about
Hi there! I’m a flutist based in Lakeview, Chicago.
In addition to classical training as an orchestral & chamber musician, I love to take on new projects at the intersection of different genres. My collaborations include jazz, video game soundtrack music, session work, and musical theatre pit orchestras. If you have need for an enthusiastic collaborator, reach out to me!
As a woodwind player, the flute family is my niche. I have an affinity for the piccolo and its rich, earthen sound in the lower registers and spritely, singing sound in the upper registers. Lately, I have been growing my collection of world flutes and working on doubling single reed instruments (clarinet, alto saxophone).
As an educator, I serve as a Flute Teaching Artist at Ravinia Festival’s Reach Teach Play program Sistema Ravinia, providing highly individualized instrumental music education in Waukegan Public Schools. I also host my own private lesson studio offering in-person and remote flute lessons to students of all ages and skill levels. If you would like to inquire about lessons, my inbox is open!
Outside of music, I can usually be found spending time with my two cats and working on my other creative endeavor: Piccolo Stitches, a small handmade crochet and cross stitch pattern shop.
as an arranger
I love the creative puzzle of arranging music for new instrumentations. While I was a student, I was often seeking opportunities to arrange unique programming of various chamber music groups for talent shows, recitals, and solo & ensemble contests. One of my most unique projects involved arranging a medley for an ensemble of 24 piccoloists—yes, you read that correctly—featuring themes from Joplin’s The Entertainer, Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Sousa’s The Manhattan Beach March, and Offenbach’s can-can from Orpheus in the Underworld. You can bet it was the cutest performance on the program that night.
Today, I regularly arrange repertoire for my woodwind quartet, Mosaic Winds, which posits a unique position in chamber music as an alternative to wind quintet. Our quartet brings together flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon mirroring the principal woodwind chairs in an orchestra. My arrangements serve a variety of different settings from fresh takes on works from the classical canon to cinematic and video game soundtrack music, popular music, and Brazilian choro.
my education
I received a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance & Literature from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). As a freshman I was awarded the Thomas J. Smith full tuition scholarship in solo competition and went on to hold leadership positions in the UI Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Wind Symphony, and Marching Illini. At the culmination of my studies, I received the A.A. Harding Award for distinguished contribution to the UI Bands Department and a Woodwind Achievement Award from the School of Music.
As Principal Flute in the Illinois Wind Symphony, I performed in exhibition concerts at Illinois Music Educators Association Conference in Peoria, IL, the College Band Directors National Association Conference in Tempe, AZ, and the annual Illinois Super State competition held in Urbana, IL. As the ensemble’s piccoloist, I performed on tour at the Symphony Center in Chicago and the Lincoln Center in New York City. I participated in chamber music studies for all semesters of my degree, including flute and harp duo, and performed a full recital of wind quintet works as part of the KLAMM Quintet. While studying at the Vienna Summer Music Festival in Austria, I performed throughout the city in orchestra, opera, and chamber settings.
My primary teachers include Dr. Jonathan Keeble, Dr. Rebecca Johnson, and Sue Garton. I have participated in flute masterclasses with Bonita Boyd, Judith Mendenhall, Alberto Almarza, Leone Buyse, Mark Sparks. On piccolo, I have played in masterclasses with Jennifer Gunn, Zart Dombourian-Eby, and Walfrid Kujala.
I also hold a Master of Management from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois and have experience in business administration, digital marketing, communications, and grant administration which are skills that I employ as a member of the Chicago Flute Club board.