My first and foremost goal when teaching private students is to foster a love for music. Whether students want to perform trumpet professionally or pursue a totally different path, lessons with me include a wide range of both trumpet and life skills. I believe in inquiry-based learning, which means students learn through their own discovery rather than being handed the answers. I am there to serve as a guide and offer support in the students’ own learning. We use our lessons to discover the student’s own voice and use their creativity as an asset and guiding force.

 

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I believe in developing my students to be well-rounded musicians, not just trumpet players. I do this by incorporating ear training, composition, transcription, and other hands-on, student-centered projects into our lessons. We learn music both by ear and through notation in every lesson to ensure students are confident and flexible in either approach. Students have the opportunity to bring “their” music into lessons and choose to learn from any genre or artist, not just the “canon” of trumpet repertoire. 

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Diversity is an asset in our learning. In lessons, I present a wide variety of example professionals to my students (including women and people of color) in videos and recordings. We also study music from a variety of genres and from a diverse array of composers. Importantly, the student’s own diversity is valued and I encourage students to cultivate their own musical voice through composition and musicality exercises, as well as reflective questioning. 

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We build a foundation of healthy habits in our lessons, both mentally and physically. This includes efficient practice, positive self-talk, realistic expectations, constructive rest, and eliminating tension. My ultimate goal is for students to become their own best teachers. When I am no longer needed, I will have succeeded! 

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