Teaching Artist Statement

I’ve been teaching music for 20 years in private lessons, small group lessons, large group sectionals, brass ensembles, drum and bugle corps, symphony orchestras, and traditional classrooms. Trumpet has been my primary voice in the music world and I especially enjoy teaching trumpet players how to express themselves at all stages of their musical journey.

My job as a music teacher is to help students become independent musicians. I achieve this by teaching my students an operational understanding of music grounded in real-life application from my many years of personal experience as a performer. And, while we work on the important technical skills of being a trumpet player, we supplement that with the foundational skills of being a musician: rhythmic awareness, a critical ear, and sight-reading skills. As students grow in their abilities we will find opportunities for them to share their music with others and build a community to support one another.

Teaching Bio

I am currently the trumpet coach for the Cascade Youth Symphony, and a general music teacher at an elementary school. I’ve operated my own private teaching studio, been a brass coach for high school marching bands and drum corps (in CA and WA), performed in Village Theater’s side-by-side show cycles with youth musical theater programs, and adjudicated regional solo and ensemble competitions.

I studied with Allen Vizzutti and David Gordon while getting my Master of Music degree in Trumpet Performance at the University of Washington. Al and David opened my eyes to the expression hidden in technical mastery of trumpet performance. While learning extended trumpet techniques and continuing to build foundational skills, I discovered practice routines that made me want to return to the practice room. With the right combination of repertoire, creativity, and consistent goal-setting, I found practice sessions to be meaningful and enjoyable. As a teacher, my goal is to create this same scenario for my students so practicing becomes something to look forward to and have fun with.

Performance Bio

I enjoyed the life of a freelance musician for over a decade before focusing more on music education. I continue to perform with my piccolo trumpet as a soloist, and fill in at local community symphonies as requested. During my time as an active freelancer I was the trumpet player for Lyric Light Opera (a musical theater company), 2nd trumpet in a local brass quintet, the trumpet player for multiple youth musical theater companies (CA and WA), and performed many times with found ensembles for one-off church services, receptions, weddings, and graduations - the bread and butter of many freelance musicians. I was also a member of Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps for 4 years, and I performed in orchestras, wind ensembles, jazz bands, brass chamber groups, and choirs while I was getting my undergraduate and graduate music degrees. I’ve learned something from every ensemble I’ve been a part of, and I bring that experience into my lessons to help students prepare for all stages of their musical journey.