Photo | Josh Madson
Hi Everyone!
Let me tell you about myself!
I think it all began with a set of cassette tapes and sing-a-long books. I would sing along to everything and anything. When I turned 7 I official started piano lesson, and continued for 11 consecutive years. Like any kid, I hated practicing, but my mom was persistent. She would say, “You’ll thank me for this one day!” She was right. Of course.
In middle school I got involved in the Mankato Children’s Chorus, and started the Clarinet in Band. Once High School hit I became very involved in Choir and Vocal Jazz which led me to the University of MN Duluth. I went into my first year undecided, but I soon realized music needed to be my major. I graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Music.
Although I studied classical music I was always finding myself going back to jazz. At the end of my fourth year of collage I picked up a friends ukulele and started teaching myself how to play. I found the ukulele and its delightful simplicity to be a joy to play and sing over.
After I graduated I decided to stay in Duluth and see what opportunities I could find for myself as a musician. The music community did not let me down either. I was able to play shows on a regular basis and had the opportunities to meet and play with all sorts of musicians. In 2015 I produced and published my first Jazz album ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’’, full of my favorite standards.
Well, I think this is where a new chapter in my life begins, and it starts in 2015 with the decision to move back to my hometown of Mankato. I started booking some solo shows and joined the Dan Duffy Orchestra. Then in the fall of 2016 I started teaching private music lessons for ukulele, piano and voice. The moment I started with my first student I knew this was the kind of work for me. Since then I’ve been able to grow my studio into something I’ve very proud of. Summer of 2021 I took over Kato Music Lessons and someday hope to expand beyond a one-teacher studio.
In 2018 I decided to continue my education and I completed a Piano Tuning and Repair course at the MN School of Piano Technology. Piano tuning has been a fun addition to my musical skills.
I’m currently in a variety of bands, and have taken on side projects throughout the years such as being the music director and actor in “The Buddy Holly Story” in 2021, and I played Patsy in “A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline” in 2024.