Early Beginnings
I started playing violin at the age of four in Sudbury, Ontario. According to my mother, I chose the violin myself after watching local symphony broadcasts and confidently identifying instruments of the orchestra. From the beginning, music was something I recognized, named, and was drawn to instinctively.
Youth Orchestra & Early Performance
As I grew up, I performed with the Sudbury Youth Orchestra, eventually serving as Concertmaster. By my mid-teens, I was also performing with the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra. These early experiences gave me my first real sense of ensemble performance, leadership, and the discipline of orchestral life.
National Youth Orchestra of Canada
I was accepted into the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, where I spent four summers performing with some of the most talented young musicians in the country. That experience confirmed that music wasn’t just something I studied—it was the environment I wanted to live in.
University & Musical Direction
I initially began university studies in science, but quickly realized I missed orchestral life. I transferred into music studies, completing performance degrees in violin and viola, along with a degree in music history, followed by a Master’s degree in Viola Performance.
Professional Viola Career
My professional career developed primarily as a violist. I performed, taught, and freelanced throughout Ontario for more than two decades, including seven years with the Gould String Quartet, then Quartet-in-Residence at the Niagara International Chamber Music Festival. I later became Principal Viola of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, a position I held for fifteen years.
Transition & Return to Violin
When the KWS ceased operations, I returned to freelance performing. During this time, I found myself increasingly drawn back to the violin—the instrument where my musical journey began. I began exploring new performance formats that blended classical training with modern backing tracks and contemporary repertoire.
Why 'That 90s Violinist'
I was a violinist throughout the 1990s before focusing on viola for much of my professional career. Returning to the violin felt like returning to the musician I was at the start of my journey. While I love performing music from the 1990s, my repertoire also includes modern pop, wedding favourites, classical works, and music across decades. The name reflects a full-circle musical journey rather than a single genre.
