I started the clarinet in the school band when I was in 5th grade and loved it from the start. My band directors and private teachers in middle school and high school were very inspiring people who loved music and they made a big impression on me. They had very high standards and their love of learning and improving have stuck with me always. I went to New England Conservatory to study classical music, but I had always been interested in all kinds of music. While I was at the Conservatory I heard the clarinet played in many styles and realized that the instrument was capable of making all kinds of sounds. I got my degree in classical performance but I was so touched by all the other music I heard there that I embarked on learning to play in many styles. My professional career has encompassed classical music, klezmer, jazz, Greek and Balkan music, and contra-dance music. As a teacher, I want to help inspire my students to enjoy learning and pushing their limits, and to love music the way my teachers taught me to love music. I want them to understand the discipline of learning and that it is fun work. I also want them to think of the clarinet as an instrument with many possibilities and to understand its great potential for expression.

  • Bachelor of Music, New England Conservatory
  • Band director at Prozdor High School, Newton, and the Waldorf School, Lexington
  • Band leader of Shirim Klezmer Orchestra and Naftule’s Dream
  • Recordings on Rykodisc, Newport Classics, Tsadik and Northeastern.
  • Performances at international jazz festivals in Montreal, Berlin, New York and others.
  • Performances with the Philly Pops and on major motion pictures by Woody Allen and Sidney Lumet
  • Winner of Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant for music composition

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