Susan began her musical studies in her hometown of Chicago at the age of five. Her first instrument was the piano, but at ten years old she discovered the flute, and that soon became her instrument of choice. By the time she was sixteen she had won several major competitions and auditions. She holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts degrees in Flute Performance. Although her musical training has been mainly classical, she has in recent years been delving into the music of her Scottish heritage (her mother, Millicent Craig, hails from Hamilton, Scotland), and has expanded into playing traditional wooden flutes, pennywhistles and recorders.