When did you begin studying music?

I began studying music when I was nine years old, which, for some, seems late, but a local piano teacher at the time told me she wouldn’t take students under 10. Upon hearing this, I began writing this teacher letters, detailing how badly I wanted to learn to play the piano and how dedicated I promised to be… so I started taking private piano lessons a year earlier than students she would usually take! I loved immersing myself in music so much that I had to get more involved and decided to join a band in middle school, choosing the French horn after the band director introduced it as one of the most difficult but rewarding instruments to learn.

Who are some of your favorite composers or musicians?

As a horn player, I have to mention some of the fan favorites, of course, such as Strauss, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, and John Williams, as I always enjoy playing their horn-heavy orchestra repertoire. However, I also really enjoy finding and performing music by composers that might not be as standardly performed. Most recently, I’ve performed works by Karen Tanaka, Cait Nishimura, Edith Boroff, Lydia Lowery Busler, and Amy Beach, amongst many others. I love opera and musical theater as well, and have performed in many new and traditional productions.

How often and for how long did you practice when you started studying music, and how have your practice habits changed since you became a professional?

When I started studying music, I practiced every single day for as long as I could after school and extracurricular activities. My piano teacher at the time told us to try to practice 6 out of 7 days of the week to give ourselves a ‘day off’. When I started playing the horn, I practiced anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour a day, depending on my schedule… sometimes I didn’t get to practice at all because I was so busy! Horn can be an especially difficult instrument to figure out practice habits for, as your facial muscles and physicality play a big part in how long you can practice, whereas it’s easy to practice an instrument like a piano for longer periods of time. During college, there were periods when I would have back-to-back rehearsals all day, leading me to play 6-10 hours! Not much practicing can happen after that point! My practice philosophy now is to focus on quality over quantity, and I encourage my students to find balance in their schedules to determine what works for them, rather than worrying about how long they’re practicing.

What do you like most about teaching?

I love being part of a student’s growth, and teaching feels like a continuation of learning. Every student and their experience is unique, which makes teaching feel like an exciting puzzle—it’s incredibly rewarding to figure out what fits best for each individual. Helping students navigate their musical journeys has given me invaluable insights into my own musicianship, and nothing fulfills me more than watching them build self-esteem and discover their own unique voices.

How do you get out of a practice funk?

By challenging myself to play something different, but fun, something without feeling any pressure of it being ‘good’. Oftentimes, I’ll turn on the radio and improvise along with the song that’s playing or pull out a good film score and play some fun horn parts to reinvigorate my motivation for practice. As musicians, we can put so much pressure on ourselves to make things ‘perfect’, but it’s important to remember why we love music and what makes it fun!

When you’re not teaching or performing, what do you like to do?

I love a good book and a good craft! I’m an avid scrapbooker, junk journalist, sticker hoarder, you name it, I love crafting when I’m not doing something musical. I’m getting into sewing when I have the time, but my two cats, Banjo and Siyah, sometimes get a little too interested in loose threads and fabric scraps.

When did you first realize you loved music?

I first realized I loved music when my piano teacher only assigned me to practice a certain number of times per week, letting me have a day or two off from practicing, but I found myself practicing every single day, for as long as I had time to. I first realized I needed to pursue music in my life when I went on tour with my youth orchestra to Ireland and had the opportunity to perform outside my small town, in historic castles and cathedrals. Being enveloped in the sound of an ensemble and watching people be moved by the music we created left me feeling so passionate about sharing that feeling with everyone.

What is the best advice you can give your students?

Remember that as musicians, we are always learning, and remember your ‘why’! Why do you play, what makes you excited to play, why do you love it? We can be our own harshest critics, but it’s important to remember, especially when struggling with something, to be kind to yourself and to explain why you love it! I always view making mistakes as learning opportunities, and I highly encourage my students to keep this demeanor and an open mind, as we’re all just learning new things every single day, myself and other teachers/professionals included!

What is your favorite musical memory?

One of my favorite musical memories has to be when I performed Gustav Mahler’s Second Symphony, “Resurrection”, one of my personal favorite pieces, after the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic had devastated the globe and effectively silenced the music industry, forcing us into isolation and halting all in-person collaboration. This piece requires a massive orchestra and chorus, and after being isolated from people for so long during the pandemic, coming back to such an incredible piece and performing it surrounded by so many fellow musicians, feeling the shared pain and emotions of the pandemic, felt like coming home. I was so emotionally moved by the raw power of the full orchestra and chorus, it felt as though the music itself had finally been ‘resurrected’ in our lives. Every time I hear this piece, it reminds me why we play: to connect, to heal, and to share our art with the world around us.