Teaching Philosophy

“As a performing artist, I am aware that my role does not end at the concert hall, church, or opera house. Every day is an opportunity on the world’s stage to share and connect with others. I strive to bring hope, inspiration, healing, light, and joy through music in my daily interactions, whether I am performing, teaching, or engaging in the simplest of conversations. Through the stories told in the music I perform and teach, memories are created, emotions are experienced, and the magic of catharsis manifests itself. Thus, I not only achieve personal emotional and inner growth but am also blessed with the joy of empowering other individuals and communities.

I believe in empowering students through reinforced encouragement. Sometimes, students think they need exceptional talent or a gift to learn music, and perhaps someone has told them before that they do not have what it takes to be a musician. The first point I make in my lessons is that anyone can learn to sing or play any instrument, and that with time and dedication, they can become whatever they want to be. I ensure that my students always feel they can and will succeed at a particular task or in achieving short- and long-term goals, and that obstacles are there to be overcome. I make my students eager to learn by first learning about them and what excites them most about music. From there, I develop a plan by choosing things they will find engaging and interesting that I can also use to work on their technical skills. I believe that through positive reinforcement and by modeling good personal values and attitudes, such as enthusiasm, a teacher can have a profoundly positive influence on a student’s life. And this can only be achieved by creating an engaging, warm, and positive environment where students are not merely recipients of knowledge but also actively contribute to their learning process through their input and regular feedback, which the educator should gather and utilize. I make sure to ask my students if they have questions during and at the end of my lessons, and for regular feedback to check on their engagement and attention levels, and reassess the strategy if needed to ensure the student’s positive learning experience.”

“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players (…)”  - William Shakespeare