Why Music Education
Matters To me

In many US schools, music is treated as an elective, an extra, a luxury of sorts. Yet, it is much more than that. Historically, there have been numerous debates over arts advocacy, the place of music in education, whether of not music should be a core component of education, the purpose of music study, and whether or not music education should be justified by external (non-musical) benefits. For me, those are all important debates, but music education is more than all of those things. Music is a part of our humanity, a core component of our humanness. Whether we make music, listen to music, or feel the rhythm and vibrations in our bodies, our interactions with music affect us. We can feel, express, and communicate individually and collectively through music. We can alter the world around us or self-reflect through music. The varied styles, sounds, instruments, vocal techniques, and rhythms of music reflect the numerous individuals, cultures, and experiences of humans across this planet. That is why I teach music - to expose students to that wonder, that beauty, that variety, that intensity of expression. Music is both complete within itself and a metaphor for life. That's my music education matters.

My main goal is to help students develop a meaningful place for music in their lives. For some, that may be foundational music technique and knowledge and a curated playlist, while others may plan to pursue careers in music. I believe it is important to educate both. Therefore, my teaching approach is two-pronged: (1) provide a firm foundation in music skills, techniques, and knowledge, and (2) help students find a meaningful and relevant connection with a variety of musics that will both assist in developing their own identity and help them make an impact on the world around them. To do this, I apply a variety of methods and approaches designed to encourage collaboration and collective decision-making regarding music interpretation and meaning, while also individualizing and personalizing aspects of the educational experience to allow for individual growth in skill, technique, leadership, and musical maturity. Key aspects of my approach include the following:

• Care is a central component of my classroom.

• Technique and music-making shouldn't always be isolated from each other. Many students focus more on technique work when they see the direct connection between the technique and the music they are learning.

• I emphasize process over product. Student well-being and education should always come first. The performance product will take care of itself if the process is caring, meaningful, relevant, and well-structured.

• Viewing education through the lens of diversity-focused and inclusive pedagogical theories is an important element in my classroom, and I strive to encourage the study of varying musical styles, sounds, and ideas in a non-hierarchical manner.

• I hope that students leave my class feeling empowered. I try to encouraging student voice and storytelling in music through personalized goal setting, individualized practice regimes and assessments, individual interpretation and meaning-making, student leadership, and repertoire planning.

• Music should not be separated from context. Helping students not only historically contextualize music, but also critically examine its meaning and context for them personally can promote more meaningful engagement with the music.​

• I encourage students to actively communicate ideals and advocacy through their music in a manner that can positively impact the world around them.

Teaching Experience

I have teaching experience with a variety of students, ages, musics, and settings. These include:

• private piano instructor: ages elementary through high school youth (ages 4-18) and middle-aged adults (ages 40+), beginning to advanced levels, special needs experience, note-reading and improvisation, multiple styles and genres

• private voice instructor: high school age (14-18 years old), male and female genders, multiple voice types, multiple vocal styles and genres (including classical, gospel, spirituals, popular, musical theater, country, swing, scat singing, and modern Latina)

• choral classroom: ages middle school and high school (12-18 years, primary focus 14-18 years), beginning to advanced levels, note-reading and aural learning, multiple styles and genres (including sacred classical, secular classical, American pop, British pop, musical theater, jazz, country, gospel, spirituals, music of the African continent, traditional Mexican folk music, rap, barbershop, and modern a cappella), varied voicing groups

• music theory instructor: standard Western-European classical music theory instruction as well as composing and some non-classical theory analysis