MUSIC

I’ve been a singer for as long as I can remember, but haven’t always been brave enough to call myself one. Some of my earliest memories are of putting on “concerts” with my siblings at family gatherings. In high school, I dabbled in musical theatre and led a pop/rock garage band for a few years. As I got older and received feedback that my voice wasn’t your typical musical-theatre mezzo, I questioned whether anyone would want to listen to me sing. But, through the encouragement of my closest friends, I returned to singing for an audience, playing Rose in Dave Malloy’s Ghost Quartet during my final semester at UMN/Guthrie.

Since entering the world of professional theatre, I’ve been playing and singing onstage wherever I go. I’ve shared original songs and covers at the American Shakespeare Center, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and more. I’ve been praised for my versatility as a musician - sometimes playing as many as five instruments over the course of one show. I love making music with a group, whether it be instrumental accompaniment, singing lead, or harmonizing on backup vocals. Whatever the song, I still get butterflies every time I get to share music with a crowd.

Aside from a handful of angst-ridden pop numbers written for my high school band, I didn’t start developing my voice as a lyricist and composer until 2020. Shut up in my parents’ basement through lockdown with little to do, I turned to writing to process my feelings about the world, my relationships, and myself.

Since then, I’ve been handy for plays with music, composing works for two of our shows during my time at UMN/Guthrie, and for several of my original plays. Professionally, the American Shakespeare Center has been kind enough to support me as a composer. In their 25th Anniversary Season, I played three original compositions as Feste in Twelfth Night, as well as an original song to kick off the night during my stint as the foley artist in The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Guitar (advanced), Ukulele (adv.), Electric Bass (intermediate), Piano (basic), Violin (b.), Accordion (b.), Glockenspiel (b.), Melodica (b.)

7 years of vocal lessons with Leslie Esser-Reitano, Louis Sacco, and Peter Thoresen | Musical Theatre Workshops with KO, Meghan Randolph, and Gary Kline | 9 years of guitar lessons | 7 years of piano lessons