In addition to piano and violin, my other interests include gardening, painting, geocaching, hiking, fishing, cross-country skiing, and reading. I grew up with classical music always present in the home and continue to enjoy playing and listening to it.

Beginning at age 9, my early music studies for violin were taken in Edmonton at the Olson Music School with its principal teacher, Mr. R. Olson. For piano, I first began studying at age 7 with Mr. G. Jeske and later with Mr. K. Rose finishing with a diploma for Grade 9 RCM piano including some work at the grade 10 RCM level.

At the University of Alberta, I majored in music and earned a Bachelor of Education degree in 1973 and later returned to earn an Early Childhood diploma in 1976. During my time at the U of A, I studied violin under Mr. Fischer of the Rolston String Quartet.

My desire to learn more about using alternative approaches to teaching music to students motivated me to do an intense study each summer from 1986 to 1991 of the Suzuki Teacher Training Methods for violin and piano.

Still wishing to further develop my violin playing skills, I began making weekly and bi-weekly commutes in 1992 to Alberta College in Edmonton to complete my Royal Conservatory violin training under Frank Ho. In 2002, I completed my training up to and including ARCT performers level for RCM with a Diploma to grade 10 RCM.

Music theory is an important component in understanding how music is written and played for any instrument. During my early years as a young musician, I completed the first two grades of RCM music theory studies at the Olson Music School. I later completed my Grade 3 RCM theory exams through the University of Alberta and Grade 4 and 5 theory instruction with Dorothy Buckley as my instructor from 1995 to 1999.

As a violin student, I played in the University of Alberta Symphony Orchestra including quartets, trios and duets. As a violin soloist, I have performed a variety of solos in Edmonton, Stony Plain, and Hinton.

ARCT Performers - Violin
Royal Conservatory of Music

Grade 10 Piano
Royal Conservatory of Music

Music Theory - all 5 grades
Royal Conservatory of Music

Rudiments grade 1 & 2

Harmony grade 3, 4 & 5

History grade 3, 4, & 5

Counterpoint grade 4 & 5

Analysis grade 5

Bachelor of Education - majoring in Music and Early Childhood Education University of Alberta

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