Karen grew up in Millbrae, California. Her parents, both immigrants from the Mediterranean island of Malta, taught Karen and her siblings the value of family, culture, education, and music. At just 2 years of age, Karen loved to spend hours playing little melodies on the piano, and by the time she was 8 years old she had written her very first complete piece of music. Karen continued to write music and study piano and by the time she graduated from high school she had written 12 songs. Her 12th song, "Look At Me Now" was dedicated to the Mills High School graduating class of 1995. "Look At Me Now" was Karen's first experience with orchestration. Under the guidance of her piano teacher, Cindy Bruni, Karen orchestrated "Look At Me Now" for piano, vocals, flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, and bass, and the piece was performed at the graduation ceremony.
Karen was inspired by this experienced and continued to pursue music while attending Santa Clara University and earning a Bachelors degree in English. Karen's music flourished and matured as she did at SCU. While taking private music composition classes under the direction of Professor Lynn Shurtleff, Karen wrote another 8 songs and continued to experiment with arrangement and orchestration. During her senior year at SCU, Karen partnered with Linus Lau, a fellow SCU composer, to present a composition recital. The event was a success and included performances of "Changing Tides" (a three movement piece) and "This Moment", a piece that was also performed at the SCU Baccheloreate Mass by soloists, the SCU orchestra, and the Mission Choir.
After graduating from Santa Clara University, Karen has gone on to pursue a career in education technology and raise a family with her husband, Alessandro, while continuing to compose music inspired by new life experiences. In 2004, Karen worked with Grammy nominated producer and pianist, Larry Dunlap, who arranged Karen's debut CD, featuring Larry Dunlap on piano and synthesizer, and vocals by Juliet Green. Appropriately titled, "Collective Thoughts" is a comprehensive CD containing music that chronicles different experiences, feelings, and moments of Karen's life. The beautiful melodies and narrative lyrics are easy to relate to and enjoy.
Karen is still writing new pieces and welcomes the opportunity to share her music with others. "Music is only meaningful when it is heard and can touch others..." Karen explains, "...my purpose is to help others by connecting to their emotions and relating to their lives through the power of music."
"Karen's beautiful melodies virtually sing themselves. Her lyrics are poignant and always come from her heart. Her songs will stay with you from the first listen."
Juliet Green,
Vocalist and Music Teacher
