Michelle is a versatile violinist, accomplished in various musical styles.  She began classical violin studies at 10, then pursued a music degree, at UC Santa Cruz, working closely with with Roy Malan and Sue Brown.  She decided to develop her jazz skills under the tutelage of Ray Brown at Cabrillo College.  Through this, she was inspired to further her non-classical studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston.  In addition to her performance endeavors at Berklee, she embarked in the study of composition, and played in recitals, and recording projects, including many film scores and outstanding student compositions.  While in Boston, she studied with and was influenced by Beth Cohen, with whom she studied Greek, Middle Eastern and Classical violin.  She also worked with and was inspired by John McGann, Arnold Friedman, Bob Labaree, Rob Thomas, Christian Howes, Eugene Friesen, Jamie Hadad, Rebecca Cline, and Hankus Netsky.

Her performance experience is not limited to but includes playing in a Balkan band, a Cuban/Puerto-Rican band, and a North African band, in addition to forming a Klezmer/Balkan/Mid-Eastern music band, and playing in community and university orchestras, and chamber music groups.  She is continuing to explore the wonderfully diverse musical world that Austin has to offer, playing in a Middle Eastern fusion band, a Balkan influenced folk music group, her own group, and various other live music as well as studio projects.

Her fun down-to-earth teaching style is specially tailored to meet the needs and interests of her students.  As she draws from a richly varied musical training, she incorporates elements of teaching from the realms of folk music, Suzuki, and more traditional classical technique and music theory.  She loves sharing the joy of music with her students of all ages!