Where were you born and (if different) where did you grow up?
I was born in Washington, DC, and grew up mostly between the woods of Connecticut and Belgium.
Current residence and marital status/family (including pets):
I reside in Underhill with my husband Bryan and two young daughters, Amelia (7), Fiona (4). Our little human family is rounded out with two dogs (Pablo and Uni), two cats (Zip and Kyara), two guineas (Bubba and Pip), five Kunekune pigs (Lazarus, Happy, Lilu, Miette, and Moa) and eight chickens. (I will not list, but every one has a name!)
Education: Watkinson H.S., Juilliard Prep, Peabody Conservatory
When did you start playing with the VSO? 2013, when I was pregnant with my first daughter and had just moved to Vermont
Other current jobs besides VSO:
Champlain Trio (with Emily Taubl and Hiromi Fukuda)
Arka Quartet (with Brooke Quiggins, Stefanie Taylor, and John Dunlop)
Concertmaster of Vermont Philharmonic and Middlebury Opera
Violin teacher
Collaborations with Vermont Virtuosi, Vermont Contemporary Ensemble, Capital City Concerts, etc.
Favorite composer: Bach, then after him it’s so hard to choose! It would take me a day to list all the compositions that have inspired me.
Hobbies: Gardening; generally being outside in nature as much as possible.
How did you get started in music?
I heard a cello performance when I was three and begged my parents to play. There was a violin Suzuki teacher in our apartment building, and my mother arranged for me to try.
Dream job if not musician: Biologist (neuro science)
Secret ambition: Write a novel or paint
Favorite vice: being a hermit
People would be surprised to know that: I speak two languages.
Best advice I ever got: Don’t just learn on an upward trajectory; learn wide.
Favorite way to spend an evening:
In the winter: a good novel, a glass of Pinot Noir, wood stove going, inside peace as kids are sledding outside, a fluffy fresh cotton flannel sheet bed!
In the summer: sitting outside listening to nature while the kids are giggling and cooking marshmallows around a fire pit.