Appearances
Ballet West Orchestra, 2022–present; Utah Symphony, substitute; U.S. national tours for Our Planet, 2023, Avatar the Last Airbender, 2024, and Naruto the Symphonic Experience, 2025, principal cello; Civic Orchestra of Chicago, associate member, 2024–25; New World Symphony, associate member, 2024–25; Aspen Music Festival and School, 2020
What is your earliest memory of classical music?
When I was nine years old I was living in St. Petersburg, Russia for the summer with my family. My mom took me to see Cinderella at the Mariinsky Theatre and I remember being enchanted by the whole experience. I played the same Prokofiev Cinderella this past February and it was a very sweet full-circle moment to play the score that introduced me to the world of theater for the first time!
What is the most memorable performance you ever had?
A few years ago I got to play Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony with the Utah Symphony and Maestro Markus Poschner. I had studied the excerpts for years, but it was completely transformative to play it with the symphony I grew up listening to for years. I loved being part of the cello section and the larger orchestral sound, and it fostered a love of ensemble playing that has only grown over the years.
What is your proudest achievement as a musician?
A few years ago I ran into a neighbor in Salt Lake City who was a retired engineer and began teaching herself cello. She asked if I could be her teacher and we started working together once a week. Seeing her love and excitement for music grow has given me so much joy, and accompanying her Suzuki Book 1 recital a year later was one of the proudest moments in my music career!
Tell us about a time you almost gave up but didn’t.
I actually did! I didn’t touch my cello for half a year after I graduated college. The academic setting burnt me out. I lived abroad in Kazakhstan and Europe for a year and developed a love for story telling, visual art, and opera. When I moved to Salt Lake City, I started auditioning for any pit work available. I found that I loved ensemble playing much more than solo playing and gained a renewed sense of love for music.
Do you have a favorite non-classical musician or band?
I’m really into the Icelandic-Chinese artist Laufey. She combines classical, jazz, and pop in a really unique style and I love listening to her albums.
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?
Probably working in a diplomatic capacity between the U.S. and Europe. I’ve loved learning languages, studying religions, and traveling. Bringing people together is something I love about music, and something I could see myself doing in a diplomatic setting as well.
What advice would you give your younger self or anyone starting out?
Playing music is something you do, it’s not who you are. Your worth as a person isn’t defined by how successful you are in a competition, what school you go to, or the stages you’ve performed on. Music is about bringing beauty and joy to the world, including yourself! We all contribute to that in our own way, and it’s better to listen to what makes you happy than to try to follow other people’s ideas of what your music career should look like.
What do you wish you knew starting out that you know now?
When you travel with a cello, your cello takes the window seat and a seatbelt extender. It is a high maintenance instrument, but that’s the price we pay for the best one in the orchestra.