At a very young age my father seems to believe that I asked him for a fiddle.  I vehemently deny this and always maintain that I wanted a guitar and to learn how to sing.  Alas, my dad has a different perception and insisted on taking me to downtown Portland at the age of 7 and buying me a violin at Schubach Violin Shop.  I went through a series of teachers who had obviously no interest in teaching and no ability to inspire.  Eventually he found Carol Anne Wheeler who I will always say, taught me everything I know about the basic of playing the violin, and who gave me the foundation I needed to obtain quality of tone.