FACTS
Hometown: Rochester, MN
Day job: I’m primarily a voice instructor.
Hobbies: Cooking, films, yoga, and drinking good liquor
Best physical feature: My eyes
Best personality trait: My wit
Pet Peeve: Slow talkers
Idiosyncrasy: God, I have so many….
Other talents: I’m a decent violinist (started off college as a violin performance major) and a helluva good cook.
FIRSTS
First pet: Sea Monkeys
First role onstage: I played a Sneetch in my kindergarten production of The Sneetches (based on Dr. Seuss). I remember being mad that I wasn’t the lead!
First kiss: Heather Highland—I was maybe 10 years old. We were on the couch. She made the first move and took me by surprise….I fell off the couch as a result.
First name means: The most common meaning is “from the broad meadow,” though it can also mean “joyful one” or “treason.”
FAVORITES
Favorite films: The Last Picture Show, Working Girl, Drop Dead Gorgeous
Favorite books: Pablo Neruda’s 100 Love Sonnets, anything by Edward Gorey, and The Gallery of Regrettable Food by James Lileks.
Favorite TV shows: “Strangers with Candy,” “Arrested Development,” “Twin Peaks”…and “Dallas” is, in my opinion, the best TV show ever.
Favorite food: Cheese, Orange Chicken, Chocolate
Favorite drink: Pinot Noir, Diet Coke, Gin
Favorite composers: J.S Bach, Francis Poulenc, Steve Reich, Gustav Mahler
RANDOM
Why Chicago? It appeals to the urbanite in me, but still satisfies my mid-western tendencies.
Why VOX? A talented and creative set of colleagues, recitals and venues that really allow us to think “outside of the box,” and a mission statement that I truly believe in.
Pre-performance ritual? Brief vocalizing, a little yoga, and a cup of coffee.
Aspirations? I really think “Dallas” should be made into an opera and that I should play J.R. Ewing….it would be a perfect role for a baritone like me!
If you were a superhero…? You know, I’ve always wished I had the power to stop time. Naturally, it would be helpful regarding sleeping in the mornings, but it would also be fascinating to explore a world free from everyday hustle-and-bustle and to prolong those really special moments in my life.
If you were an animal…? Well, according to my name I’d be a happy yet treasonous animal living in a wide open space.
