Biography
Music can change lives.
I know, because it changed mine.
I lived in rural Guatemala with my mother, a volunteer English teacher working in an indigenous community, when I was an infant and moved with her to New York City when I was thirteen months old. When I was four years old, we moved to Buffalo, NY. At the age of seven, I began singing in my local church. Like all new musicians, I wasn’t particularly good initially, but I loved to sing and felt at my best when singing with others, so I worked hard to improve.
When I was nine, I auditioned for and won a coveted spot in the prestigious Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys, widely regarded as the premier Anglican choir in the United States and the only boarding school of its kind left in America. It required that I move from Buffalo back to New York City to live in residence as a treble chorister at the Saint Thomas Choir School during the school year. In my four years there, I became a soloist, toured, appeared on television, earned the John Scott Memorial Choristership, a number of academic awards, and became Head Chorister, a leadership role that helps train younger choristers and ease them into life away from home.
Saint Thomas was an unusual choice, but I tapped into something that I may never have discovered about myself otherwise: a desire to serve as a performer and mentor and a drive to exceed expectations.
My passion for music changed me and, in turn, changed my life. Importantly, it led me to Cate School in Carpinteria, CA, where I have continued to grow as a singer and scholar. I was competitively selected for the Southern California and All-State Honor Choirs for the past two years, am a member of two ensembles, and am currently taking Advanced Vocal Music, in which I am conducting and arranging for our top choral ensembles. I’m also auditioning for the National Honor Choir to be held in Dallas, TX in March 2025.
Academically, I have found a passion for history, writing, and thinking critically about texts and have a particular interest in U.S. policy towards developing nations. My junior year Advanced History research project analyzed key aspects of the last four U.S. administrations’ approaches to the war on terror with a lens on how each affected Americans' trust in their nation’s governance and fellow citizens. I have been selected as a peer writing tutor and am currently taking Advanced History: Anthropological Perspectives and Advanced History: The Supreme Court and Civil Liberties along with Advanced Calculus 1, Advanced French, Advanced English 12: Introduction to Modernism and Advanced English 12: Creative Writing Workshop.
Music did so much more than just open doors–it gave me the confidence and skill to walk through them and meet whatever was on the other side. This is the real power of music for children.
With my music background, mentoring experience, and fond connection to Guatemala, I initiated and developed a vocal program in my junior year in partnership with a local school back in the town that nurtured me when I was very young and to which I have returned frequently over the years as a volunteer with a local pre-K program for indigenous children, to visit close family friends, and to immerse myself in the culture and history, including visiting important ancient ruins and sites where indigenous resistance during their 32-year civil war was met with horrific violence. I raised over $5000 via Go Fund Me and other fundraisers and was in residence there the summer between junior and senior year teaching basic music theory, vocal technique, and selected songs to young musicians much like I once was. My goal is to grow this program into a free, summer music camp modeled on one I attended for six years as camper and later as junior counselor and expand it to include younger campers.
My mission is to spread possibility and give these musicians an opportunity to build confidence so that they too can meet whatever lies ahead. Every single child should have the same chance I had to become everything they can be.