1. What courses or areas of expertise do you specialize in within the music department, and how do they benefit our students?

As well as being the director of the string program, I teach viola, chamber music and a course very close to my heart, audition class. I am also the director of the NYU orchestras. The goal of our instrumental performance programs is to educate our students to become professional musicians and to support each one of them to reach their individual goals within the music profession. What makes me the proudest is too see so many of our students graduating and continuing on their own specific paths to  successful musical careers.

2. How do you approach teaching and mentoring students in the music program to ensure their success academically and artistically?

Teaching is a two way street. I believe that teaching is a collaboration between the student and mentor. What I want to support my students to do is to find their own musical voice. Teaching an instrument goes way beyond learning the notes. It has to do with deep study within the music, to find out what the composer is saying and interpreting it through each individual's voice. All students have individual goals as well. I want to make sure that my teaching is focused on a students' desired goal while giving them all the foundational work that they will need to accomplish their goals.. What I am very proud of is that my students  are successful musicians and that they play in a wide variety of genres.

3. Are there any unique opportunities or resources that our music program offers that you believe students should be aware of?

I had a very traditional musical education. Coming into the music profession, I was unprepared for much of the work I did. When I came to NYU, it was with the thought that while the price of admission is playing well, there are other skills that musicians need to develop in order to be successful. The string curriculum for both undergraduate and graduate studies is based on a broader base and as focused as it is in the classical music traditions, it also offers a wide variety of classes that embrace a multitude of musical styles. We have a Broadway orchestra that plays concerts and reads music from the American songbook, we have classes in improvisation, baroque performance, orchestral excerpts and extended techniques as well as Audition Class that focuses on the. specific preparation to play a successful audition. I serve as a mentor for my students and meet with most of them every semester to help guide them in selecting the most appropriate classes that will help them achieve their goals.