Life & History
I was born and raised in western Canada in the mid-’80s by nature-loving parents who always encouraged us to treat our planet with the respect it deserves while taking us on endless trips into the wilderness to explore and get acquainted with nature. Perhaps that was the original source of my love of fantasy, which was further fueled by an endless supply of books that were never more than a request away.
Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables was my first kindred spirit. I was captivated by the mystique of The Secret Garden.
I was an avid reader as a child and my mother always ensured that I was never without books to read, be it the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle children’s series, orders from the Scholastic book club in elementary school and the Chronicles of Narnia, Animorphs in middle school, or Lord of the Rings as I approached high school.
While I did struggle with undiagnosed asthma, I nevertheless am deeply grateful for all of the times I was taken to explore the Rocky Mountains and surrounding woods and lakes of western Canada. My father was an avid biologist who would teach anyone who would listen everything he knew about our surroundings and the inhabitants therein, while my mother endlessly proved that there was nothing the men could do that she (and I, by proxy) couldn’t do just as well, be it hunting, fishing, or climbing mountains.
Music
As I was growing up, I was generally encouraged to be responsible and to get a bit of experience in everything. I had endless support in studies, physical activities, learning languages, and playing music.
Since my brothers had played piano and we had a piano in the house, I tried piano for a year, but didn’t find myself particularly inspired by it. My father was interested in learning the violin though, so we started lessons together. While I was never particularly interested in classical music, I really enjoyed the reels and jigs that I was learning, as well as the Canadian folk tunes, which led me to joining a local fiddle group called The Cats and the Fiddles. As I headed towards high school though, I joined a new group with some kids who were a bit closer to my age called Bow Fever. I released one CD with each group and toured the nursing homes and community centers and local events of central Alberta over the span of nearly 10 years, before graduation eventually separated us and we went about our lives in different directions.
Though I don’t play violin very often anymore—rather, I’ve been taking singing lessons since 2020—I’m endlessly amazed by how efficient my muscle memory is in rediscovering those old tunes every time I try to play.