About Me

Canadian singer/songwriter & professional music teacher

Music has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember.  Its presence has always been a touchstone for me.  Through highs and lows, difficulties and triumphs, is has been one of very few true constants in my life; one that I hold immense gratitude for.

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I was born in a small town called Kenora, in Northwestern Ontario, Canada.  After showing a keen interest in all things musical from a young age, my parents dutifully enrolled me in piano and voice lessons.  I am grateful that they had the intuition to see that music was my path, and I'm glad I was given opportunities to gain valuable performing experience in local arts festivals and talent contests growing up.  Music became a big part of my identity - it gave me confidence, self-worth, and became my outlet.

When I started high school, my love for music continued to grow - I learned to play clarinet in the school band, joined the choir, and spent pretty much all my lunch hours in the music room practising and jamming with other musically minded students.  I played in a few bands, and enjoyed the experiences this provided - not to mention the extra pocket money!  It was also around this time that I first became interested in composition and songwriting.  I fondly remember purchasing my Yamaha SY77 when I was 16 years old.  So began countless afternoons of music programming and recording creations onto cassette tapes.  As well as making up my own songs, my cousin and I would often create parodies of popular pop songs, which was a source of hours of entertainment for us both!  Through all this, as well as playing in bands, I developed a very good ear and could work out almost any chord progression.  This skill continues to serve me well to this day!

After graduating high school, I attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada to study music education and piano. (BMus '00, BEd '01). My years at Queen's were amazing - challenging, but nothing short of life-changing.  I learned so much, not just academically but about myself, and I was also blessed to met some truly amazing people and formed friendships that I still cherish to this day.

After convocation, I relocated to the UK to pursue a career in primary education.  Over the next decade I worked as a class teacher, delivering lessons for all subjects.  In that capacity, I have planned and delivered hundreds of general music lessons for kids age 3 to 11.  As well as utilising my piano and singing skills, over the years I have taught myself to play a myriad of other instruments so that I could in turn teach children to play them.  These include ocarina, recorder, ukulele, guitar, and djembe.  I love the challenge of learning new instruments - I find it grounds me and helps me to always stay in touch with what it is like to be a 'beginner' at something.  I am all for lifelong learning!

Although I thoroughly enjoyed my years as a general practitioner in primary schools, eventually I decided that I wanted to devote my teaching efforts to music, my true passion, exclusively.  I transitioned to career as a professional music teacher in 2012, and I haven’t once looked back. I still deliver music lessons in schools, but I also work as a gigging musician and recording artist, songwriter, session musician and podcast host- as well as offering online music lessons.

From my home studio, I have the privilege of working with musicians of all ages around the world.  I have a particular passion for helping adults achieve their lifelong dream of learning to play an instrument, and I love watching them discover the joy that it can bring to their lives - all in the comfort of their own homes!

I have a gentle approach that brings great results and believe that learning should be fun and pressure-free.

To find out more about learning online with me, my teaching, the types of courses and classes I offer or my background, please get in touch and I’ll be happy to give you more information.