On a family trip to South Africa, Josie attended a concert of the Johannesburg Symphony. It was there that she fell in love with the violin. “ I became transfixed with one of the violinists,” Josie said. “I decided then and there that I would play the violin.”
There was no looking back. Upon returning to Colorado, she signed up for the school orchestra, and received her first violin. “My mom told me I was so happy I cried, and that she’d never seen me do that before,” Josie recalls.
Throughout high school, Josie played with numerous orchestras including the semi-professional Boulder Philharmonic in Boulder, Colorado. Her goal was to become a violinist with the New York Philharmonic. But that changed one night when she caught the Doobie Brothers on television. They were playing “Black Water”, and a revelation occurred. At that moment she realized that the violin wasn’t just for classical music, but anything that she wanted it to be. Her musical world opened up.
Fast forward to the University of Denver, where Josie received her Bachelor of Music degree. It was there that she was introduced to jazz. Listening to the likes of Jean-Luc Ponty and Stephane Grapelli, she sought out opportunities to play jazz, but they were few and far between. The University had never had a violinist have an interest in jazz before, but Josie found a way.
She formed a band with a few friends, which never got past the demo stage. When she met Tom, she was ready to try her hand at improvising. The timing and chemistry was right, and Josie’s style has evolved with the ensemble.
Today Josie performs with the progressive rock band The Coyote Poets of the Universe and the Frontera String Quartet in addition to Perpetual Motion. She performs with numerous Colorado artists as well as being an in demand studio musician. She teaches fiddle, blues fiddle, and improvisation at Swallow Hill Music Association in Denver, CO.