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Bachelor Degree: Kean University
Kean University Bridge to Success Honors
Kean University Kappa Kappa Psi membership
Judges award Hudson County Teen Arts festival 2019
I’m extremely passionate about music and I have been for as long as I can remember. I remember back in middle school when I begged my band director for music lessons and through he was hesitant, he never gave up on me and always believed in me and my musical potential. Since then, I auditioned for Kean University and got accepted into the music program and graduated with my Bachelor of Arts in Music with a primary in flute and secondary in vocal. I recently auditioned and got accepted into the performance program at New Jersey City University and I am set to start as of this fall of 2024. I have been honored to receive the opportunity to perform both instruments for my undergraduate senior recital and I am forever grateful for these skills.
My teaching experience began in college when I worked as a student volunteer in the Kean University Chamber Music ensemble. I worked with the vocalists in sectionals as well as one adult beginner flute player who I am good friends with. I later became the student assistant for that same ensemble my last semester in undergraduate as I continued to give critique and work with the flute student who was just starting, on the flute fundamentals such as sound, breathing, scales and long tones. I also landed my first private lesson job at the Rhapsody Academy of Music as a piano teacher and I taught mostly beginners but some advanced students. I am now a full time public school general music teacher in Jersey City and the students I teach are in grades K-6. My most recent gig was when I taught the woodwinds section for the new marching band my district has started.
For small children, I used kid-friendly method books provided by the music school I was working with at the time to keep them engaged and entertained. For older children and adults, I simply ask about their prior musical knowledge and the music that they enjoy so we could use that as inspiration. For beginning students, I recommend the Standard of Excellence or Essential Elements which are both great options for the basics of their instruments and both include fingering charts and fingerings for each new note they learn.
Teaching is the best decision I have ever made in my entire career. When students first start I always ask them what their goals are and what they would like to work on. My goal for them is to watch them grow into the best musicians they can be because I see so much potential in them. For band students, during marching band camp, I asked my students to play what they could and gave them feedback afterward including suggestions on how to correct bad habits early on. This is because the longer they go being accustomed to these bad habits, the harder it will he to break them so that is the here reason why I stop them in their tracks! It is incredibly rewarding watching my students advance in their musical craft and see them reach their potential!