I have an MA in Musicology from the Univ of Iowa and a BA in Voice from the Univ of Maryland. A viola quartet scholarship funded two years of my BA at Missouri State Univ. After transferring to the Univ of MD, I focused on voice; however, I continued to play viola in their Baroque Ensemble. I have training in Renaissance and Baroque music from specialists including Max van Egmond, Kenneth Slowik, and Ian Partridge. Before college, Paul Rolland accepted me into his violin studio at the National Academy of Music, associated with the Univ of Illinois. I teach musicology at Texas Christian Univ, am a Subject Matter Expert, and coach high school and amateur chamber music.

My teaching philosophy follows the practical proverb, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." I employ teaching methods that foster critical thinking. Assignments incorporate active learning experiences that include evaluation, analysis, and assessment of information. I also encourage students to assess their own work. My job is to create independent musicians who no longer need a teacher and intelligent listeners who will comprehend the subtle nuances of music.

My general teaching style engages students in active learning. I employ small and large group discussions and assignments in which the students work on both individual and collaborative projects that incorporate activities including research, identification, application, and assessment. I provide information in multiple formats and assess how useful these formats are both for the class as a whole and for individual students. On occasion, I have entirely revamped my classroom technique to accommodate the dynamics of a particular class body. My daily goal is that students leave each session with a greater understanding of the course material and concepts than when they entered.