Singer, Songwriter, Arranger

“Music has been my playmate, my lover, and my crying towel.” – a statement attributed to singer Buffy Sainte-Marie, with which I wholeheartedly agree.

My primary instrument is the piano which I have been playing since I was six years old.  Every Tuesday my mom would drive me to piano lessons from our country home – a forty-five minute drive with one stop at Arctic Circle for a chocolate dipped ice cream cone.  My piano teacher, the late Lucille Taylor, allowed me to follow my instincts and gifts in my youth, which lead me to improvisation, learning chord structures and composing music.

I have always had a passion for close vocal harmonies and I favor music across all genres that feature multiple voices and harmony. This is what led me in my adult life to a challenging and exciting hobby I have enjoyed since 1995 – singing a cappella vocal harmony in the barbershop style as a member of Sweet Adelines International. I naturally started arranging music for the genre and am continuing in my pursuit to become a prolific, high-quality arranger of barbershop music for women.

I also have a lifetime of original music in many categories, inspired by my own life experiences, as well as stories I hear of other people’s challenges and victories. Some of these songs have made their way to a CD of country music I produced in 2012; several receiving high honors in worldwide songwriting contests. Others are catalogued in my mind or messily written out on paper which I am working to organize, transcribe, and record.

With my daughter I compose, arrange and produce music and other creative works for the church setting, which can be viewed at here.

I work nearly every day creating new music, honing my songwriting craft, and expanding my knowledge and skillset related to all things MUSIC.  I am the mother of five children and grandmother of ten, and I reside in Utah near my daughter with my husband, affectionately know as Jimdear.