Birthplace:  Riverside, CA
Grew up: Jacksonville, FL
Started playing: age 11
Education: Bachelors of Music from Indiana Univ., Masters of Music from Peabody Conservatory, both in Double Bass Performance
Began with CSO: 2000
Non-CSO Activities: lots of things with my two young sons, also sewing and crafty things, baking and cooking-especially ethnic vegetarian
Favorite music: lots of different stuff from Mahler to world music
In my iPod: Hillary Hahn, Lyle Lovett, Feist, Billy Jonas, Brahms symphonies, Diana Krall, Jordi Savall, Sting etc.
Main Teachers: Lawrence Hurst and Hal Robinson
When not rehearsing or performing on stage with the CSO, I spend my time…did I mention that I have two young sons?
If I had not become a professional musician, I may have become a…something in science or medicine
To unwind, I listen to…NPR, but sometimes it doesn’t help with unwinding, then see above about iPod
In the car, I listen to…see above, also I’m trying to learn French
My current ring tone is…Orca song and/or whooping cranes screeching
The last book I read was…I tend to read several books at a time switching depending on my mood of the day.  So currently my books are Women’s Best Friend, women writers on the dogs in their lives (ed. Megan McMorris), The Body Has a Mind of It’s Own by Sandra Blakeslee and Matthew Blakeslee, The Wonder of Boys by Michael Gurian, and The Singing Neanderthals by Steven Mithen.  The last book I finished was Goodbye, Friend by Gary Kowalski. I also read lots and lots of children’s books out loud.
Most people would be surprised to learn that…I was in a Duran Duran video in middle school.
The craziest thing I have ever done is…I went on a first date to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival from Bloomington, IN.  I’m now married the fellow, so it must have been a good date.
My dream is…to have the CSO be stable and high quality artistically.
The non-musical accomplishment that I am most proud of is…that I was a ballet dancer for twenty some years.
What is your guilty pleasure? Chianti Classico
My favorite vacation is…a tie between anything in Italy and a camping/hiking vacation
The last movie I saw was…Madagascar 2 or the Duchess I can’t remember which was more recent.
To prepare for a performance, I…need a nap.
If I could choose to play another instrument, it would be the…piano or guitar, or be in STOMP
I also play the…used to play the viola da gamba
My most embarrassing musical moment was…I wasn’t embarrassed about this, but it evoked a lot of snickers from the audience.  One of the pieces that I performed in graduate school (a recently composed work) had instructions for the slow movement to be played lying on my back holding the bass above me in playing position. This was actually very difficult, not to mention getting down on the floor and up again holding a bass without assistance.  I was told that some of the older audience members actually gasped during all of this.
An extremely positive musical experience I have had was… Playing in a quintet at the Kennedy Center with Leon Fleischer on the piano.
A profound experience, musical or otherwise, that has shaped or deeply influenced my approach to music would be…Studying Early Music with Stanley Ritchie.  Non-musical would be visiting some of the great cathedrals of Europe, actually just walking around some European cities can give one a different perspective, since so much of the standard repertoire is European.
If I could spend a day with any composer, if would be… who could choose just one?  Either Bach, Mozart or Stravinsky