Musician.

My singles “Machine” and “Lullaby” are available for purchase at CDBaby:

Contact me for more information about hiring! I’m already looking to get involved in the local scene, and beyond.

The exclusive “support indie writers” version of my single “Lullaby” can only be found on iTunes, The Word Count Podcast; Episode 26.

Harpist. Singer/Songwriter.

People say they could sing before they could talk, but me, I hummed.  I grew up hearing Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell, Meatloaf, Billy Joel, and lots of classical composers, while other late 80s and early 90s babies were listening to pop.  The music was my ecstasy – I could dance around and sing at the top of my lungs and express my joy.

I learned to play the harp, at my mother’s urging. It took me on tour in Germany and Austria, it helped me to meet a thousand people who told me what a gift it was to play such an unusual instrument.  I always saw it as just a part of my life, and I did not appreciate it for a long time.

As I got older, and had more complicated feelings to deal with, I realized I could write my own songs.  I started to listen to other artists – Tori Amos, Kim Robertson, Ella Fitzgerald.  I discovered stories and sounds I hadn’t known before.  The music was what I used to explore, to discover myself.   From 4 years old to college, I learned to play piano, harp, guitar, ukelele and auxiliary percussion.

My depression grew worse.  In college, at a major music conservatory, the piano and the harp and the pen became my escape, and my outlet for the pain.  I wrote about the tattered remains of relationships, the anger I felt at the world.  I didn’t know what to do with it.  I didn’t know how to cope, yet.

After college, I tried to write songs that would make me famous.  I started making connections with bigwigs, thinking it would help.  I believed then that dumbing down my lyrics would mean I could reach more people.   The songs all came out flat and dull.  They sounded very catchy, but there was nothing of myself left in them.  My voice sounded strained, my heart heavy. My music didn’t have any passion, as someone once told me after a performance. I realized they were right.  So I stopped writing for about a year, and waited to find who I was before I could trust myself to write something again.

Now, my playing, these words – this time, it comes from a place that I know is right.  I write now so I can reach other people.  I write for fun, I write to heal, to feel sadness for a moment.  I write to make someone smile.  Laugh. Cry.  These are the reasons I write now.  I’m still learning who I am.  I’m still choosing my battles in song.  It’s a never ending process, and I’m grateful for anyone who chooses to share my journey with me.

Influences:

Tori Amos, Joni Mitchell, Florence and the Machine, The Dresden Dolls, Tears for Fears, Meatloaf

How did you get started on the harp?  It’s a question heard by anyone that plays the harp, and I’m no exception.  I started when I was only 4, played in Germany as a soloist at 13, and attended the Peabody Conservatory of Music for Harp Performance.  Today, I play all styles and genres, not just classical.