Teaches:

• Pedal Harp

• Lever Harp

• Celtic Harp

Style:

• Classical

• Celtic

• Folk

• Jazz

• Pop

Instruction Level:

• Beginner

• Intermediate

• Advanced

Teaching Since:

1997

Teaching Location:

• At the Sherwood Conservatory (downtown Chicago - must enroll)

• At the Music Institute of Chicago (Evanston, Winnetka, Lincolnshire - must enroll)

One to two recitals per year for private students, held in the North suburbs; students also have opportunity to perform in the North Shore Harp Teachers Association semi-annual recital in Evanston. Students at the Sherwood Conservatory and the Music Institute of Chicago perform in annual recitals and bi-weekly group classes.

Certifications:

I am a passionate educator, and teaching the harp is a major part of my career. I teach in homes primarily in Chicago and the north suburbs, and I'm the staff harp instructor at Libertyville High School, whose music program is consistently ranked among the top few in the state of Illinois. I am also the faculty Suzuki and traditional harp instructor at the Sherwood Conservatory of Music and the Music Institute of Chicago. In addition, I coach chamber ensembles of the Chicago Youth Symphony and am the harp judge of the Illinois Music Educators Association District 7 Ensembles. As a Gignilliat Scholar in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, I was active in its community engagement program, MusiCorps, in which I visited some of Chicago's most underserved elementary schools to talk about music and, more specifically, the harp.

Performance Experience:

I have performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Lyric Opera. I've also been heard live in recital on 98.7 WFMT's Live from Studio One series. In addition to performing as a freelance harpist throughout the area, I hold the principal harp position of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Des Moines Opera, and the Peoria Symphony, and I have also been principal harpist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Education:

I received my Master of Music degree from the Chicago College of Performing Arts under the tutelage of Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal harpist Sarah Bullen. My Bachelor of Music degree is from Northwestern University, where I studied with Elizabeth Cifani of the Chicago Lyric Opera. At Northwestern, I was a Helen L. Teich Fellow and the first harpist to win the concerto competition in thirty years. I have also trained as an orchestral and chamber musician at the Aspen Music Festival, where my teachers included New York Philharmonic principal harpist Nancy Allen.

It is clear to me that at whatever level of commitment my students are able to bring to it, the harp is an enriching presence in their lives. My goal as an educator is to honor that presence and pass on my own wonderful experience of this instrument.