My Music Story

As a young child I studied piano. In the 4th grade a harpist came to my school, Arroyo Elementary School, to share the harp with us. After going home and my parents had come home from work, I apparently immediately told my parents I wanted to learn to play the harp. I took my first harp lessons when I was 10 years old. I was very fortunate to find a harpist, Rosalie Corson, who just lived just a few miles from my home. I studied with Rosalie for three years at which time she told my parents she could not take me any further in my studies. She recommended that I study with a preeminent harpist in the Los Angeles area, Marjorie Call. I spent thirteen years under Marjorie’s guidance.

I earned a Bachelor of Music in Performance at California State University, Fullerton, and a Master of Arts in Harp Performance at the University of Redlands. I took my first professional long-term gig at the age of 19. By my early twenties, I was performing with artists such as Bernadette Peters, Ray Charles, Harry Connick, Jr., Sandi Patti, The Who, and many more. One of my most memorable opportunities was being the soloist for a dinner party held after the Pentathlon Event of the 1984 Olympics for international dignitaries and delegates. Another was a rare opportunity to drive my personal car down Main Street in Disneyland when I was moving my harp between midnight rehearsals.

My music created a safe place for me. It was a place where I could lose myself. I was in control. I was able to express myself, find peace, and contentment. It was my music that led me to my Christian faith. However, when I married for the second time at the age of 26, I married into a family who seemed to have little interest in my music; very little interest even in me as a person. No one was interested in how I was, what I was up to, or about music. For the eighteen years I was in this relationship, I experienced a modern-day shunning. As a result, I guess I can say I was shamed out of my musical career. My harp sat in the corner, seldom touched. I lost my voice; I lost my joy. But, I never lost my gift, my passion, nor my heart.

I had spent years playing the harp in fine dining, five star restaurants. However, my greatest joy was simply being able to play in quiet places and outdoors. In those times, I felt much more connected to my music, to my soul, and to God. After a thirty year hiatus from my professional work, I am returning to my harp to create peaceful and reflective spaces; to support those who need a place of reflection; and to add comfort to those who are crossing over.