Like many band students in Texas, I began playing the flute in 6th grade. I really enjoyed playing the flute, & throughout junior high & high school, I also became very interested in playing other instruments... particularly saxophone & french horn. I basically played whatever I could get away with! Although I did want to switch to saxophone, my main instrument in high school remained the flute. I went to Humble High School, a suburb near Houston, TX. I played with the Humble High School Marching & Symphonic Bands & sang soprano in the A Cappella Choir. Music honors included playing in the TMEA Texas All-State Bands for 2 years, Houston Youth Symphony, & a TMEA performance with the Humble High School A Cappella Women's Choir.

I also started playing oboe in high school. My band director had temporarily needed an oboe player in band, & I then switched back to playing the flute in band class. However, I continued playing the flute & oboe throughout high school in Region Band, Region Orchestra, & All-State Band. Deciding what instrument to focus on in college was really a hard choice for me, but I chose to major in flute performance. I didn't want to worry about reeds with oboe, but I did learn how to make oboe reeds in undergraduate studies. I also learned how to play bassoon & saxophone in graduate studies for teaching purposes. In addition, I also play piano to accompany students for solos (junior high level), & play guitar & bass guitar in my spare time. You can see a full list of accomplishments since college in my resume link above.

I began teaching private lessons in the Houston area in 1995, & taught primarily in the Cypress-Fairbanks school district. Upon arriving to Dallas in 1999, I also taught in the following school districts for 4 years: Rockwall, Irving, Plano, Carrollton, Garland, Lewisville, & Frisco. While in Chicago, I taught students in the Downers Grove & Bolingbrook schools. I teach mostly flute, but have taught oboe (junior high & high school level), & also taught bassoon & saxophone (junior high level), and beginner/intermediate piano. Some of my past & present 7th-12th grade students have received numerous UIL Solo & Ensemble Division 1 ratings, including Exemplary, UIL Texas State Solo/Ensemble silver & gold medals, & have participated in All-City, Region Band, Region Orchestra, & TMEA All-State Bands.