“Voice is my medium. I identify first as a song and voice educator and second as a performer. I just get really nerdy about how the voice works. Not just like trying to make the voice sound better, but the kinds of sounds the voice can make, and how we uncover that and how all of those sounds are useful in communicating song. I love experimenting with that.
I have been teaching at Goshen High School for about 15 years now. I have a private studio through Goshen High School. I have also taught at Fairfield and Goshen Middle School, and then I have a few other students in the community. I’m also an adjunct instructor at Goshen College.
This year, with the shift to me teaching completely on Zoom, I have a smaller studio of high school students – probably because high school students are really tired of Zoom. I have a larger studio of just community people who either have been singing for a long time and want to keep up what they’re doing or people who are interested in figuring out how to use their voice for the first time. It’s just a really eclectic variety of people right now.
I’m the director of the musical theatre camp at Goshen College. That was a vision that I had for a long time, either in my own private studio or downtown or wherever. I wanted to have some kind of experience for students where they could really dig in deep for a week, and bring in people with expertise in areas that are not my expertise. Creating that was something I was really proud of.
I really enjoy watching students ‘get it’ or do courageous things or figure things out. Those little moments happen all the time.
I really appreciate how many people are so dedicated to the performing arts. There are so many educators in Goshen who are always striving for excellence and care about students. I appreciate being a part of that.”
