Growing up, I started piano at a young age and for as long as I could remember I practiced almost every day. In my early years, I studied with a piano teacher who had an elaborate points system for practicing and performing, and I made it my goal to accumulate as many points as I could each week during lessons. I was driven by results, receiving gold certificates at festivals and trophies at the year-end recital, though despite these successes I didn’t have an overwhelming passion for music. I also felt isolated playing the piano as the only interaction I had with music aside from practicing on my own was with my teacher once a week during lesson. As a child, I emotionally craved a fulfilling connection with music and a supportive community around me.

While studying piano at university, I experienced an amazing culture of musicians. I had the opportunity to attend concerts, play in group performance classes, and many opportunities to interact and collaborate with singers and instrumentalists. In this environment, I found it was easy to love playing the piano as the conversations I would have with other musicians would inspire me with new ideas and to love the music I was playing. During this time, I decided I wanted to give young musicians this all-encompassing musical education grounded in community that they could experience early on in their musical development.

When I think about it, if I didn’t have opportunity to meet other musicians who were also passionate about music, my career may not have led down this path towards teaching. Often times, I meet people who tell me that they took piano lessons growing up and later decided to stop because they didn't enjoy practicing and it felt like it was too much work. I empathize with their experience as I been through a similar phase during my development. The truth is, learning the piano does take patience and commitment, but it doesn't feel like hard work when you're doing something you love.

This is WHY I do what I do. I collaborate because I love sharing ideas with other musicians and cultivating partnership. I teach because I love inspiring students to enjoy what they do while pursuing greatness. My goal is that each student finds a deep connection with the music they play and why they play, leaving them with a fulfilling and lasting experience of music.