I was born in Jackson, Mississippi and began playing piano at the age of 6 (even getting up early to practice before school, much to my brother's dismay!). Always a singer, I began private voice lessons at the age of 13 studying with Edward Zambara, the then-head of the voice department at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. During this time I also tagged along with my father as he performed in plays, musicals, and opera. After moving to Champaign, Illinois during high school, I studied at the University of Illinois with Dodi Protero.

In addition to my B.M. in Voice Performance and B.A. in Theatre from Millsaps College, I earned a Masters Degree in Voice Performance from Indiana University in Bloomington where I studied with Virginia Zeani and Roger Havranek, who further encouraged my involvement in musical theatre. I had major roles in the opera theatre's summer seasons when they mounted opulent productions of musicals.

I settled in Memphis, Tennessee after graduate school where I performed in numerous plays & musicals, and served as musical director for several shows.  This is where I began my teaching career. One of my first private students received a voice scholarship to the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. I also coached many theatre students from the University of Memphis for their BFA auditions in which they were required not only to act but also to sing (this was a daunting proposition for many of them!). This is when I developed a love of teaching beginning singers, especially actors.

I moved to Los Angeles in the early '90's and performed there in award-winning theatrical productions, notably 'Pericles, Prince of Tyre,' 'King Lear,' 'Nicholas Nickelby,' 'Company,' 'An Appalachian Twelfth Night,' and "Into the Woods," as well as in cabaret venues in town. I was an adjunct instructor at Rio Hondo College in Whittier for several years where I taught beginning voice classes and a Spanish-language vocal ensemble. I also spent two years as the singing teacher for the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute's Young People's Program. For the past ten years, I taught at Sierra Canyon School, a private independent school (on the 7th - 12th grade campus), teaching vocal music, theatre, music theory, and AP Music Theory, as well as music directing every musical.  I have coached actors, classically trained singers, and alt/rock singer/songwriters.

I continue to be active as a performer while being very much devoted to teaching singing.

I have recently come back "home" to Memphis and look forward to continuing the work of teaching singing and vocal coaching and being a valuable member of the music and theatre community!