About me

Karen began her violin studies in Southern California, where she studied with Sharon Holland.  She received her undergraduate minor degree in music at UC Berkeley, and then went on to earn her Masters in violin performance from the University of Washington, where she studied violin with Ronald Patterson and improvisation with Vern Sielert and Marc Seales.  She lived in Seattle, WA from 1998-2015.  After earning her degree, she played regularly as a free-lance artist for local composers, she was a member of the Opus 4 ensemble, and taught violin students as a private music instructor.  She performed regularly with the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, SCRAPE (performing the music of Seattle composer Jim Knapp), and the Degenerate Art Ensemble.  She is currently based in Anchorage, AK, where she performs with several ensembles, including the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, the Anchorage Opera, and the Anchorage Concert Choir.  She enjoyed homeschooling her sons until they transitioned back to conventional school for seventh grade.  She enjoys making music with her family, hiking and exploring, and training her young dogs.  She volunteers her time with the Civil Air Patrol, and teaches violin and viola, beginning piano, beginning guitar and beginning ukulele students.