Teaching Philosophy

My primary goal as a teacher is to foster creativity and confidence in artistry and problem solving. By utilizing student-led learning techniques, I prioritize helping students along their personal musical paths without prescribing what every student should strive to be. I hope that the skills that my students refine in their lessons will help them be happy and successful in whatever they do in life, whether that is as a musician or not.

Prioritizing intentionality is the core tenet of my teaching. Music, like all aspects of life, is full of constant decision-making, even when it is unconscious decision-making. Sheet music is only so descriptive, leaving meaningful music-making to happen off of the page in the creative decisions of the performer. Therefore, I hope my students become comfortable taking risks and making unique decisions in a judgment-free lesson environment. By consistently challenging my students to answer “why” questions, I push them to develop a deep sense of self-awareness and formulate their artistic tastes. I believe that these artistic decisions should guide the development of technical mastery, rather than letting technical limitations dictate what is possible artistically. 

Music is a wonderful medium for personal expression, but the technical challenge of playing the clarinet often limits one’s expressive capabilities. Therefore, solid fundamentals are a focus of my teaching, emphasizing the reduction of tension and the physical effort required to play the instrument and produce a beautiful sound. I hope to instill a curiosity in my students, as we search together to find new notes, sounds and tone colors that are possible to produce on the clarinet. I believe that understanding the physics of the clarinet and human anatomy is essential for discovery in playing the clarinet; this knowledge allows for the discussion of clarinet playing in both concrete and abstract terminology. 

I hope to help my students explore their interests within music and the clarinet, specifically. As clarinetists, we are fortunate to have a rich history in many genres from around the world, including Ashkenazi Jewish Klezmer, Hindustani Classical Music, Brazilian Choros, jazz, Western Classical Music and Balkan Folk Music. With the addition of the many different members of the clarinet family, there is an endless amount of history and genres to explore. With each student, I explore their tastes and identity as a musician, studying diverse styles of music that resonate with them written by composers that students may connect with. I will introduce my students to a variety of potential career paths in music, going beyond performance-based opportunities. 

After studying with me, students should have a strong sense of independence and should have a framework to guide their own future learning of the clarinet, even if they do not have another teacher. They should have an awareness of their musical tastes and opinions, and knowledge of the wide range of possibilities of the clarinet and careers in music, and be familiar with how to search for music, history and opportunities. Regardless of what my students do, I hope to always be an approachable source of advice and support.