I am a musician/teacher with specialties in piano, ukulele, songwriting/composing, and theory.

I currently have a waiting list (Fall 2022). If you’d like to be added to the list, please contact me with your interest in virtual lessons anywhere or in-person lessons in Cambridge, MA.

It’s a great joy to hear from so many players around the globe! From Tasmania to Vancouver Island, from Rio de Janeiro to Berlin, greetings and welcome to my site. I wish you all good health, peace and safety during this anxious time. I hope you will all find comfort and connection in the music you play.

Just for fun: 

Here is my new art website. Please check it out and share.

(I just adopted a 4-year old dog. He’s so cute, I thought I’d share his adventures in a graphic blog. )

…and here is a recent composition of mine, sung by my sweet cousins in New Hampshire, Mary Beth and Regina Hayes. The lyrics are from Sara Teasdale’s poem, Barter.

Holding wonder like a cup.

Holy thoughts that star the night.

 

 

My father taught me how to write down the little melodies in my head when I was in preschool, and I have been composing and playing the piano ever since. My first paying gig was as a substitute organist at the age of 14. While in high school, I studied composition with Dr. Robert Sirota at B.U.’s Tanglewood Institute and piano with Olga Zlobinsky.  I progressed to receive my B.M. in composition with honors from New England Conservatory, where my musicianship and creations were nurtured by my beloved teacher, Joe Maneri. My M.M.Ed. was given by The Boston Conservatory, under Dr. Rhoda Bernard’s leadership.

In my 20’s, I began to explore American improvised idioms. I went on to play keyboards with several Boston-area rock, roots, and folk artists such as Andrea Gillis, Emily Grogan, Paddy Saul, Natalie Flanagan, and Linda Viens.

I was a K-8 general music teacher for 10 years at both public and parochial schools. I currently maintain a private teaching studio while also leading opera writing workshops for schools as a teaching artist for the (absolutely inspiring and incredible!!) Boston Lyric Opera.

A few years ago, a spine injury inspired me to try my daughter’s toy ukulele since piano and guitar were impossible to play with my back brace. I immediately fell in love with the instrument’s upside-down tuning and scoured my library of piano repertoire to find works that could be played within a 2-octave range. My musician/teacher colleague Emily Grogan urged me to publish those arrangements, which are now available on Amazon.

I have been teaching music to both children and adults since 1989. I am a music educator because I see humanity at its best as I assist others in their development in this form of connection. The simplest note, when played with depth and sincerity, is valid and worthy to be heard. I see all my students as born musicians, and my job is to nurture what is already innate.