Natalie’s lifelong passion for music began when she started studying violin at age 3, beginning with the Suzuki violin method in Singapore and continuing in Austin, Texas with Alexander Serafimov, a violinist in the Austin Symphony. At age 7, she began piano studies with Dr. Susan Groves of University of Texas Austin. When her family moved to the Bay Area in middle school, she continued studying violin with Bettina Mussumeli and piano with Meikui Matsushima as a preparatory student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. There, she fell in love with chamber music, a favorite pastime which she continues to this day.

 

During the course of her studies at Northwestern University, Natalie also fell in love with orchestral music after getting a taste of conducting under the tutelage of Maestro Victor Yampolsky, who studied violin with David Oistrakh. One of her favorite classes was advanced conducting, tackling some of the most challenging conducting repertoire in opera overtures. Natalie received her Bachelor’s degree in violin performance from Northwestern University under Gerardo Ribeiro and Blair Milton of the Chicago Symphony. She has also studied privately with Ann Setzer of the Juilliard School through the Meadowmount School of Music in upstate New York and performed side-by-side with the Cleveland Orchestra through the Kent Blossom Music Festival. After college, Natalie performed regularly with the Fairfax Symphony in Virginia.

 

Beginning in high school, Natalie has enjoyed sharing her love of music not only through performing but also teaching violin and piano. At Northwestern, she studied different pedagogy techniques, observed lessons with different teachers, and taught students. In addition to private lessons, Natalie enjoys teaching chamber music and is thrilled to have the opportunity to inspire the next generation of classical musicians.