The way I view music is not just as an artistic discipline, or an area of study. Not even as a career path, or an individual passion. Music, to me, is an interconnected web of real people's voices, which stretches back to the very beginning of human history. Participating in it, in any capacity, is a humbling exercise for me. 

I believe that every single person in this world deserves the opportunity to lift their voice up and experience what it is to be heard. Not just understood, not just made space for, but tangibly, actually heard. The process of teaching music for me is not about any sort of theory-based practice, or artistic output, or neurological subject-area benefit, although those are important parts too - but for me, teaching music is the most direct way of helping the largest amount of people possible in this world to be heard in this way. I believe when one participates in music, in any capacity, they add their voice to the unbroken web of musical traditions which have defined our cultural history as humans, and allow themself to be shaped in return by those musicians that came before them. It is an exchange of ideas, a font of creativity, a source of connection and groundedness. Every part of my classroom as an educator hinges on this idea of connection through music - connection to ourselves, our peers, our neighbors and to our history.

The thing I remember most vividly about the music classrooms I grew up in was how profoundly safe of a space for me they were. My classrooms, as a result, are deeply committed to remaining safe and welcoming to any student of music at any level. As learning music entails skills akin to learning a new language, a new sport, and new branches of math and science all at once, it can be a daunting task for a student to make the brave decision to venture into my class. I am committed to supporting all students in this venture, from those trusting me with the first steps of their musical journey to those envisioning a career-defining future in music. This entails a substantial amount of dynamic differentiation, something central to my philosophy of teaching. It is imperative that there exist a part for everybody, from beginners to the most advanced - as that is how music works all over the world. 

My classrooms exist on a foundation of concrete literacy which supports every aspect of what we do and how our parts all fit together. Building on phonetic and syntactic pillars of literacy, students are expected in my programs to center musically literate practice at every step of learning. From parallels to phonics-based-reading pedagogy at the initial stages of sheet music study to higher-order analytical skills such as analysis, evaluation, and true composition at higher levels, I am deeply passionate about creating musically literate classrooms that equip students with the skills they need to succeed at higher levels of musical study, but also with the critical thinking and analytical skills they need to succeed in every other area of the world at large.

Music classrooms to me are magical places - because they are hubs, cruxes not just of our academic skillsets throughout the various subjects we learn about but also of our lives, our cultures, our histories. They exist at a fundamental level to elevate the voices of students, and have a place in any school, for any student at any level. It is my privilege for my life to be in service to these magical places, to the development of the radical sense of community gained by singing full-blast in a choir, or performing the height of an orchestral climax, or executing an improvised solo while accompanied and supported by your peers. It is my hope that my students will come out of my classes with strong levels of critical thinking, listening skills, and literate practice, but also compassion, family, and drive to present and elevate their own unique voice not just in my class but everywhere they go throughout their lives.