Like many people, I began piano lessons at age 8...
I attended a county school and my mother asked me one day if I would like to take lessons. I didn’t really know what to say except, ‘yes!.’
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This teacher firmly told my parents never to let me play ‘by ear.’ This was a great disservice to me and I struggled with improvisation my entire life until recently.
Although singing was my main focus, piano was always there, too. The piano has been my constant companion since that first lesson at age 8. It has amplified the good times and carried me through the more challenging times of my life. I sang through my piano during the many years I could not perform vocally. It sang my daughter to sleep when she went to bed at night, listening to me play. During the times I have felt most alone, my piano has been there for me.
Today, it has become an instrument for an entirely unexpected artistic pursuit, composition. It has also helped me bring back my first love, opera singing. The piano is an orchestra all in one instrument. So many colors, so many ways to explore different sounds, It is the only instrument that contains every other instrument in it. The possibilities are endless!
I can never get enough.
Listen
Solo & Chamber
On Streaming
Collaborative
Storyed Recital™
I build my interpretations and my compositions on the stories of life…
My first love is opera…why is that? Because opera is dramatic!
It encapsulates the stories of life.
Who can resist the flirtation of Bizet’s Carmen and the over-the-top jealousy of Don Jose? Who hasn’t cried at Violetta’s death scene from consumption in the arms of the man she loves? Who doesn’t love Mozart’s Barber, singing his heart out in his barber shop or Papageno’s marvelous reaction when he first plays the magic flute, not to mention Pamina’s heart-wrenching pleas for Tamino to respond to her?
Opera IS the drama of life. How do we bring that drama to piano music?
That was the beginning of my story creation. As I was working on Chopin’s Barcarolle, I envisioned a couple going on an African safari by boat to try and rekindle their relationship. As I wrote my first piano piece, Whitewater, I could feel the excitement and utter fear the imminent rapids evoked.
That is when I decided I would create my proprietary “Storyed Recitals™” and concerts. I can see the engagement in the eyes of the audience as I relay the story before I perform the piece. These performances never fail to yield enraptured comments from engaged audiences.
If you would like to know more about my Storyed Recital™ performances, don't hesitate to contact me!