Lesson Special - Up to 20% OFF! Get Started Now with a Risk-Free Trial!
Professional Certificate: Sewanhaka High School, Course Work: SUNY Fredonia, Course Work: Laconia Music Centre
2013-2021 - Classical Guitar NYSSMA levels 1-6
2013-2019 - Snare Drum NYSSMA levels 1-6
2020-2021 - Tri-M Music Honor Society
My name is Luke V. and I am a Music Composition Major with a focus in Classical Guitar performance at SUNY Fredonia. I have been playing guitar and writing music for over a decade and playing drums for a little shy of a decade. I've performed in many small local concerts in the Suffolk County area as well as in upstate New York on the SUNY Fredonia campus. I've composed for many small ensembles including the Sewanhaka Highschool's concert band and a string quintet that I put together myself!
As of 2022, I am new to professionally teaching, but I have given plenty of hour lessons to some friends and close acquaintances. Not to mention the fact that I have had an outstanding lineup of teachers that have gotten me to where I am now, including Distinguished Professor James Piorkowski of the Buffalo Guitar Quartet, and Courtney Fleming, whose teacher-student lineage traces back to the famous romantic guitarist Francisco Tarrega. I have also given multiple music theory classes to my mothers 2nd grade class in Brooklyn with wonderful results! I loved teaching new musicians and I'm very excited to continue to not only raise new instrumentalists, but new songwriters and composers as well
For beginning students I would start off with form, posture, and technique. These point are extremely important and sometimes skipped over so developing good performance habits right away is essential. I would also start them with the basics of reading treble clef and learning where the notes on the staff translate to on the neck. They would be walking away from their first lesson with a one octave C major scale and some short, repetitive exercises to get them ready for their first song. For intermediate students, I would survey what books they had been working in previously and discern their desired path with the instrument before moving on to fixing up their technique if necessary, and getting them started on a new scale and piece to study.
I've learned through experience that being too strict can contribute to a student loosing interest in practicing, so my teaching style is in the sweet spot. I push my students to always improve but I still remain patient and adaptable to different student situations. I'm always supportive and excited for my students as they grow and find their own performances and build a strong repertoire. A students happiness and success is most important to me so I'll always be a friend and make sure they're doing alright so that they can overcome obstacles and so that we can work around problems together!