Bio
By the time I was able to select an instrument to play in my middle school orchestra, there was only one left. Our teacher handed it to me and here I am, a handful of years later, still holding the viola. Together, we’ve traveled around the world, studied and admired music from every pocket of the globe and made life-long friendships.
My career thus far has had so many highlights - from rocking out with Eminem, to performing with my string quartet for President Barack Obama, to receiving a standing ovation at Lincoln Center while performing on stage with the Boston Ballet. I pinch myself often that I get to do what I love for a living - it’s a wild ride but my goodness, I am grateful.
Below is some semblance of a resume. Feel free to email me for any and all of your viola needs (I also regularly perform violin, electric violin and electric viola)! I am based in NYC but always on the move.
Education:
Berklee College of Music, Bachelor’s Degree in Music Business Management
Notable Experiences:
Violist in string quartet for Alexander Ekman’s Cacti with Boston Ballet (performances at Lincoln Center and the Boston Opera House)
Recurring featured musical performer for the JFK Presidential Library and Museum (including events honoring Conan O’Brien, President Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, etc)
Composer and performer for Velvet Vacancy, a ballet choreographed by Emily Mistretta for Kansas City Ballet
Composer and performer, alongside Josh Knowles, for Cirio Collective (performances at Vineyard Arts, The Joyce Theater)
Violist and contractor for the Video Game Orchestra (recording credits include Final Fantasy XV and The Rising of the Shield Hero)
Television appearances on MTV Unplugged, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, CBS Saturday Morning, Gossip Girl, Modern Family, The Today Show and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Violist for Grammy® nominated album Shuruaat by the Berklee Indian Ensemble
Violist in the New York Arabic Orchestra (performances at Lincoln Center and the United Nations)
Artists I’ve Worked With/For (whether on stage or in a recording environment):
Josh Groban
Eminem
Thirty Seconds to Mars
Michael Buble
Cautious Clay
Aiofe O’Donovan
Sienna Spiro
Disturbed
Giveon
Il Volo
Tigran Hamasyn
Sky Ferraria
Diane Warren
Sofia Carson
Wyclef Jean
Kygo
Shreya Goshal
Laufey
NOFX
Itzhak Perlman
Cyndi Lauper
Shankar Mahadevan
Sarah Brightman
Michael League
Rita Wilson
Antonio Sanchez
Jacob Collier
Vitamin String Quartet
Trans Siberian Orchestra
Lauv
Hanson
Lawrence
2Cellos
Dream Theater
Il Divo
Will Butler
A Little Bit More:
As an originally classically trained violist, I spent my high school years falling in love with seriously studying chamber music and orchestral playing. However, in college, I quickly became a student of all other styles of music while being completely in awe of my peers and professors from around the world. From fiddle, to jazz, to latin, to pop, to metal, to Arabic styles, I wanted to learn it all. Before I knew it, I was learning a slew of new musical languages that have since given me the confidence to improvise across genres and compose music of my own. Coming from a traditional classical music training background, this has been a journey I did not expect but have been eternally grateful for as it’s allowed me to tremendously broaden my career. I still perform in the classical world (highlights include sitting principal viola in the Cape Ann Symphony and section with the New Bedford Symphony) and one of my favorite ways to spend a day is reading chamber music with my incredibly talented colleagues.
I decided to pursue a degree in music business because I wanted to understand how myself and other members of my freelancing community could make a sustainable living playing music. This gave me the confidence to manage bands, write contracts to protect myself and colleagues and work as a contractor, hiring musicians for recording sessions, concerts, weddings and events around the globe.