What made you choose Mu Phi Epsilon?
The Conservatory at Peabody was not a heavy fraternity place, like the Conservatory at UOP is. There were only two fraternities there - Mu Phi, which was a sorority at the time, and Phi Mu Alpha. I really liked the people there, they inspired me - both friends and colleagues. We also did really nice things in the community. There were also lots of scholarship opportunities.
Were you involved in any leadership positions with your chapter?
I ended up being the president in my senior year.
What was your favorite project with your chapter?
I can’t remember at this point. I remember we did potluck dinners, where there was an incident with some spaghetti in my apartment … there is probably still spaghetti stuck to the ceiling there!
How has being in Mu Phi Epsilon influenced your college experience?
There was this sense of camaraderie and community. It was having people get together and talk about future plans. People were gearing towards being professional musicians and 90% of the time was being alone in a practice room. Being in Mu Phi provided the ability to connect with musicians. My best friend at the time was also in Mu Phi, she also ended up being the Vice President our senior year!
What do you do today to continue practicing “Music, Friendship, Harmony”?
“Everything I do.” Having the privilege of working with young people and the joys and adventures of making music. Music-making is a community-based experience. “For me … it’s that camaraderie of putting something together with others and seeing it all come together.”
What piece of advice would you like to give students currently in our chapter?
“We live in a world where we are being bombarded by so much information and my thought, whether through music or in everyday life, is really seek for the truth. What really is real and true about what you’re pursuing about what is real and what is not.” In terms of music, a composer is a human being and it’s up to the musician to seek their truth through music. We get to dig deeper into what is common between us as the musician and the composer whose work we are performing. We get to be that composer’s lightning rod and connect with their experiences on a personal level.
Where can we find you today? (Performances? Presentations?)
I will be potentially playing a concert on February 12. There is also hopefully going to be Single Reed day on March 6, where I will be performing a piece’s world premiere with Professor Martinez. There will also be another concert where I showcase another world premiere in April.
Random fun fact about you?
1. I have lived in a lot of places. I grew up in Alabama, went to school in Baltimore for my undergrad. I then lived in Colombia, South America and moved to Banff, Canada. Went to LA for my Master’s, then to Maine, Houston, TX, and finally came to live and work in Stockton.
2. When I got my first job at 22 in Colombia, South America, it was a part of the Bogota Philharmonic and I was hired as the principal clarinet. At the time, which was back in 1982, I was the youngest member of the orchestra, the only woman in the woodwind section, and the only female principal instrumentalist.
If you could be a fruit, what fruit would you be?
Quince. It is my favorite fruit. It has sweet and sour elements. Also, when you pick it, you can’t eat it straight off the tree. You have to cook it for a long time to get a rosy color. I feel like that’s me - people may not like me initially, but after a while, they warm up and like me more. It tastes really good, too - it’s like a cross between a pear, an apple, and a pineapple.
Is there anything else you would like to add or mention?
“For everyone who is pursuing in education right now, to remember no matter which major you are, that it helps you be a person in life. Remember that being in college is something that - yes it’s about getting musical training - but it’s mostly about dealing with the world, to be a human being. You may go out there and find you don’t become a music teacher [if your major is music education]. Everything that you learn, you will use. Those things that you are exposed to [with your GE credits], you will use at some point in your life and will be used to being the person that you want to be.”
The Conservatory at Peabody was not a heavy fraternity place, like the Conservatory at UOP is. There were only two fraternities there - Mu Phi, which was a sorority at the time, and Phi Mu Alpha. I really liked the people there, they inspired me - both friends and colleagues. We also did really nice things in the community. There were also lots of scholarship opportunities.
Were you involved in any leadership positions with your chapter?
I ended up being the president in my senior year.
What was your favorite project with your chapter?
I can’t remember at this point. I remember we did potluck dinners, where there was an incident with some spaghetti in my apartment … there is probably still spaghetti stuck to the ceiling there!
How has being in Mu Phi Epsilon influenced your college experience?
There was this sense of camaraderie and community. It was having people get together and talk about future plans. People were gearing towards being professional musicians and 90% of the time was being alone in a practice room. Being in Mu Phi provided the ability to connect with musicians. My best friend at the time was also in Mu Phi, she also ended up being the Vice President our senior year!
What do you do today to continue practicing “Music, Friendship, Harmony”?
“Everything I do.” Having the privilege of working with young people and the joys and adventures of making music. Music-making is a community-based experience. “For me … it’s that camaraderie of putting something together with others and seeing it all come together.”
What piece of advice would you like to give students currently in our chapter?
“We live in a world where we are being bombarded by so much information and my thought, whether through music or in everyday life, is really seek for the truth. What really is real and true about what you’re pursuing about what is real and what is not.” In terms of music, a composer is a human being and it’s up to the musician to seek their truth through music. We get to dig deeper into what is common between us as the musician and the composer whose work we are performing. We get to be that composer’s lightning rod and connect with their experiences on a personal level.
Where can we find you today? (Performances? Presentations?)
I will be potentially playing a concert on February 12. There is also hopefully going to be Single Reed day on March 6, where I will be performing a piece’s world premiere with Professor Martinez. There will also be another concert where I showcase another world premiere in April.
Random fun fact about you?
1. I have lived in a lot of places. I grew up in Alabama, went to school in Baltimore for my undergrad. I then lived in Colombia, South America and moved to Banff, Canada. Went to LA for my Master’s, then to Maine, Houston, TX, and finally came to live and work in Stockton.
2. When I got my first job at 22 in Colombia, South America, it was a part of the Bogota Philharmonic and I was hired as the principal clarinet. At the time, which was back in 1982, I was the youngest member of the orchestra, the only woman in the woodwind section, and the only female principal instrumentalist.
If you could be a fruit, what fruit would you be?
Quince. It is my favorite fruit. It has sweet and sour elements. Also, when you pick it, you can’t eat it straight off the tree. You have to cook it for a long time to get a rosy color. I feel like that’s me - people may not like me initially, but after a while, they warm up and like me more. It tastes really good, too - it’s like a cross between a pear, an apple, and a pineapple.
Is there anything else you would like to add or mention?
“For everyone who is pursuing in education right now, to remember no matter which major you are, that it helps you be a person in life. Remember that being in college is something that - yes it’s about getting musical training - but it’s mostly about dealing with the world, to be a human being. You may go out there and find you don’t become a music teacher [if your major is music education]. Everything that you learn, you will use. Those things that you are exposed to [with your GE credits], you will use at some point in your life and will be used to being the person that you want to be.”