Julie has been playing the piano and writing songs since she was a young child. After graduating from the University of Oregon's School of Music she set her sights on becoming a published composer. After accomplishing this with many works published for choir, piano and other instruments, she then turned her attention to teaching, directing choirs and recording solo piano albums. Her fifth album of original piano music titled Wonderment was recently released by Heart Dance Records.

Julie has taught music at almost every level, from babies and toddlers through adults. She was a Kindermusik instructor for several years and also taught piano, ukulele and music exploration classes at the Cascade School of Music previously. She is excited to be back at the school sharing her passion for music! 

She currently works as a music director at a church in Bend, gives concerts around Central Oregon, and teaches piano and ukulele. Her piano music has been streamed tens of  millions of times on platforms like Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, YouTube, etc., and she has received many awards and accolades for her compositions. Her albums A Peace Filled-Christmas and Everyday Miracles were nominated for Album of the Year by SoloPiano.com. She has had several songs selected for play on Sirius XM as well as on National and International Airlines and dozens of radio stations. Julie is also the composer of two songbooks for piano: Looks Easy, Sounds Hard and Jazzy Piano Jams, both of which are available on Amazon.  

Julie loves to teach music and see her students' eyes (and hearts) light up when they make connections, gain skills and attain insights. She meets students where they are and works with their unique gifts to help them succeed. And, most of all, she believes music should be fun and filled with lots of heart and creativity! 

When she isn't at the piano, Julie loves to hike, kayak, forest bathe, write, drink lattes, learn more about Mozart, snuggle her Sheepadoodle Ella and be with her family.