My goal as an educator is to provide a foundational framework where students can work to achieve academic excellence.  It’s not just my goal; to me it is a mission, because the impact of music and the discipline of the craft on a person’s life can be so meaningful.  While precision and clarity in learning music is vital, interpretation is invariably the end result.  Therefore, learning how to learn, and creating a curiosity for life, in combination with application of one’s skills must be a part of the process, but it must also produce the desired results.  The end of the learning process in music is, after all, the performance.  

I strongly believe that performance is a vital teaching method.  In my experience, I have found that I am most effective in teaching what I can do – by being an active performer; and through leading by example in my areas of musical expertise.  In my professional performances and perseverance toward personal excellence, I try to show my students how the same is possible for them.  It helps them to see their musical education from a global perspective, in the midst of developing their critical thinking, technical skills and appreciation of music.

Probably the most important element to my educational philosophy is that I also ground the teaching of music within an engaging and positive environment.  Using humor, combined with critical thinking, has contributed highly to my success as a music educator.  I think that creating special projects, workshops and classes that are memorable results in experiences that can alter the course of a student’s life positively.  That’s what I enjoy doing – helping students to discover their potential; showing them possibilities they might not have imagined.

My strength as a teacher includes my personal beliefs, enthusiasm and knowledge of music, my desire for excellence in my own musical performances, and a very genuine interest for excellence in my students.  By instilling the discipline of music and the appreciation of the craft, my goal is to develop within my students a paradigm that is a foundational for success in their musical career and in their life and ultimately, in their positive impact to society.