Friends and Family,

I have been offered an outstanding opportunity to pursue a Ph.D. in music education at The Ohio State University.  I have been awarded a graduate teaching assistantship which will cover all of my tuition expenses.  In addition, I will receive a monthly stipend in exchange for teaching courses and assisting the lead string music education professor, Dr. Robert Gillespie.  Dr. Gillespie is an internationally-known string pedagogue, author, and orchestra clinician.  He is a fantastic person, a wonderful role model, and a leader in the field of string music education.  I am very honored to be able to have the opportunity work with him.  Because of Dr. Gillespie's work, Ohio State has earned a reputation for being one of the top schools for string music education.  

Obtaining my Ph.D. will allow me to obtain a faculty position at the university level, which has been one of my long term goals.  In addition to the professional reasons, the move to Ohio will also allow me to be closer to my entire family.

I am very excited about this wonderful opportunity and wanted to let you know about it.  I'll keep you posted on how things progress.  It looks like I will move during the summer, possibly near the end of July.

It will be great to be back in Ohio. See you there soon! 

Break has been fun. The ASTA conference was incredible. I was able to present two sessions and also take in so much from all of the other sessions. The concerts were amazing!! Midori, Lynn Harrell, and the Turtle Island String Quartet three nights in a row! After ASTA I was able to get away on a Caribbean cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Very relaxing!! It's back to school next week and back to reality. Looking forward to the last grading period -- lots to prepare, especially with State MPA, the Spring concert and the awards banquet.