I began taking piano lessons at the age of seven, and absolutely hated it. I quit shortly after, mostly because I had little brothers who slept a lot, so I could not practice (not that I wanted to). However, when I was twelve, my interest in music revived, and I began teaching myself piano again. I printed off some easy, classical sheet music, my dad told me where middle c was on the staff, and I went from there.
A family friend offered to teach me, but quickly referred me to her teacher, Ms. Gail Swart, who passed away in 2022. While taking piano lessons, I wanted someone to play with, and convinced one of my brothers to pick up the cello. We went in together and bought a cello. He never really touched it, and I ended up picking it up and teaching myself for three years.
After three years of playing cello and five of piano, we moved, and I was able to join a homeschool band my senior year of high school. Around this time I became interested in composing my own music, and I did an arrangement of Howl’s Moving Castle for our homeschool group. I also began teaching music lessons at my grandfather’s music store, A Joyful Noise Music Store.
I attended PCC’s music program, and earned a BA in Music Performance with an emphasis in cello, and am currently pursuing my Master of Arts degree in Music. I have continued to compose, and I have been very grateful to the faculty at PCC for pouring so much time and energy into teaching me how to hone my skills in composition, performance, and teaching.
My inspiration for composing if varied, from the lovely themes of Dvorak to the colors of Debussy. I am interested in blending form with texture and color to create special moments in my music.
