Biography
I was born a child of music. My mother always told me that she never had trouble getting me to go down at night as I would sing myself to sleep. I grew up with a love of music, both vocal and instrumental, and had an eclectic vinyl collection, everything from the three BBB’s (Bach, Beethoven & Brahms), Mario Lanza and Wagner Operas, to Big Band music, Jazz, and music of the 40’s and up.
I studied music education in college and graduated with a BM and a K-12 teaching degree. As part of my curriculum, I had to gain basic playing proficiency in all the instruments of the orchestra. Many found this daunting, but I found it fascinating and studied it with gusto. My singing voice gave me opportunities to travel throughout Europe and even sing at Notre Dame Cathedral. In my final year, I took part in a program called Semester at Sea which allowed me to collect music from different parts of the world as we circumnavigated the globe.
After college, I jumped right into teaching and taught jr. high (7th-9th) general and choral music for several years before returning to school to work on my MM degree. By this time, I was married and had started a family. With a young child at home, I became very interested in how children gain musical intelligence and after much study and many certifications, became an Early Childhood Music Specialist. I loved working with the young children and conveying to the parents the benefits of music to the young.
And then, disaster. During certification training for Kodaly, I lost my voice….completely. I was diagnosed with a paralyzed vocal cord and was told that I would be lucky if I got any of my voice back within 6 months!!! What an agonizing and frustrating time for all. I spent months wondering if I would recover. But alas, though my speaking voice returned, my singing voice did not. That, which brought me so much comfort all my life, was gone. My singing voice was gone forever. In order to cope with the loss, I closed my heart to music. Fourteen years went by without it. I was not the same.
Fast forward to recent times. I was laid off of my office job two months before COVID hit and decided to ‘retire’. I began surfing the web and discovered several individuals facilitating drum circles for a wide range of populations. I thought this would be a great way to get back into music and something that didn’t require my singing voice. Doing trainings and playing on Zoom opened a whole new world of music to me!
As I write this, I have been certified in several facilitating programs (though I’ve yet to facilitate a circle) and am surrounded by a room full of drums and other percussion. I have realized that I still have a lot to offer musically and would love to work with both the senior population (after all, I am one) as well as young students again. My hope is that through drumming, I can bring the benefit & love of music to others for the rest of their lives.
