People ask me how I came to enjoy opera so much while growing up in an area like the one in which I was reared. To understand this, I have to tell them the whole story. I grew up in a small NC town called Connelly Springs. My first experience with music came when I began taking piano lessons from our community piano teacher. I also was playing the trumpet in my middle school band. I knew I loved music at this point and decided it would be a big part of my life. When high school came around I decided to give singing a try. I LOVED IT! There is something special about the human voice. An instrument cannot express the emotion that the human voice can. We all have a voice and hearing someone else use it makes us feel we are not alone. In any case, I was in beginning choir and chamber singers for 3 years. I felt the only way for me to spread my love of music was to teach. In my small town, performing did not exist and it was not an option. When I got to Appalachian State University in 2003, I was content with education. However, the performance bug bit me hard! I graduated from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC on May 5, 2007 with a Bachelor in Music Education, and I have now returned to obtain my Master in Music Performance. During my career at ASU, I have and continue to study voice with Ms. Mary Gayle Greene and performed in many ensembles including University Singers, Chamber Singers, and Opera Workshop. I have performed as Frederic in Pirates of Penzance, Alfredo in La Traviata (scenes), Ben in The Telephone, tenor soloist in The Messiah, Elijah, and The Seven Last Words of Christ, and tenor understudy in Carmina Burana. My most recent performance was as Sam Kaplan in Kurt Weill's Street Scene. I am now participating in an assistantship, Quintessential – the Hayes School of Music Graduate Vocal Quartet. I hope that my performances demonstrate to people the power of opera and the importance and joy of music.
