Music and movement was an important part of my childhood from a very young age. I used to sit under my dad’s* baby grand piano while he played improvisational jazz and songs by composers like Dave Brubeck and Vince Garaldi. 

I started playing flute and bassoon in elementary school and was part of my various school bands and high school marching band. I also took lots of dance classes – modern, jazz, and Israeli folk dancing. But college beckoned. While I hit the books and eventually got a graduate degree in biological oceanography, music and dance continued to be an important part of my life.

When my daughter was born, I sang to her constantly. I bought many songbooks and tapes (yes, I’m that old!). When my daughter was 9 months old in 2002, I discovered Music Together®  right here on the Mendocino Coast! I embraced the philosophy of the program, immersed myself and my daughter in music and movement, and rediscovered my own singing voice. 

I took the training to become a Registered Music Together^® teacher in 2003, and my daughter started narrating her own life in song by the time she was three. In 2005 I became the director of Music Together on the Mendocino Coast, and I have been a teacher and director ever since. My daughter is now a mom, and I love to sing and dance with my granddaughters.

*Our scholarship program, the Dick Snider Music Scholarship Fund, is named in honor of my dad, who inspired me with his music.