Nash R  
Instruments: Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, Country, R&B, Gospel, Latin, Funk, Showtunes, Latin Jazz, Swing, Samba, Bossa Nova, Soul, Marching Band

I've been in the teaching field for the past couple years through small groups and ensembles, as well as one on one private lessons. I've helped both band and choir directors with their ensembles and selected students, mostly marching band camps and OMEA Solo and Ensemble participants. Below I'll list a couple of experiences I had from Marion Harding's middle and high school summer camps: A couple weeks before school begins, the Harding Music Department requires students interested in participating in the middle school band to attend a weeklong music camp where they learn how to start making a sound on their selected instrument. I taught the saxophone section the basic fundamentals of saxophone, along with properly assembling and taking apart their instrument. This helped evolve my skills for new and beginning level music students to make playing instruments fun, enjoyable, and not too overwhelming or difficult to dull their desire to learn and progress. Three weeks in the late summer, I was granted the opportunity to work with Harding's High School Marching Band as their Saxophone Technician. Alongside the Assistant Band Director Mr. Yuji Jones, I was tasked to help teach, drive, and critique students both in their music and marching capabilities. For the final week of band camp, I was able to lead the saxophones alone during their music rehearsals. Since I usually just taught one on one, being able to work with a group of young musicians has truly impacted my teaching process, keeping everyone engaged into learning, following directions, and creating a fun but effective learning environment to prepare them for the rest of the year.

I always create a unique lesson plan for each student based of their age, skill, and most importantly the music style or genre they want to pursue. I approach every genre with a strong foundation in order to make repertoire more approachable, such as learning a variety of scales, developing good tone, and working on method or etude books to strengthen the range of possibilities on their instruments. I will always take in the student's interests to make lessons fun and engaging while developing a strong drive and passion towards creating music.