About this Artist

I am a violinist, violist, and music historian. I fell in love with playing the violin at age 4, when I saw Itzhak Perlman perform on Sesame Street, and that love of performance has never left me. From playing on concert stages big and small throughout North America and Europe, and in ensembles ranging from symphony orchestras to string quartets and hardcore punk rock bands, string playing has been my passion and my career.

But something wonderful happened when I was in college – specifically while I was on tour, performing at an opera festival in Austria. As I was sitting on Beethoven’s very own patio, looking up at the summer house where he wrote his Sixth Symphony, I consciously realized for the first time that I loved the back story to music just as much as I loved playing it - and that education would be a lifelong calling along with performance. Since then, I’ve led the wonderful dual life of violinist/historian, pursuing a concurrent MM and PhD in Musicology and Violin Performance at UCLA. Just as my career as a violinist has taken me through all different genres and styles, my training as a musicologist has made me equally comfortable teaching in a wide variety of musical arenas, from Mozart to Modest Mouse.

Whether connecting Vivaldi’s violin concertos to Randy Rhoads guitar solos, or moving from Bach fugues to Brian Wilson’s vocal counterpoint, I love making connections between music that rocks, both then and now. I believe that we all hear and love music, and with the right tools and a little technique, we can all learn how to play and understand it more fully every time.

As a Collaborator at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, I can offer the following services:

Violin and Viola Coaching

Music History Integration and Curriculum development

Music Appreciation and Listening Strategies (Pop/Rock/Baroque/Film/Techno, etc.)

Writing about Music Workshops

String Orchestra Sectional Work

Master Classes

Chamber Music Coaching

Pop/Classical Integration

Performance Practice Workshops

I have found that in a collaborative relationship, open and complete communication is the best ally in a successful and enjoyable partnership, as well as a generous helping of flexibility and just a touch of humor.