Sandi

(she/her)

Sandi teaches voice, flute, choir and piano classes

Sandi comes from a family of musicians and has been involved with music for as long as she can remember! Some of her earliest musical moments include watching her mom conduct band rehearsals, soloing for her pre-school graduation, and singing and dancing for any and every family event or holiday. Sandi began studying the flute at the age of 8 and continued playing and singing throughout the rest of her secondary school career. After participating in a festival conducted by famed composer Eric Whitacre, Sandi truly fell in love with the musical community around her and confirmed to herself that she wanted to do nothing else!

Sandi went on to attend Ithaca College as a double major in Flute Performance and Music Education, where she studied flute and specialized in piccolo with Dr. Wendy Mehne. An active member of the honor's music fraternity Mu Phi Epsilon, she won several achievement awards and scholarships including the prestigious Sterling Achievement award for her musical services to the community. Sandi has performed with world renowned musicians, composers, and flutists including Frank Ticheli, Dana Wilson, Leone Buyse, Jean Ferrandis, and Alexa Still. In 2015, she had the honor of performing at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.

Despite all of her flute accolades, Sandi had a yearning for more. She decided that she wanted to dive into vocal music and general music education and joined several choirs. Her favorite choir was conducted by Dr. Derrick Fox, from whom she learned the most magical ways to program a concert and engage an audience! Sandi has taken many workshops to learn about the human voice and all that it entails and she very quickly discovered the peace and joy that singing added to her life. She has taught all ages of choir, general music, and musical theatre for several years. Her private voice and flute students have attended many local music festivals, prestigious theatre camps, and been accepted to excellent colleges, schools and even musical companies such as Shen Yun! 

As an educator, Sandi believes that above anything else, students need to feel loved and accepted. Once that line of trust has been built, she knows from experience that her students will be unstoppable in all that they do. She hopes to inspire young musicians to follow their dreams and to never stop yearning for knowledge in all areas of life, so that they can grow into the best musicians, and humans, they can possibly be. Sandi is honored to have this opportunity at the Harmony Music Garden and is looking forward to the bonds she will make within the Harmony community! 

When she is not teaching, Sandi loves to travel with her husband and attend as many concerts and musical experiences of all genres as they can together. She also enjoys spending time with their two kitties, yoga, discovering new coffee shops, and photography!