In my studio and classroom practice, I ground my teaching in three areas: building positive and impactful relationships, working to develop students’ critical thought and social consciousness, and building robust and versatile musical skills.

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My first priority as a teacher is to care for my students as human beings. In my studio, in the classroom, and in my recruiting and outreach efforts, I create a safe and welcoming environment where every student knows that they will be valued and respected for who they are, and that I will always support their efforts and growth. In this respect, I am deeply influenced by my Suzuki teacher training, which posits that every student can play music beautifully and that talent is developed, not innate—like people, it is nurtured by love. This approach affects many things: for example, when I am preparing a student for a performance, I am both honest about what needs work and unfailingly positive in praising the student’s efforts and progress and affirming a healthy identity. This environment of trust and mutual respect empowers students to do their best work and, most importantly, fully thrive as creative human beings. In the classroom as well as in the studio, I always work to center students’ individual ideas and interests, using the knowledge and experiences they already have as a foundation on which to build deeper understanding. I value the relationships I build with students, colleagues, and families and view community building as both an artistic priority and recruiting necessity.

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In teaching applied piano and music courses, I am acutely aware that arts education is capable of creating both inclusion and exclusion. I strive to teach in a way that nurtures belonging and inclusion for all students, embraces diversity and multiple viewpoints, and stimulates critical inquiry, broad social awareness, and empathy. The field traditionally known as “classical music” is dialoguing with many important questions of justice, representation, and diversity at this historical moment, and I am actively taking advantage of the many new resources and research being produced. Choosing repertoire is a prime example. By using a resource such as the Institute for Composer Diversity’s online database (composerdiversity.com) to help select or suggest repertoire for my students, I encourage them to become active participants in the music of today, promote composers from marginalized identities and musical practices, and critically engage with notions of canon and musical value. As another example, I incorporate aurality, improvisation, and rhythmic embodiment and vocalization—skills that are central to many diverse musical traditions—into my applied piano teaching, in addition to notational fluency.

 

At the piano, ease and awareness in technique create a foundation that enables students to do whatever

they may wish to do musically. I teach relaxed, poised posture drawn from Alexander Technique as a core

disposition at the piano. When combined with physiological awareness, this allows fluid arm choreography and

economic hand position and finger use. To develop these skills, I coach my students through a series of exercises

unlocking upper arm/upper back movement, elbow and wrist motion, forearm rotation, and finger ease and

independence/refinement, and I work with them on understanding how to apply these technical tools in

learning their repertoire. I also spend extensive time helping students form healthy, creative, and efficient

practice habits, recognizing that much of being a skilled musician comes down to knowing how to practice.

Healthy and diverse practice habits I encourage include singing melodic lines, embodying rhythms through

movement or conducting, isolating and combining different parts of the piano texture, building fluency in small

units, analyzing form and harmony, and vocalizing rhythm or meter while playing. Finally, I mentor my students

as they work to find the inspiration that will sustain them: developing their own musical tastes and influences,

finding artists who inspire them, and building healthy, lifelong creative habits.

 

I define my purpose in teaching music around the values of meaningful relationship building, critical

and social engagement, and practical skill building. I take great joy in forging deeper connections with students

and with the music we study, and I value the way teaching music builds community around a shared human

experience. I want to inspire my students to take their love of music and be creative, fearless, and empowered in

sharing it with the world.