Being the first member of her family to pursue postsecondary studies, Denise has her Master’s degree in music performance from the University of Toronto (UofT) after attaining an Honours Bachelor’s degree in music education (UofT), and a Bachelor’s degree in education (OISE), and is currently working towards a PhD in music education at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music.

During her undergraduate and graduate studies, Denise studied with Canadian euphonium soloist Robert Miller, and had the opportunity to perform for world-renowned euphonium soloists Steven Mead and David Childs. In 2012, Denise studied and performed in Rome, Italy through the RomeSMART summer program at UofT, and taught at various music camps including the Durham Intergraded Arts Camp and National Music Camp.

Following her graduate studies, Denise’s passion for fostering the love of music in students inspired her to go to the United Kingdom to teach music at an all-boys secondary school in Hertfordshire and returned to Canada in 2017 to continue her career as a music educator at The Sterling Hall School.

Recently, Denise has presented at her first academic conference at the International Symposium for the Sociology in Music education in June 2021 for her paper “Gender Identity and Musical Expression: A Recontextualization of Lucy Green’s Gendered Musical Practices and Meaning” which has provided a foundation for her graduate research.

Being a euphoniumist and baritonist has led Denise to perform with various groups in the Toronto area including the Hannaford Street Silver Band, the Weston Silver Band, Kingston Brass, and is currently a founding member of the Euba Tuba Quartet. Presently, Denise is teaching music at The Sterling Hall School and with the Hannaford Youth Program, and is a Buffet Crampon/Besson Artist.