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BM, Towson University, Jazz/Commercial Perfomance in Saxophone
I am a freelance saxophonist living in north Baltimore close to Towson, Maryland. I graduated from Towson University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz and Commercial Music Performance. I play in many original improvisational music ensembles, jazz ensembles, as well as with the wedding band collective Bachelor Boys Band. I am extremely passionate about what I do and sharing my love and knowledge with my students is something that brings me great pleasure! I look forward to meeting you!
In college I took a woodwind pedagogy class because I wanted to focus my teaching on my primary instruments rather than a general knowledge of music. I began teaching professional in the summer of 2013 when I worked for the Bel Air School of Music(now defunct) as a Saxophone and Clarinet teacher. While I believe strongly in the importance of musical fundamentals, I also like to think outside the box as a teacher. I want to tap into the music that the student is interested in and give them an opportunity to explore that style. I have taught adults as well as elementary school aged children and am also flexible in this way in my teaching.
I like to teach without books as much as possible as I feel it allows the student to internalize musical concepts better. The book series I use however is the Rubank method books. These have easy fundamental exercises to help keep the chops in shape and to work on reading music. I also recommend students buy sheet music of music they like(assuming it is at their playing level) and will happily work on it with them.
My teaching style is not rigid. I like to get to know the student and personalize the lesson plans so that they best fit the personality and needs of the pupil. I encourage hardwork and try to be prodding by making it clear that practicing is the only way to retain the concepts but I am not "strict." Ultimately I want musical learning to be a fun and self-fufilling experience for the student.