I always try to show a student new and different ways of hearing music. It not only trains their ear, but also helps them develop an open and flexible mind — receptive to everything that music has to offer.
Understanding and communication between student and teacher are key. A teacher must be aware of a student’s goals, practice habits, and emotional states in order to offer valuable guidance. This was certainly missing in my own music education, so I am turning this negative experience into a positive one for my students.
Three years. I studied Music and Art History at Marymount Manhattan College (Class of 2008, BA, summa cum laude) and received my MA in Performance Studies from NYU Tisch School of the Arts (class of 2010). To date, I have had over 10 years of formal guitar training. I love sharing my musical journey with my students!
I was honored to perform with Free Jazz drummer Marc Edwards (of The Cecil Taylor Group, David S. Ware ensemble, etc) two years ago, opening for the legendary 1960s-present day German Experimental band faUSt on their U.S. Tour. A true dream come true…a favorite band of mine since I was a young teenager!
A student’s mother told me that her nine-year-old son had never been as excited to learn anything as he had been while taking guitar lessons with me. She said that lessons were the highlight of his week, and she could see the focus and dedication that he had toward learning to play the guitar spill into other realms of his life, including school work and family life.
I fell in love with the city of Prague in the Czech Republic. I was fascinated by the Medieval Gothic architecture, as well as the city’s connection to Mozart, who conducted the premiere of his opera, Don Giovanni, there on October 29, 1787. Prague also has a long tradition of puppetry, which is a big part of the city’s — and the country’s — cultural heritage.
English, as well as some conversational Spanish and French.
Blues singer and guitarist Mississippi John Hurt, the Delta Blues Musician. I partially learned how to fingerpick Blues “vamps” by obsessively listening to his recordings from the 1920s.I like that he was a self-taught musician.
I design and construct puppets for my band, a process which often incorporates multimedia and performance art elements in its immersive live experiences. This includes a six- foot-tall Monster Head, in which my bandmates and I used to emerge from onstage at the beginning of our shows. He was always a crowd pleaser!
The list is long: Edgard Varese, Melt-Banana, Return To Forever, Oneida, “Ma” Rainey, The Velvet Underground, Shannon and The Clams, Devo, Iannis Xenakis, Pharaoh Sanders, Tchaikovsky, The Moody Blues, Yes, Todd Rundgren, Robert Ashley, Wendy Carlos, Steely Dan. My tastes in music are pretty eclectic!
