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Get to know me
I have been in the Cadott Community School District since 2010 where I first started teaching 4th grade through 12th grade general music and choir. In my time here, I have sought to involve our students in as many opportunities as possible. Some of those would include participating in the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Clearwater Choral Festival and UWEC Middle School Honor Choir, All-Conference Honor Choir, musical productions, the UWEC A Cappella Extravaganza, and the Trills and Thrills Music Festival at Valleyfair. We also hold onto the traditions of performing 3 to 4 concerts a year, including the Veterans Day Program, participating in Solo and Ensemble Music Festivals, and the Large Group Festival to name a few. I currently teach 6th Grade Choir, 6th Grade General Music, 7th and 8th Grade Middle School Choir, High School Concert Choir, and Musical Theatre classes for students in 9th through 12th grade. I also offer music theory and piano classes for students interested in pursuing music as a career.
Growing up, I always had music in my life. I started by playing Alto Saxophone in 5th grade band and in 6th grade I was able to start taking choir. In 7th grade, I started taking private piano lessons. I participated in both band and choir throughout all of my years in junior high and high school. In my final year in high school, I was the drum major in band and the student director in choir. My high school had a Tri-M Music Honor Society that I also had the joy of leading as their president. What can I say? I LOVE MUSIC!
I wasn't always a music nerd. I was in summer recreation programs. Every summer I played volleyball, took swimming lessons, and played tennis. In junior high, I also participated in cross-country. After 3 years of running, I found out that it wasn't for me so when I got to high school I played tennis. I was actually pretty good and got on the varsity tennis team for singles! I still love to play tennis in my free time.
I stopped playing tennis in high school when it conflicted with my musical interests. I was in 2 musicals in high school--"Hello Dolly" as a freshman and the female lead in "Once On This Island" as a junior.
Realizing that my calling in life was to teach choir, I pursued a bachelor's degree in Music Education with a Vocal Emphasis at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where I graduated Cum Laude. I also graduated in the summer of 2022 with my Masters in Music Education from Bowling Green State University. I have also been honored with the task of preparing students in the WSMA Wisconsin State Honors Choir as a sectional coach.
I live in Lake Hallie, WI with my loving husband, Bryan, and two beautiful girls, Raegan and Aurilia. We enjoy going to parks, zoos, theme parks, swimming, and watching silly game shows like "Floor is Lava" on Netflix.
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Musical Hero
Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor, Eric Whitacre, is among today’s most popular musicians. His works are programmed worldwide and his ground-breaking Virtual Choirs have united singers from more than 145 countries over the last decade. Born in Nevada in 1970, Eric is a graduate of the prestigious Juilliard School of Music in New York. He completed his second term as Artist in Residence with the Los Angeles Master Chorale in 2020 having served five years as Composer in Residence at the University of Cambridge in the UK.
Eric Whitacre is my musical hero because he has worked hard during his career to unite all kinds of people through the beauty of choral music. His compositions are breath-taking and his knowledge of writing vocal harmonies to create tension and release are just incredible.
Some of my favorite compositions include "Lux Aurumque," "The Seal Lullaby," "A Boy and A Girl," "This Marriage," and "Sleep."
Favorite Songs
Eric Whitacre's "Lux Aurumque"
This piece is an example of the fine work that Eric Whitacre does and what he stands for as a musicians. Music is a means to bring people together. It should be more than just simple temporary entertainment, but rather creating a long-term investment in bettering yourself as a human being and the sharing of human experiences.
Eric Whitacre's virtual choirs began in 2009 as a simple experiment in social media when one young woman – a fan of Eric’s music – recorded a video of herself singing “Sleep” and shared it on YouTube. Moved by the video, Eric responded by sending a call out to his online fans to purchase Polyphony’s recording, record themselves singing along to it, and upload the result. Eric was so impressed by the result that he decided to push the concept to the next level by recording himself conducting ‘Lux Aurumque’, asking Virtual Choir members to sing along to that and the first Virtual Choir was created. The Virtual Choir has grown from 185 singers in his first official video of "Lux Aurumque" seen here to more than 8,000 singers, aged 4-87, from 120 countries in his 5th virtual choir.
"A Million Dreams" from The Greatest Showman
I want to share my love of musicals with you for this selection and this was tough to pick just one. Musicals have a way of portraying life's different experiences so that we can all feel what it would be like to be put into another's shoes. You can experience joy, hardship, loss, hope, anger, and perseverance through song and dance, and the hard work of a skilled actor or actress. It is truly an amazing experience.
I have several favorite musicals, but I wanted to put one in here that was more relevant. The musical, The Greatest Showman, was an all-inspiring masterpiece. The big takeaways from this performance were that no matter how different we might all seem on the outside, we are all the same. We all have hopes and dreams for a brighter tomorrow. With hard work and dedication, you can accomplish anything!
"Surface Pressure" from Encanto
Disney has so many fantastic musicals to choose from. It was hard to pick just one because I am a big-time fan of Disney. One of my new favorites has to be Encanto. The song, "Surface Pressure," captures the feeling of pressure that we all get from time to time. Sometimes it can seem like we are drowning in responsibility and deadlines and this song reminds us that we don't have to do it all by ourselves. We have each other to rely on when we need help. You don't have to do it alone.
"Africa" by Toto
"Africa" by the American rock band, Toto, written in 1981 has become one of my favorite all-time feel good songs. Despite the terrible music video that makes basically no sense at all, it always seems to put me in a good mood. I like this song so much that I wrote a choral arrangement of this song a few years back and the High School Concert Choir performed it at their POPS Concert. It was a hit! Thanks Toto for this great treasure about a continent that you know basically nothing about which is apparent in the misinformation regarding geography in your lyrics. ;)
"Zombie" by The Cranberries (original) and Bad Wolves
When choosing favorite songs, I couldn't pass up these two amazing versions of "Zombie." "Zombie" is a protest song by Irish alternative rock band the Cranberries, written by the band's lead singer Dolores O'Riordan in memory of Johnathan Ball and Tim Parry, who were killed in the 1993 Warrington bombings. It was released on 19 September 1994 as the lead single from their second studio album, No Need to Argue, two weeks ahead of the album's release. Music critics have long recognized "Zombie" as a masterpiece of alternative rock, as well as a grunge number uncharacteristic of the band's other work.
Bad Wolves released their cover of The Cranberries classic track "Zombie" in honor of Dolores O'Riordan. The singer was due to add to the track at a studio session in London on Monday afternoon (January 15, 2018) but she died that morning at the age of 46.
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