My passion for string instruments started when I was five. I began playing in fifth grade and chose viola as my primary instrument. On the side I also attended piano lessons, taught myself the guitar, and held viola lessons for beginning students. My mentor and instructor, Dr. Alice Lindsay, encouraged me to attend PIMF in 2013, which was the first camp I ever attended. My dedication to music had become so strong throughout the five years before the camp that I was willing, although a bit hesitantly, to leave my family’s vacation in Disney World to attend the festival!
As I befriended the other musicians and adjusted to the beautiful Bryn Mawr campus, I began to learn what it means to love practicing. I marveled at hearing the other students practice, watching the musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra perform, and taking lessons with the principle violists of the Philadelphia Orchestra. I attended another camp in Miami and was able to meet even more musicians. Just this previous summer, I joined my friends again during the most recent camp. Each one of these camps has taught me the value of a ‘good practice’. Working with the Music House program and Cristian Macelaru has been incredible and I know that the performance opportunities throughout the camp have instilled in me the drive to become a professional performer.
“My two weeks at Bryn Mawr taught me discipline and inspired me to constantly work on self-improvement of my studies.”
I transitioned away from a single-minded attention to only my own music, to playing 
chamber music as if it were an etude to performance-level, where I acknowledged my peers and even led them. Other opportunities I’ve had include playing with the University of Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Northern Neck Orchestra and the Tidewater Intergenerational Orchestra, receiving the Honorable Mention Award at the Williamsburg Music Club Competition for two consecutive years, performing in the pit for the Williamsburg Players theatrical group, and attending the Viola Workout camp in Crested Butte, Colorado. Now I am studying Music Performance with an instrumental emphasis on viola at Chapman University, under the direction of Mr. Robert Becker. As a soloist, I feel more comfortable and there is a confidence I have gained from the instruction I received which has enabled me to recover from accidentally skipping a beat or being rushed. I like to think that I have improved further since this summer because the experiences I’ve had at PIMF inspire me to progress musically.
