Teaching & Consulting

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Looking to get better at your instrument but don't know where to start? Do you have an upcoming audition or competition and want give yourself a leg up? Do you simply wish to improve your overall playing and musicianship through private study? I offer private saxophone and mellophone lessons to students of all ages and ability levels.

While I tailor all instruction to the needs and interests of each individual student, this is a sampling of the topics covered in private lessons on any instrument:

• Intonation
• Scales, intervals, & arpeggios
• Flexibility
• Articulation
• Dynamics
• Vibrato
• Etudes
• Extended range/altissimo
• Contemporary techniques

• Standard repertoire
• Transcriptions
• Contemporary music
• Audition packets
• Jazz & other commercial styles

• Sight-reading
• Memorization
• Stage presence
• Audition preparation
• Recording techniques

As a saxophonist who learned mellophone so that I could march drum corps, I specialize in teaching students to transition from playing a woodwind instrument to playing a brass instrument. I have taught mellophone students whose primary instruments have been flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, and horn. I also coach audition preparation if you are interested in auditioning for a DCI or DCA ensemble, SoundSport team, WGI Winds group, or college marching band.  

If you are interested in taking lessons or have other questions. you can use the form at the bottom of this page to send me a message. Remember, the first lesson for new private students is always FREE!

Are you interested in auditioning for DCI, WGI, or college marching band and looking to improve your visual performance? I offer specialized marching and movement instruction to all wind players and percussionists in the the pageantry arts.

• Posture
• Equipment carriage & control
• Marching technique
• Dance fundamentals
• Choreography (with and without equipment)
• Learning a new marching instrument (including percussion!)
• Playing on the move

If you are interested in taking lessons or have other questions. you can use the form at the bottom of this page to send me a message. Remember, the first lesson for new private students is always FREE!

Interested in performing an electroacoustic piece but don't know where to start? Have you run into a technical issue and don't know how to solve it? I offer coaching services on electroacoustic music to both individuals and ensembles of any size looking to improve their technical skills and enhance their performances.

• Repertoire selection (i.e. instrumentation, fixed media vs. interactive electronics, etc.)
• Hardware requirements and available options
• Software requirements and available options
• Balancing the acoustic and electronic voices
• Microphone and speaker placement
• Secondary synthesizer interfaces (pedals, MIDI controllers, etc.)
• Integration of visual effects
• Real-time troubleshooting (aka "What to do when you're about to perform and something isn't working")

If you are interested in hiring me as an electroacoustic performance coach or have other questions. you can use the form at the bottom of this page to send me a message. Remember, the first lesson for new private students is always FREE!

One of the most important and rewarding parts of being a musician is the collaborative experience of getting to make music with others. I offer services in both coaching existing chamber groups and helping start new groups, including ensembles with non-traditional instrumentations.

• Playing in time without a conductor
• Creating a unified ensemble sound
• Creating a unified ensemble interpretation
• Curating repertoire (including transcriptions, commissions, etc.)
• Finding performance opportunities (i.e. concerts & competitions)
• Teamwork and camaraderie
• Considerations for planning a tour

If you are interested in hiring me as a chamber music coach or have other questions, you can use the form at the bottom of this page to send me a message.

I offer services as a section coach, ensemble clinician, classroom teacher, and more in both large and small group settings.

• Masterclasses (any topic, including All-State preparation)
• Coaching a section during rehearsal
• Starting beginner woodwind and brass players
• Symphonic & marching band camps (all wind instruments)
• Practical applications of music technology
• Music Theory & Aural Skills
• Music History

If you are interested in hiring me as a group clinician or have other questions, you can use the form at the bottom of the page to send me a message. 

BAND & ENSEMBLE DIRECTORS: I offer consulting services for music and visual performance/design aspects of your program. I have experience as a performer, instructor, and designer at the World Class level in both DCI and WGI.

• Coming in to work with your ensemble on a one-time or regular basis (including as a band camp and/or full season staff member)
• Watching a video of your show and providing constructive criticism of the design and/or performance
• A "crash course" on effective amplification practices (i.e. staging, orchestration, microphone/speaker placement, cable management, etc.)
• Composing or arranging music for your ensemble
• Writing and/or teaching choreography
• Coaching your WGI Visual Ensemble (including starting one from the ground up)

If you are interested in hiring me as a consultant, or if you have other questions, you can use the form at the bottom of this page to send me a message. 

Struggling with your Music Theory or Aural Skills courses? Getting ready for the AP Music Theory Exam or Graduate School Music Theory Placement Exam? Do you want to learn how music works and train your ear to become a better musician? I offer private music theory and aural skills tutoring to students of all levels to help get you through your exams, dictations, and sight-singing, as well as hone your fundamental knowledge and skills as a musician. Group instruction also available!

• Key Signatures
• Scales and Modes
• Transposition
• Rhythm and Subdivision
• Species Counterpoint
• Tonal and Post-Tonal Harmonic Analysis
• Part-Writing
• Formal Analysis
• Melodic and Harmonic Dictation
• Sight-Reading & Sight-Singing

If you are interested in hiring me as a tutor or have any questions, you can use the form at the bottom of the page to send me a message. Remember, the first tutoring session for new private students is always FREE! 

Struggling with your Music History or Music Appreciation courses? Getting ready a Graduate School Music History Placement Exam? Do you want to learn more about the history of how and why music developed the way it did? I offer private music history tutoring to students of all levels to help get you through your exams and essays as well as hone your fundamental knowledge and skills as a musician. The lists below represent only a sample of the topics covered. Group instruction also available!

• Ancient music (Syria, Greece, etc.)
• Monophony and early polyphony of the Middle Ages
• The Protestant Reformation & the Counter-Reformation
• Homophony of the Renaissance
• Early musical notation
• Court music and early musical instruments

• Standardization of the stylistic characteristics typically associated with classical music (notation, tonal harmony, instrumentation, etc.) 
• Evolution of new styles, instruments, and genres through the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras
• The rise of the music industry
• The impact of musical nationalism on cultural and political revolutions and vice versa

• Post-tonal harmony
• Contemporary musical notation, including text and graphic scores
• Globalization in the aftermath of WWI
• Modernist movements of the 20th century (i.e. Impressionism, Expressionism, Dadaism, Serialism, Primitivism, Futurism, Neoclassicism, Minimalism, etc.)
• The evolution of musical theater
• Blues, jazz, & other commercial genres
• Electronic and electroacoustic music

If you are interested in hiring me as a tutor or have any questions, you can use the form at the bottom of the page to send me a message. Remember, the first tutoring session for new private students is always FREE!