HOW I STARTED PLAYING MUSIC

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I have been playing the piano all my life. My mother, also a piano teacher, introduced me to the art of teaching piano when I was 16. 

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In 1999, I began teaching piano full-time in Massachusetts. When my family moved to Iowa, I continued my career at a local music store for another ten years. Recent circumstances have given me an opportunity to adapt my business and start offering lessons online.

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MY EDUCATION, ACCOLADES,
AND EXPERIENCE

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Throughout junior and senior high, I studied piano privately with Jeanne Gentry Waits, who was located at Mt. Scenario College in Wisconsin.

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Then, I studied piano with William David at Iowa State University as well as studying the organ with Carl Bleyle. I could often be heard playing the Campanile on Central Campus! 

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My degree in Distributed Studies was a self-designed major linking history, music history, and English.

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I later earned my Masters of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School. After moving to Iowa, I completed a Church Music Certificate Program at Drake University, studying organ with Carl Staplin. Half of my credits in this program were at the master’s level.   

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Throughout my career, I have often found myself devoting myself to music as a church organist and music director at several churches in both Massachusetts and Iowa. 

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MY APPROACH TO TEACHING

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I know that younger students might feel a lack of comradery pursuing such an individual activity. That's why I offer a variety of awards, earned through consistent effort, that encourages progress and positive habits.

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I believe music is for everyone! I see all my students as individuals who each learn in their own way, and I adapt different materials and strategies to help each student achieve their personal best.