Teaching

Private instruction:

Saxophone, Clarinet, Piano, Composition/Theory, Improvisation, Audio Production

Ensemble Coaching:

Jazz Combo, Big Band, Rock Band, Funk/Jam Band

Courses:

Music Theory: Intro/Fundamentals

Music Theory: Adv. Jazz Harmony

Audio Production: Tools for Home Recording and Collaboration

The Music and History of New Orleans

Teaching Philosophy:

As an educator and teaching artist, it is my goal to connect with and challenge all students while providing an equitable environment for each individual to reach their full potential. Working with students ages 7-75, I offer a structured, yet personal, approach to learning music. By establishing goals, both conceptual and operational, students are able to develop technically while exploring a cooperatively selected repertory, spanning from Bach to video game music, as they continue to strengthen their core skills as a musician.

My students, regardless of their instrument, are coached in a way that encourages acceptance, patience, critical thinking, and self-respect, all of which lead to improved confidence as musicians and learners. I provide opportunities for everyone to investigate their own creative impulses through a variety of games and exercises designed to work around the barriers often created by excessive terminology and dogmatic pedagogical approaches. With simple/minimal mechanical instructions, these methods largely rely on students using their ear and making choices in the moment.

I maintain private studios for saxophone, piano, and composition both privately and at several community music schools across New Hampshire. My students have participated in NH Jazz/All-State Festivals and have gone on to study music at well known institutions such as Berklee College of Music.

As a theory and composition instructor, I am committed to teaching students multiple schools of thought that allow for the study and analysis of any music in the 12 tone system without necessitating the prioritization of any one culture or time period. I encourage the development of multiple perspectives, giving the student a more flexible approach to analysis and interpretation. I use the Robert Gauldin text “Harmonic Practice in Tonal Music,” as well as George Russell’s “Lydian Chromatic Concept” and Ben Schwendener’s “Organic Music Theory”- of which the later two both move away from strict European methodology and embrace an alternative explanation of and interpretation of harmony, melody, and cadence.

Working as a teacher and coach in the creative arts, it is important that my students connect with the material and develop a personal relationship with their craft. Students are encouraged to be themselves and freely share their ideas while also remaining open-minded to other points of view, new music, or unfamiliar modes of expression. Ideally, I want to foster a relationship between student and teacher where we are comfortable being ourselves, with our strengths and weaknesses, confident and vulnerable, working in an environment where we can all learn from each other.