At the age of seven I began taking Suzuki violin lessons at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.  For the next 10 years I either took violin and theory lessons there, practiced and performed on the stage in the youth orchestra or attended many concerts in the beautiful theatre.  To a young girl the theatre was immense and magical.

 Back in 1966 when the Suzuki Method was being introduced in the US my parents were interested in having their kids have a musical foundation so they enrolled me and my brother in one of the first programs available, at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. 

'm not one to brag about my instruments. I truly feel that a good player can make an instrument sound "good"; not necessarily any instrument, but many. So it's not all in the instrument, it's in the familiarity of the player to the needs of the instrument. Why do I start with this? 

I don't recall how or why I started playing my violin at yoga sessions but I discovered it to be not only a musical opportunity but also a different way to enjoy a yoga setting.  Sometimes I'll play a few songs at the beginning or end of a session or other times I will play through a full session with a prepared set list.  People seem to absolutely love hearing and moving to violin at these sessions.  How wonderful is that?!

Back in the late 1980’s I decided to buy a violin on my own, the first time I had ever been in the position to do so.  I met an elderly couple near my home, Alan and Anne Esty, and discovered that Alan made violins and was interested in having me try them.  I went to their home and was taken through many rooms to the back violin shop, which immediately took me back to my childhood of visiting violin shops.  There, Alan had a cozy shop that overlooks a field and small, winding river in the mountains of New Hampshire, and with the smell of wood, glue, and his smoking pipe, I would stay for hours and try all his violins, just for fun.