What are you working on these days?
After spending years playing works by women composers and a lot of contemporary music I decided to pursue jazz.  I’m currently on sabbatical from my normal position at the University of Wyoming studying jazz with Ellen Rowe at the University of Michigan. Ellen has challenged me to question everything I know about music.  I have had to rewire how I think and hear in music and it has been a life changing experience.

How much do you travel for your work? Do you find it stimulating or a hassle?
I have travelled to many foreign countries playing music by women composers.  Most recently I spent 8 weeks in Asia playing in Korea, China and Taiwan.  I also gave lectures about American women composers and taught a lot of piano master classes.  I have travelled to 22 countries.

Have you ever experienced discrimination in the music business because of your sexuality?
I teach at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, the city in which Matthew Shepherd was murdered 11 years ago.  The day he died, I came out to my classes.  I decided that being silent only added to the problem and took the risk of coming out in a more public way.   I gave my class blank pieces of paper and told them that they could ask me anything they had always wondered about homosexuals.  Many of the questions were very thoughtful and the class was very supportive.  A student came out to me after the class, and several students wanted advice about how to support their gay friends in the aftermath of the murder.  It was a very positive experience for the class and for me personally.  Last year, on the 10th anniversary of his murder, I came out in class again.  The results were not nearly as positive.  It has been too long since the murder and these students have already forgotten about hatred and what it can do.  Two students complained to their parents and there were complaints to my department chair and the president of the University.  One relative even tried to get me fired.  The upper administration was supportive, but it brought home to me how little has actually changed.  The Unviversity of Wyoming still does not have domestic partner benefits and the State of Wyoming does not include sexual orientation in its hate crime legislation.  It is still difficult to be in a state where the majority of the population disagrees strongly with homosexuality.

Do you give PDAs? (public displays of affection)
Very rarely in Laramie, although it is by far the most liberal city in the state of Wyoming.  I feel freer to do so in larger cities.

Are most of your friends from the music world or not?
I have a mix of friends from the music world and lesbian/gay friends.  Happily, many times, those two worlds overlap.

What do you like to talk about, say over drinks or dinner, if not music and the arts?
I also enjoy discussing politics, what’s happening in the world currently, international travel and many other topics.

How do you keep up with current affairs?
NPR is my favorite source of information.  I listen every morning.

Is there a relationship between your sexuality and your creativity?
Not that I am aware of.

Was coming out tough or a pleasure, sudden or gradual?
I figured out I was a lesbian when a woman kissed me for the first time at age 19.  Before that, I knew I was different, but didn’t have a clue why.  I didn’t even really think about the existence of lesbians.  After that kiss, my entire life fell into place.  I worried about being lesbian for about a week, then just let go.  It felt so right to me that I just didn’t care that others thought it was wrong.  I still don’t care.