I joined Local 802 after transferring my membership from AFM Local 30-73 (Minneapolis/St. Paul). My personal goal in NYC is to music direct and conduct for musical theatre, awards shows, and concerts. One of my favorite recent gigs was conducting “Newsies” in Minneapolis. It was a long run and I very much enjoyed the company and talent. It was a super team! I began classical piano at age 7 and found an interest in conducting in middle school, thanks to my choir director David Langston. My sight reading chops were helped by a church choir accompanist job I landed at age 14. I joined band in high school, where I played percussion and became a drum major for our 287-piece marching band. So fun! St. Olaf College took me in (bless them) and I earned a degree in piano performance while also training equally in conducting/voice. I ultimately got interested in theatre music, and the rest is history. Music is important to me because it connects, motivates and moves people.