I am currently offering private lessons and masterclasses in brass performance, improvisation, music theory, composition, and ensemble performance.
As an educator, my aim is to inspire in my students an enthusiasm for the artistic performance of music of any style. I strive to convey my own excitement for the art to young trumpeters and improvisers, and I have worked to encourage self-motivation and a longstanding interest in musical self-expression in elementary through high school students and adults. I have experience performing many styles of music from jazz and experimental improvised music to funk, reggae, and afro-beat, and I use my knowledge of diverse musical traditions to encourage creative experimentation and to convey the expressive artistic elements shared by all music. As an improviser I am particularly interested in teaching the theory and philosophy of spontaneous composition and musical communication.
I have over ten years of experience working with students ages 7 to adult. I have worked both from my home studio and though several public and community music school programs including the Hudson Arts Alliance in Hudson, MA, the Kittredge Elementary School in North Andover, MA, and the Performing Arts Center of Metro West in Framingham, MA. I have studied jazz performance with trumpet greats John McNeil and Walter White, improvisation with jazz gurus David Schumacher and Jerry Bergonzi, and George Russell's Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization with master composer and theorist Ben Schwendener.
I am currently located in Brooklyn, NY, and I am able to teach from my home studio or travel to students' homes in New York City or Western Long Island. I am also available to teach masterclasses in brass performance, jazz, and improvisation for larger groups in elementary through high schools and community music schools.
