Naomi studied piano performance with Gloria Saarinen at Mount Royal College and at the University of Victoria with Dr. Robin Wood, and pedagogy at the Banff Summer School of Fine Arts. She has been a music educator, teaching piano and music theory, for more than 35 years in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. Naomi has been a faculty member of the Kamloops Symphony Music School and is a member of the Registered Music Teachers’ Association.
Naomi collaborates with professional vocalists and instrumentalists in several chamber ensembles that perform in various concert series each season, at healthcare facilities throughout the Interior of British Columbia through the Health Arts Society, and in private homes. Among those with whom she has performed are the late tenor Peter Collins, baritone Alan Corbishley, and dramatic soprano Heidi Muendel; Kamloops Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Cvetozar Vutev; and orchestra principals including Martin Kratky, Catharine Dochstader, Sally Arai, and Annette Dominik.
She works frequently with aspiring vocal and instrumental students by accompanying them at local recitals, provincial music festivals, and music exams; and recording audition submissions.
She has worked as rehearsal pianist and orchestra musician for Western Canada Development Museum’s (Saskatoon) production of Showtime 1910!, Central Alberta Theatre’s production of Kiss Me Kate, Kamloops Symphony’s Anne of Green Gables and Oliver!, and Western Canada Theatre Company’s production of Fiddler on the Roof.
Her versatility bridges classical training and improvisation with a sensitive musicality and adaptability that produces a vivacious collaborative relationship with those she accompanies.