the music to lay well on the harp. I love that collaboration & process.
Teaching.
During my career, I have enjoyed working with students on all levels, from beginners to harpists in advanced music studies. Music is about communication and my first priority of teaching is to cultivate the student’s ear & develop their playing style to be able to effortlessly communicate the musical voice inside of them. My students come to me with the knowledge that they want to use the harp as a tool for music-making and we work on the elements to make that easier, regardless of their skill level. My experience in starting over, relearning techniques and adapting methods to experience more freedom, along with teaching all levels of playing, has given me the knowledge and expertise to help any student who is ready to take ownership of their playing and to take a leap in exploring the harp in advanced ways. There are many ways to work with me: through the Nebraska Harp Workshop Retreat, online through my teaching programs, studying at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, and through private coaching.
Recording.
I have had the opportunity to record two albums: The Rhapsodic Harp and The Eye of Night (with The Myriad Trio) but have so many more projects I still want to do! I’m in the process of working on my next one so be on the look-out for announcements regarding that. It’s not always easy finding the time for my personal artistic projects but I’m making it more of a priority, along with spending time with my husband and three kids, Samantha, Henry & Jack. If you’ve made it this far, let me know what you enjoyed learning about on this page! Perhaps something resonated with you or maybe we have similar stories. Even better, if you want to learn about how we could work together, let’s chat. I’d love to hear from you!
