About

“The real art in learning takes place when we move beyond technical proficiency and our work becomes an expression of our essence”
—Josh Waitzkin

I always knew that I wanted to be a teacher, and my mission became to be the teacher that I never had. I teach because it is exactly what I want to do and what I trained to do. My goal is to combine excellence in education with mastering skills that lead to artistic and emotional expression. These are transferable tools that will last a lifetime.

I am a professional singer and have been teaching piano and voice in the United States as well as England, Germany and Belgium since 1983. As an undergraduate at The San Francisco Conservatory of Music I was probably the only student who did not know how to read music—that’s right, after years of piano lessons and thousands of dollars, I had not learned the rudiments of the only language besides math that is universal: music notation. I was accepted due to my audition and “natural voice”, not my musicianship. In spite of this I embarked on a career in music…… an uphill battle because I did not have good training when learning to play the piano as a child.

I am a member of NATS (National Association Teachers of Singing) and am 4th in a direct line to Lamberti. My primary teacher was Mrs. Marion Cooper, Los Angeles. Secondary teachers include Gordon Clinton (Royal College of Music) London, and Dickson Titus ,San Francisco. I have coached with Henry Holt (Seattle Opera), James Low (USC), Natalie Limonock (UCLA), Ann Baltz, Dietrich Erbelding and Dr. Robert Chaules. I studied Acting and Stage Deportment with Beatrice Manley (California Institute for the Arts), and The Alexander Technique with Lyn Charlsen. Professional engagements have included West Bay Opera, Pocket Opera, The American Center for Musical Theater (Los Angeles Music Center), Guest Artist at Los Angeles Valley College, Solo Recital at The Brand Library (Glendale) as well as numerous solo and duet recitals.

“The eternal triangle of singing—the spiritual, in which one strives to achieve the essence of music, the physical, which is the correct use of the apparatus (brain,ears,mouth,vocal cords,lungs,diaphragm & whole body) and then there is the emotional, in which the singer finds a specific context for each word,phrase and song being performed.”
—Thomas Hampson

“Incremental stages lead the novice to mastery.”
—Josh Waitzkin

“If you prepare properly, the muscle memory is there when you need it.”
—Stella Adler

“There comes no truer truth obtainable by man than comes of music”.
—Robert Browning

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.”
—Aristotle