Composition Lessons
driven by your inspiration
Start from Your Passion
Inspiration is the greatest composition teacher. I see so many students start lessons tightly holding onto the music they have formally studied on their instruments, or through music theory, assuming that those are the only "appropriate" places to draw inspiration for their own works. They are always thrilled to realize that through our lessons, we will also embrace the student's glorious well of inspiration from the pop, rock, Sacred, Broadway, metal, or other types of music from their own personal life and culture as well as the works of the classical masters. Together, we analyze what exactly about each type of music gives them chills, what moments drive them to listen again and again — and then help them create those same powerful moments in their own creations.
Customize Your Path
Composition Lessons can be tailored to fit your interests and needs, including:
Composition Essentials: Music Theory, Counterpoint, Instrumentation, Orchestration, Notation, Software (Sibelius, Dorico, Finale, MuseScore, Noteflight, and more)
Songwriting: Singer-Songwriters, Production, Vocal Arias & Art Songs, Musical Theatre, Pop, Rock, and more
Music for Media: Film Scoring, Video Game Scoring, Mixing/Mastering, Audio Editing, DAW Software: Logic, Cubase, ProTools, GarageBand, Audacity, and more
Composing for: Choir, Concert Band, Orchestra, Chamber Groups, Solo Instruments, Bands, and more
Help Developing Your: Conservatory/University Audition Portfolio; Applications to Festivals, Commissions, and Grants; Personal Marketing and Branding; Website/Online Presence Development; Resumes, CVs, and Artist Statements
And more!
Connect with Live Performers
My in-person studio in Bloomington, Indiana is practically in the backyard of the world-renowned Jacobs School of Music on the Indiana University Bloomington campus. Through my connections at the university, students both virtual and in-person have a unique opportunity to benefit from readings, recordings, and consultations with live performers at the top of their craft — an opportunity most developing composers have to wait until their conservatory training to experience.
Learn Film Scoring with Tools of the Trade
I am proud to be an educator in the cutting-edge field of academic study in music scoring for film, television, and video games. Currently, I'm the Associate Instructor for the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music department for Music Scoring for Visual Media, and love teaching music technology, production, and scoring techniques to both university students and private students of all ages. I have written scores for audio dramas, movies, plays, and video games, and love learning and teaching the latest in music technology. Whether you're a DAW pro looking for VST, mixing, or synthestration advice, or a beginner looking to get started with your first LABS download on Audacity or Cakewalk, I'm so excited to share workflow, tips, and knowledge from the exciting world of music tech, and help students harness this power in their own music and creations.
Vocal Composition
If you want to learn to write for the voice, whether operatic, musical-theater, folk, pop, choral, rock, or something else, you've come to the right place! I'm uniquely qualified to guide students interested in songwriting, musical theatre, or opera composition. I'm an alumna of the renowned Really Spicy Opera Aria Institute for Composers and Librettists, with whom I trained for four years while learning to write operatically and idiomatically for the voice; I also carry knowledge from my time with the NEO Voice Festival in vocal science-supported, safe, and fun extended vocal and choral technique writing. My operas, musicals, songs, and choral pieces have been featured across the country and world, due to my dedication to performability, idiomatic and health-forward writing, as well as my love of soaring melody, chilling interplay with extramusical references hidden in accompaniment lines and character motifs, and fluid command of sonic and harmonic worlds.
Teaching Experience
I've been working with an active studio of private students for over a decade, and have built up a resume of individual and group composition teaching experience at all levels from early childhood to post-collegiate. My students have gone on to win commissions and competitions, and my high school students have gone on to gain acceptance from conservatories both in the US and abroad. At the collegiate level, I currently serve as faculty at the Jacobs Composition Academy, and hold an Associate Instructor position in the Indiana University Music Scoring for Visual Media department. I have also been a Teaching Artist with Opera on Tap's Playground Opera and OperaBox curriculums. In past years, I've been a lecturer in composition at the Jupiter Opera Development Foundation and Cazadero Music Camp. Above all else, helping others unlock their musical dreams invigorates and inspires me, and I hope that joy and love of the craft and art of composition comes through in every lesson.