Philosophy

Teaching music is a satisfying and fulfilling experience for me. I come alive when I get to share the art I love with students and help them progress in it. I strive as a teacher to provide students with an entire set of tools for making music that can be taken with them and used throughout their lives as musicians. I think that every music student must have a strong and broad foundation of musical understanding to grow to full musical maturity. Applied instrument instruction should therefore be closely allied with music theory, music history, and ensemble instruction; each discipline should support and reinforce what students are learning in the other disciplines. My aim as instructor in two areas is to facilitate such connections. Ideally, I will have conversations with my flute students about how analysis affects their performance of repertoire as well as discussions in theory class about how music should be interpreted and performed in light of analysis.

For me, flute playing is an all-encompassing activity that influences many aspects of a person’s development, both as a musician and as a human. With this in mind, I see the positive relationship I build with each student as a top priority and the progress gained towards excellent flute playing as necessarily flowing from this. My approach to lessons is detailed and practical; I seek to get to the root of students’ playing difficulties and help them form a plan of action for solving problems in the practice room. I hope to foster not only better flute technique, but also better critical thinking, so that students become independent learners that can continue to progress as professionals. At the same time, I also want to instill in my students an appreciation of a wide range of musical styles and assist them in building a set of skills and knowledge that allows them to make quick interpretive decisions in new musical settings. As students make progress in these areas, it is important to me that they are free to test out new information and techniques in a safe, supportive environment. I strive to create in my flute studio a positive, collaborative, professional environment where the values of excellence, respect, integrity, discipline, humility, and commitment are held high.

In the music theory classroom, as in the flute studio, I hope to create an atmosphere where all participants, myself included, bring our very best preparation to the table so that learning becomes a partnership and class becomes exploratory and experimental. I hope to teach foundational information clearly and concisely to allow plenty of time for higher-level learning activities. Again, I want to be extremely detailed and practical while also encouraging independent thinking on students’ parts. I believe that if I can approach teaching music theory in the same way I approach flute lessons, with goals of getting to the root of difficulties and problem solving, both settings will be extremely satisfying for both the students and myself.