I re-joined Local 802 after I was asked to be a violin/fiddle sub for Sting’s new musical “The Last Ship,” which I was very excited to be a part of, despite its brief run! Many years ago, I was also a Local 802 member after working as a sub for the show “The Pirate Queen,” which unfortunately was even shorter lived. I was also the violinist/fiddler for the new musical “Come From Away” in Seattle this past November and was honored to be part of that incredibly successful run. Another favorite gig was playing for the Riverdance show “Heartbeat of Home.” I recently played a tour with Cathie Ryan, the incredible Irish singer. A few days before the first show, I learned that I also had to sing on the gig! I just about had a heart attack! But I realized that a challenge like this would cause me to grow much quicker than I would if left to my own devices, and in any case, I’d been meaning to get into backup singing but hadn’t gotten around to it. So I spent the next two days learning the vocal parts and then made my professional singing debut in front of a crowd of 1,500. It was nerve-wracking, but went just fine. Now that I’ve gotten over the initial hurdle, I’m looking forward to singing more. I play the violin in multiple styles, including classical and traditional Irish and American fiddling. I play anything from rock to country to backing up singer/songwriters and more!