I grew up in Vancouver, Washington where I studied the piano at the tender age of 6. I continued with piano lessons into my teens when I began to focus on teaching lessons and learning new instruments. The flash and show of parades inspired me to join band in the 5th grade. I began playing the flute and then bounced around the woodwind and brass sections trying out various instruments until I fell in love with the bassoon.

I was bitten by the bassoon bug in 1998 under the direction of Steve Robertson (Skyview High School). I later received a Bachelor Degree in K-12 Instrumental Music Education from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah where I studied bassoon with Christian Smith. At BYU, I had the opportunity to travel with the Philharmonic Orchestra (Reno and San Francisco), the Wind Symphony (Denmark, Sweden, and Norway) and the Cougar Band (Memphis, TN).

For the last 4 years, I have taught band from 5th grade to 12th grade in the Salem-Keizer School District. My students know that I am demanding yet compassionate as we work together to achieve our musical goals. In those years, I have given beginning instrumental instruction to over 200 students! I have taught numerous bassoon lessons and recently began teaching clarinet lessons as well. In addition to teaching school bands, for the past 2 years, I have been providing bassoon lessons to undergraduate music majors and non-music majors at Western Oregon University.

I currently live in Keizer with my husband and our two cats. We like to visit our families in Vancouver and take weekend excursions to the Oregon Coast. We both love to play video games and have lots of fun playing against each other. I also enjoy sudoku, tending to my vegetable garden and making s’mores.