Teaching Artist Statement

I believe we all have strengths, talents, and unique gifts that deserve to be shared. We are all good at something, and I happen to be good at teaching and sharing my learned skill with others. I especially love seeing the joy in a student's eyes when something clicks and they “get” it! At Music Center I teach recorder and also coach chamber music ensembles.

I hope to impart my sincere love of music, humanity, and connectivity to all my students. I have students that still contact me even after 20 years have passed since they had lessons, so I think I establish lasting friendships and respect. Because I am still in the game as a performing artist I believe that I have a strong impact on students that hear me perform and can see that I practice what I preach, or 'walk the talk'.  They can see that the recorder is a real main stream instrument that will take them as far as they want to go.

Teaching Bio

I have been teaching recorder since 1981. That was the year I moved to Denmark from California to study recorder with a sought after teacher at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen. After just a few months, a teaching position at Ishøj Musikskole  - one of the innumerable state-funded community music schools in Denmark - literally fell into my lap and I eagerly accepted. I remained at that music school for the duration of my time in Denmark until summer of 2004 and saw hundreds of students pass through the doors. I have been teaching at Music Center of the Northwest since winter of 2005 and would love to see hundreds more recorder kids! 

I taught at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music for 12 years, and at Ishøj Musikskole for 23 years in Denmark. Here in Seattle I taught recorder to the third graders at West Woodland Elementary for several years as well as the KapKa Cooperative School.

I teach at early music workshops all over the country and am the Music Director for the Seattle Recorder Society, and co-director of the Puget Sound Recorder Orchestra. I have been a clinician at several elementary schools with a recorder trio and have done, and continue to do, many outreach programs through Early Music Seattle (formerly Early Music Guild). Some of those schools include Bryant Elementary, Adams Elementary, Island Park Elementary, West Mercer Elementary, Martin Luther King Elementary, Orca K-8, and Bailey-Gatzert Elementary to name a few. With my Music Center colleague Dave Shere, I have also done clinics at Broadview-Thomson K-8.

Performance Bio

As a free-lance recorder player I play whenever I can with whoever wants me! I am fortunate to be on the list when groups like Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Medieval Women's Choir, or Early Music Vancouver needs a recorder player, which is really cool. My local ensemble, “Ensemble Electra”, consists of recorder, violin and harpsichord and we play whenever we can in churches and other intimate concert halls, often returning to presenters like Gallery Concerts and Early Music Underground.

When I lived in Denmark I was in three very active ensembles that often traveled to neighboring countries like Germany, Sweden, and Norway. We got to play and record in stunning castles, churches, and cathedrals with some dating back to the 1100s. Some of the cathedrals were so large that there was a 9 second reverb! I was a featured artist on a Danish television series that shed light on the recorder and its music which was really exciting.  I feel that all performances are special. I love performing with any ensemble, which requires collaboration, focus, being in the moment, and engaging with the audience. Most recently here in Seattle I played with an amazing percussionist from the Bay Area, Peter Maund, and two concerts with Matthias Maute from Montreal, which was one of the most thrilling experiences I've had in a long time!