Born and raised in Allentown, NJ, Amanda has experience both as a musician and an educator. She attended Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts, earning a Bachelor of Music Summa Cum Laude with a minor in Psychology. At Rutgers, Amanda studied bassoon with Dr. Christopher Wickham and Roger Nye (2nd bassoonist NY Philharmonic), along with studying clarinet and playing saxophone in the marching band.

Amanda has had the opportunity to teach in a variety of areas;  Bocal Majority Double Reed camps, Woodwind Tech with Allentown and J.P. Stevens high school marching bands, and teaching an undergraduate class as a Rutgers First-Year Interest Group Seminar instructor. Amanda also gained her teaching experience in Alexandria, VA as their public school general music instructor and elementary band director.


On the instrumental side of things, Amanda's first ever instrument was piano, her first band instrument was saxophone, and her primary instrument is bassoon. She has performed with the Eastern Wind Symphony and the Fairfax Wind Symphony in various concerts, festivals, and conferences. These include a Summer Music in Tuscany Festival, the Midwest Band & Orchestra clinic in Chicago, Norfolk, VA for the Virginia Music Educators’ Association Conference, Disney World, at Keris tree farm holiday quintet, during an NFL Halftime Show, and in a double reed flash mob in NYC!

When not performing, listening, or working in some way with music, Amanda can be found hiking, reading, watching sci-fi/fantasy shows, and kickboxing.