Bios are typically written in third person...but since I'm the one writing it, the effect is basically as if I'm editing a Wikipedia page about myself and it makes me feel hoity-toity. Besides, even if it's written in third person, I know I'm not fooling anyone. I mean, come on...We all know who's actually writing the bio. So the following is written as informally as possible in first person.
I'm a flutist (not flautist. I understand this is a point of contention amongst many, but like Sir James Galway, I maintain that I play the flute, not the "flaut"). I've just recently moved to Seattle, Washington after completing my Master of Fine Arts in Flute Performance at the California Institute of the Arts. I have a BM in Flute Performance from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
I also have a few years of an English Literature degree under my belt, when I dabbled in the field while at the University of Washington in Seattle. As you can see from the site, I still dabble in writing. I don't spout Shakespearean sonnets or talk in "thous" and "thy"s, but there is a certain poetic proclivity to my impromptu raps.
Why the switch? It's not as if the new area of study/career gives me more financial stability -- there's a reason why the term "starving artist" is such a cliche.
When people hear of what I do, they either say "What in the world are you going to do with that?" and/or the sometimes condescending/sometimes wistful: "Oh, you're so lucky to be doing something you love and that makes you happy.”
To that, I answer, “Well, shouldn’t we all be doing that?”
Whether it’s painting or acting or dental hygiene, shouldn’t we all be involved in something that makes us happy, something that we love, and something we can somehow give back to others? I’m not saying it’s easy, but the things in life that are most important to us seldom are. Sometimes we have to carve out a place for ourselves in the world, whether it’s climbing that corporate ladder or competing with thousands for that one open orchestral spot.
I play all genres of music from baroque to contemporary. I've played in all shapes and sizes of ensembles -- from chamber to symphonic orchestras. I've toured France and Austria with orchestras as a soloist and I've been practically invisible while blending into the background of a cocktail hour or providing music for a ballet and coloring the ears and experience. I play for weddings, freelance for various groups in Seattle, and occasionally you'll see me busking down at Pike Place Market. I beatbox on the flute and after a couple years at CalArts I'm rather adept at free improvisation and extended techniques. I'm also exploring electronics, ChucK, and fusing that with music. Lately, I've been getting into film editing as well as playing the electric bass.
Above all though, I enjoy music with people. Music to me has always been about communication. It's about connecting with the people we make music with. It's about connecting to the people listening. It's about a conversation with the composer, and it's a dialogue between ourselves -- our thoughts, our hearts, who we are and what we want to convey -- and everyone else. Music should never be the realm of the privileged, or the realm of anyone at all. I've always believed it should be shared by all.
I'm a flutist (not flautist. I understand this is a point of contention amongst many, but like Sir James Galway, I maintain that I play the flute, not the "flaut"). I've just recently moved to Seattle, Washington after completing my Master of Fine Arts in Flute Performance at the California Institute of the Arts. I have a BM in Flute Performance from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
I also have a few years of an English Literature degree under my belt, when I dabbled in the field while at the University of Washington in Seattle. As you can see from the site, I still dabble in writing. I don't spout Shakespearean sonnets or talk in "thous" and "thy"s, but there is a certain poetic proclivity to my impromptu raps.
Why the switch? It's not as if the new area of study/career gives me more financial stability -- there's a reason why the term "starving artist" is such a cliche.
When people hear of what I do, they either say "What in the world are you going to do with that?" and/or the sometimes condescending/sometimes wistful: "Oh, you're so lucky to be doing something you love and that makes you happy.”
To that, I answer, “Well, shouldn’t we all be doing that?”
Whether it’s painting or acting or dental hygiene, shouldn’t we all be involved in something that makes us happy, something that we love, and something we can somehow give back to others? I’m not saying it’s easy, but the things in life that are most important to us seldom are. Sometimes we have to carve out a place for ourselves in the world, whether it’s climbing that corporate ladder or competing with thousands for that one open orchestral spot.
I play all genres of music from baroque to contemporary. I've played in all shapes and sizes of ensembles -- from chamber to symphonic orchestras. I've toured France and Austria with orchestras as a soloist and I've been practically invisible while blending into the background of a cocktail hour or providing music for a ballet and coloring the ears and experience. I play for weddings, freelance for various groups in Seattle, and occasionally you'll see me busking down at Pike Place Market. I beatbox on the flute and after a couple years at CalArts I'm rather adept at free improvisation and extended techniques. I'm also exploring electronics, ChucK, and fusing that with music. Lately, I've been getting into film editing as well as playing the electric bass.
Above all though, I enjoy music with people. Music to me has always been about communication. It's about connecting with the people we make music with. It's about connecting to the people listening. It's about a conversation with the composer, and it's a dialogue between ourselves -- our thoughts, our hearts, who we are and what we want to convey -- and everyone else. Music should never be the realm of the privileged, or the realm of anyone at all. I've always believed it should be shared by all.
