Vibrant Connection: What is alive in you right now? “The potential for inspiring large numbers of kid string players – through compositions they are psyched to play and by helping them break down barriers to improvisation and creativity.”

How did you get into music? “I grew up in the Reiner Family Band – with my Dad playing fiddle and mandolin, my Mom playing banjo, and my brother and I playing fiddle and piano. Attending a fiddle camp when I was 11 and meeting world class musicians alongside kids my age playing fiddles was life-changing.”

What advice would you give someone starting out in performing? “You better love it because sometimes I feel like a secretary who is allowed to play music once in a while! Creating your own music business model is as important as any of the music creation.”

What is your favorite indulgence? “Skiing, definitively. The feeling of gravity and snow is unmatched by anything else in the world that I am aware of, and I am currently at 32 months in a row of skiing at least one day per month (including the summer!)”

What adventure changed your life? “Climbing and skiing from the summit of Mt. Shasta in California – inbetween a music tour and a music camp – and I found the mountain experience to make me feel the most alive and was the highlight of the trip.”

If you could spend 3 months anywhere, where would you go? “I would go back to Southeast Asia – I was toured there in 2011 on a State Department program and I was blown away by the people, the culture and the food. I want to play more music, meet more people, and see how we can work together to help young musicians and bring clean water to those who don’t have it.”

What do you love about yourself? “I am able to enable groups of people to let go of their worries and be creative on their instruments! I am optimistic to a fault.”

What question would you ask the next participant in the project? “How can you or the collective we use our art to make the world a better place?"