Elizabeth grew up in a family of artists, poets, and tinkerers. At eight years old, she began taking flute lessons with her uncle, a locally beloved high school band director. Elizabeth proceeded to follow the path of a performer, eventually competing internationally, performing in festivals and masterclasses, attending two music conservatories in Chicago, and working as a contract musician. Highlights include performing the Nielsen Flute Concerto with Lynn University, touring Mexico with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, teaching at the Escuela Municipal de Bellas Artes in Veracruz, and competing in the Haifa International Flute Competition. Elizabeth received bachelor’s and master’s performance degrees from DePaul University and the Chicago College of Performing Arts, respectively.
As her curiosity about music continued to grow, Elizabeth developed a passion for music history. She joined the PhD program at the University of Chicago where she studied music’s place within the American social and political imagination. With the financial support of several grants and fellowships, Elizabeth presented original research at numerous conferences, taught music courses, collaborated on studies with the psychology department, and coordinated departmental workshops and colloquiums. As Elizabeth has always seen the “life of the mind” as inseparable from everyday life, much of her university work involved advocating for educational accessibility and hospitality in terms of race, class, gender, and ability.
After receiving her PhD in 2020, Elizabeth continued to work in higher education. As an academic advisor and lecturer at the University of Northern Colorado, Elizabeth focused on improving student outcomes amidst the challenges of the pandemic—particularly those faced by first-generation students and students of color. For this work, in addition to her research, she was awarded two consecutive Emerging Voices grants from the American Council of Learned Societies. In addition, Elizabeth’s omnivorous intellectual appetite led her to start her own business as a contract writer and researcher, providing grant writing, copywriting, and editing for organizations as diverse as nonprofits, startups, and investment firms. Her business, Eleven Echoes, LLC was named after one of her favorite musical works, Eleven Echoes of Autumn by George Crumb.
Elizabeth could not be happier to be at Boulder Symphony & Music Academy, where she delights in engaging with Boulder’s diverse musical community and cultivating musical seeds in young minds.