About two years ago, I started the Argus Quartet along with three wonderful LA-based string players. In our short time together, we’ve had some amazing musical experiences, including appearances at the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam, the Hear Now Music Festival, Laguna Beach Live!, the Birdfoot Festival, and Music Academy of the West. We made our Carnegie Hall Debut in October, and we are slated to perform in February 2016 at the MATA Festival’s radical pairings concerts in NYC. This fall we also began an appointment as the fellowship quartet-in-residence at Yale University.

I’m telling you [Professors Sasha Anawalt and Tim Page] all this not just to give you an update on my career (although it was long overdue), but also to thank you for everything I learned in my year in the arts journalism program. The skills I developed with your help — from grant-writing, to video/audio editing, to entrepreneurship — have made a huge impact on the success of the Argus Quartet.

One of our newest projects is “Argus in LA,” a series that reimagines the traditional concert experience, and aims to build a community of engaged listeners just as you taught and emphasized in your classes. My time at the Specialized Journalism program was transformative, and has played a big role in my development as both an artist and as a professional. Thanks again for everything.