ABOUT ME
Oh Hey There!
You know that feeling when….?
You just can’t get the rhythm right?
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You spent hours playing your flute but didn’t make much progress?
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You’ve dreamed of this moment (performance), but you’re distracted by your leg shaking out of control?
I do! This was ME!
It all BEGAN when....
It was 1986, and I was just a toddler when I knew I loved music, Judy Garland to be exact! I could NOT get enough of Dorothy from “La Vic La Vaz” known by others as “The Wizard of Oz”. I would watch it over and over.
Music was a major part of my upbringing as my mother is a singer and father has some pretty mean guitar playing skills. I started piano lessons in 2nd grade and chose to play the flute in 5th grade band. And that was it! The FLUTE! It was shiny, it had blue velvet inside the case, and boy oh boy did it make a pretty sound (almost as beautiful as Judy Garland’s voice!).
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When I was a student in school, I always found making a sound on the flute easy. I struggled A LOT with reading rhythms and playing WITH the metronome. I guess you could say I marched to the beat of my own drum, which wasn’t in tempo with the rest of the band!
This was my kryptonite! It was the thing that held me back from getting into the top band at my school my senior year. It was devastating for me at the time.
Flute was my THING and I felt like a failure. Did I quit? Heck no! I don’t like quitting, it's not for me. I started taking lessons with a new teacher, played in 2 bands (instead of gym) so I could play everyday, participated in regional honor bands, and worked extremely hard. Did I still struggle with rhythm? Of course! But was it getting better?
YES.
When I went to college, I knew I had to do SOMETHING in music. I decided to major in music education and I’m so thankful I did! I look back with such fond memories during that time in my life. I had super supportive professors and friends.
I was immersed in the typical music major life, music theory, ensembles, lessons, music history, pedagogy classes, the whole thing! It was the best.
I even had the opportunity to complete my student teaching in New Zealand! I won’t go into that here! But it was AMAZING or dare I say... MAGICAL!
After graduation I landed my DREAM job! I was the band director at a really fancy boarding school that looked like Hogwarts! Remember when I said I liked shiny things and the insides of flute cases? Well this was THAT times A MILLION.
This job was amazing. I learned A LOT about teaching, building relationships with students from all over the world, how to help students solve their musical mysteries, and even conduct the pit orchestra for the yearly musical! It was my home away from home. This was also the job where I met my wonderful husband Denis!
After 13 years of teaching at this school I thought I needed to try something different. I moved to a larger school closer to home (hour long commute in a Minnesota winter? More like 2-3 hour commute!). This was ok, but it wasn’t the same.
It didn’t have the same MAGIC that my first job had. I was honestly feeling a little (or A LOT) burned out by the daily band director grind!
What was my favorite part of my day? When I got to teach flute lessons or play my flute! It was time for me to refocus my energy back to the FLUTE.
So here I am! I have an online flute studio and it is a blast!
And now…
It's all coming full circle! My husband Denis (a Croatian), MAGICAL dog Grom (with his own EU passport!), and I have moved to the BEAUTIFUL Island of Hvar in Croatia!
It really could be a set for a remake of The Wizard Of Oz!
Anyone? It is SO beautiful.
The water is so clear, the towns and villages look like Disney sets, and this is where I get to live, teach, and play the flute!
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There's NO PLACE LIKE HOME!
ONLINE FLUTE LESSONS
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A Minnesotan living on a MAGICAL island in the beautiful country of Croatia!
