My professional life in music is an example of a successful portfolio career. Having commenced as a performer and piano teacher, I developed into a tertiary academic, researcher and research manager.

I began my music studies at the Special Music School for Gifted Children in Kharkov, Ukraine. After migrating to Australia I completed my undergraduate studies at the Elder Conservatorium, University of Adelaide (BMusHon, 1st class), followed by a Masters degree in Performance at the renowned Juilliard School of Music, New York, as a recipient of an ITT International Fellowship. My PhD from the University of New South Wales in the area of music psychology was focused on instrumental teaching. My doctoral research identified patterns of behaviour exhibited by teachers and students during one-to-one instrumental music lessons in Australian higher education, and the resulting unique teaching and learning styles. During my Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Queensland I extended my expertise in music psychology and performance science by developing evidence-based pedagogical approaches to sight-reading training of university-level pianists. In addition to these research programs, I completed a Graduate Certificate in Education (Higher Education) at the University of Sydney, which informs my research-based approaches to tertiary teaching.

Prior to being appointed as a Research Fellow in Music at the University of Queensland, which included a 25% teaching workload, I taught a wide range of subjects at the Sydney, Queensland and Western Australian Conservatoriums. Throughout my teaching career I have taught large classes of music theory, music history, and research skills, and have also supervised Honours and RHD students. Additionally, I was invited to teach the intensive module of Piano Pedagogy for Master of Teaching degree at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music in 2017 and 2019. I have also received numerous accolades for my teaching. In 2003 I was awarded the Sydney Conservatorium Teaching Award for excellence in piano teaching. At the University of Queensland I received three nominations for Outstanding Academic, and was short-listed for a Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning in 2015.

Drawing upon my extensive experience as a professional performer whose skills have been honed in a range of working contexts, my research has focused on the critical skill of sight-reading, resulting in the publication of a sight-reading curriculum for higher education. This project involved leading a small team of piano lecturers from four institutions in trialling and refining the prototype curriculum, and evaluating improvement in student sight-reading skills through pre-to-post tests. Evidence of the standing of my research into pre-professional training of musicians includes over $100,000 in internal and external grant funding to date.

My academic publications are reflective of an interdisciplinary approach, combining psychology, science, music education and practice-led research, in reporting on topics such as eye movement, performance anxiety, innovative approaches to teaching of sight-reading, industry skills for classical musicians, teaching and learning in the studio setting, and collaboration between performers and composers in recording projects. I have published many journal articles in high impact international journals such as Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers in Education, Journal of Eye Movement Research, Music and Science, Musicae Scientiae, Psychology of Music, Medical Problems of Performing Artists, International Journal of Music Education, British Journal of Music Education, Music Education Research, Research Studies in Music Education, Teaching and Teacher Education, and Australian Journal of Music Education. I have also published seven book chapters.

I have also presented many papers at international and national music conferences, including ISPS, ICMPC, APSCOM, Musicians’ Health and Performance, Reflective Conservatoire, Performer’s Voice, ISME, RIME, ASME, and APPC. I have served on the Editorial Board of International Journal of Music Education: Research for six years and I am currently serving on the international Editorial Board of Frontiers in Psychology: Performance Science. As a guest reviewer I have served on Music Perception, Musicae Scientiae, Teaching and Teacher Education, Frontiers in Education: Educational Psychology, and Research Studies in Music Education. I have also examined Masters and PhD theses for several Australian universities.

In Australia my reputation as a fine performing musician is firmly established. I have performed numerous concertos with professional and amateur orchestras, and presented many solo and chamber music recitals, partnering with some of Australia’s finest string players in Sydney and Canberra, and the Brisbane Winds. My three solo piano CDs have been broadcast on ABC Classic FM and Radio Arts Indonesia, and demonstrate my specialist interest in Australian piano music.

I have also commissioned and edited new Australian pedagogical repertoire – three volumes of Australian Women Composers’ Piano Anthology (2015; 2019; 2021), two volumes of Piano Progrressions (2021) and three volumes of Wirripang Australian Piano Anthology (2011). My high standing as a pianist is also evidenced by invitations to adjudicate the Sydney Eisteddfod Piano Scholarship in 2017, 2018, and 2021, and to appear as a keynote speaker at the New Zealand Registered Music Teachers Conference in 2018.