Jamie is a one-of-a-kind performer and music educator, born with lots of glitter in her veins and even more songs in her heart! Gifted and trained at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music as a child, Jamie is no stranger to the spotlight and feels blessed to have such a strong life calling towards music. Born in Cincinnati, Jamie’s earliest memories involve playing the piano, dancing, starring in musicals and singing. She relocated with her family to Atlanta as a teen and was thrilled to discover a mecca of arts and entertainment as well as opportunities for herself. Jamie was eager to explore the hiphop and r&b culture of the city and saw as many live concerts as possible in her twenties not knowing that in her thirties she would be opening up for headliners – J. Holiday, Boosie, Jeezy, Twista and more.
In the midst of a performance career that was an absolute dream, Jamie experienced several very difficult storms in her life that really shaped her - and made the music, her connection with it and its benefits even nearer and dearer to her heart. Jamie enjoyed romancing and razzle dazzling crowds with old jazz standards and love songs from all the decades and watching many couples get married from the piano bench but equally loved dancing and rocking at the bars. After 3 decades, Jamie was a featured performer at Steinway & Sons. As she frequently tells her students, when you give your time to music it gives back to you!
Jamie took advantage of the industry’s standstill during quarantine of 2020 and picked up the guitar. She finds it to have a bright, healing tone and to bring out the best of her creative genes. Jamie began writing her first album in 2021 which has an intimate, homegrown feel. She also takes pride in being able to play several other instruments - and even perform with them. In 2023, Jamie was named Sweetwater Sound's Multi-instrumentalist Of The Year which described her as a "pro-musician playing multiple instruments at professional level of proficiency."
Jamie is most fond of genres that she finds emotion-filled and powerful like country, showtunes and standards. However, her biggest influences are the joys and pains of her upbringing and life which she strums and sings about with the hope of connecting with others and letting them get to know her more personally. Songwriting brought to light the importance of the basics of music theory and led Jamie to choose to share her knowledge with others through teaching. Jamie has been independently contracted from 2022-2027 with Palm Beach County School District to develop a curriculum to teach piano and voice for K-grad at many schools - and is a staunch advocate for all music educators to have received their own real music education. The difference she sees is tremendous.
Jamie personally leads and achieves because she is so driven to give back to her students - the least she can do for how much music has done for her. She has placed at the highest level with the Royal Schools of Music in the United Kingdom and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Canada and is proud of both her international training and the diversity it brings to her repertoire. Jamie's teacher number with RCM is 148478 and her covered instruments/disciplines are piano, piano pedagogy, theory, voice, composition, guitar and history. She is grateful for the opportunity to register and prepare students for exams with one of the largest and most respected music education institutions in the world. In 2023, Jamie earned certification in rock teaching methodology for keys, vocals, guitar, bass and loves that she can be so well-rounded musically. Before opening her own studio Jamie gained experience showing off her versatility with both age groups and instruments briefly working at the School of Rock - she taught groups of little rockers starting at age 3 who she adored, one-on-one lessons for piano, voice, guitar, bass and drums and also directed adult bands where all of the instruments learned to play together under her direction. Jamie was grateful to give over 100 successful lessons in instruments other than her primary and it led her to choose to continue offering the same at her own studio.
Most notably, in 2023 Jamie became Vice President of the Palm Beach County Music Teachers Association. The same organization appointed her to be Theory Chair for Student Day 2024 where she prepares piano and voice students leveled primer through grade 12, the most advanced of the examinations, for the theory exam. During her first year participating, all of her students, the youngest being 6, earned both state medals and honors. Also in 2024 Jamie became Chair of the Teachers' Showcase, a recital for teachers who create and maintain a high standard of music teaching. Above all, her greatest pride is the studio she has established for private music students with endless resources and professional grade equipment.
Receiving the prestigious designation of becoming a Steinway Educational Partner in 2024 was one of the best moments in Jamie's career. She feels so lucky to have that relationship and for the opportunities it brings her and her students. The same year Jamie was accepted into the Piano Guild. She feels honored to have the opportunity to prepare students to compete in all of the areas that were integral to her own training: accuracy, continuity, phrasing, pedaling, dynamics, rhythm, tempo, tone, interpretation, style and technique. There is really so much to be thankful for! Jamie performed at the highest level with Trinity College London and prepares students for their exams. She loves being able to offer so many measurable ways for students to view their progress and is thrilled to give a comprehensive, competitive, performance-based education similar to the one she had but with many elements of fun.
Last but not least, in addition to chairing Student Day again, this time being in charge of theory AND performance for all levels, Jamie is privileged to be an instructor for the National Federation of Music Clubs and to have her own junior club for her studio where select piano, guitar and voice students will compete in 2025 at Festival for the first time. This is the largest nonprofit organization in America promoting and supporting American music, performers and music education.
Jamie feels blessed to be able to do what she loves and is always happy to hear from new people and venues that will give her a stage or platform to express herself whether through covers of the Great American Songbook, Broadway, pop/rock/country hits from classic to modern, Disney or something that is her very own! She also welcomes students of all backgrounds and levels for private piano, voice, guitar, bass and drum lessons. When she is not gigging, teaching, participating in talent competitions or opening for major acts, Jamie loves spending time with her husband, animals and being active.
Jamie’s career would not be possible without the love and support of her late-momager and current manager William who has worked tirelessly to make her dreams come true.