Philosophy

"Music comes first, last, and always"

Music is a wonderful aspect of the human experience. Its expressive, connective, and therapeutic potential has been recognized time and time again by people from all walks of life. As a musician, my mission is simple; to use music as a tool to enrich the lives of others. The specifics that comes with each initiative are an appliance towards this agenda. Whether you are a student of music, a performer, or an educator, "music comes first, last, and always"

Pedagogy

A fundamental theme in my musical ethos is that I am a practitioner of music and my main appliance is a trumpet. We all want our musical thoughts to come to fruition. Thus, rigorous practice, unique to our instrument, is a crucial component. However, In our pursuit for technical excellence, it is not uncommon for us to loose sight of our primary endeavour. Regardless of what instrument we specialize in, the pursuit for musical expression is a universal linchpin, transcending all instrumental or stylistic categories. It is the musical thought that must inspire us to engage rigorous practice, while enjoying every bit of it. 

Treat the student, not the problem,

Any great medical professional would say, "treat the patient, not the disease!" Same holds true for brass playing, or any skill for that matter. As a trumpet teacher, it's easy to diagnose a textbook symptom with a textbook. More so is it easier to prescribe a textbook remedy for said diagnosis. Alas, we must resist the urge to generalize a student's needs, just because it fits neatly into the notions that we led ourselves to believe. We must maintain pedagogical rigor and have at hand, a broad range of diagnostic tools and treatment systems in order to best suit the needs of the student . No two person's anatomy are the same, so why should we assume that similiar symptoms from two different people require the same treatment?