I began violin lessons at the age of 3 with Nancy Kocal, a local musician and grade school music teacher.  After several years under her patient guidance, I was sent to study with Betty Haag, who ran a tight ship at the Chicago Academy of Performing Arts.  During my time there, I had the opportunity to perform on concert tours with a group of freakishly precocious young violinists.  We toured across Asia and the United States, including performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and Chicago’s Orchestra Hall.   Eventually my parents and I decided to get a new take on my musical education, and I wound up studying under David Taylor, the assistant concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  This was an experience altogether different.  We chatted about art, listened to recordings, discussed orchestral bowings, and studied everything from the big concertos to small chamber works.  It was an invaluable experience!  In 1994, I went off to Northwestern where I received a BA and a medical doctorate while serving as concertmaster and soloist with the Northwestern Philharmonic. I've since performed as first violinist in the Aesculapian Chamber Ensemble, the Four Humors String Quartet, the Alton symphony, and, currently, the Saint Louis Philharmonic and Barnes Piano Quintet.