I began playing drums at the age of 9, guitar at 10, started my first rock band at 11, and I've never stopped playing music since.  After playing in the concert band, jazz band and marching band in high school, I went on to Temple University where I earned my Bachelors degree in Jazz Performance on the drum set.  Since graduating in 2006, I have been teaching both drums and guitar professionally all over the greater Philadelphia area.

I'm a motivated educator and music therapist who has an intense love for music. I want my students to experience the joy that making music can bring!  I believe that an early love for music can help motivate students to learn and excel on their instruments. I love working with students of all ages.My primary instrument is voice and I also teach piano, guitar, and ukulele.  I excel and enjoy working with students with special needs! Music can do wonders for them and I am uniquely qualified to understand their challenges and needs while taking music lessons because of my work in music therapy.   

Justin is a freelance trombone player and teacher in the Philadelphia area. In addition to a busy performing schedule, Justin is a trombone teaching artist and also a faculty member at Temple University’s Community Music Scholars Program. Previously, Justin was second trombone of the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra in Lafayette, Louisiana. He has also performed with other orchestras such as the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Great Hall Chamber Orchestra, Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Sinfonietta, and Brevard Music Center Orchestra.  Outside of the orchestral realm, Justin enjoys performing in a variety of situations. Justin has been a part of numerous jazz ensembles and big bands on both tenor and bass trombone and has performed at many notable venues including the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Blues Alley in Washington, D.C.  Additionally, Justin has performed with many theater orchestras at the professional, collegiate, and community levels around Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and more.

I started playing piano as a young child in a small beach town in Southwestern Michigan.  I was always involved in church choir, bell choir and school choirs.  From the time I was 15, I knew that I wanted to use music to help people.  I began pursuing a degree in Music Therapy at Western Michigan University, where I studied piano with Lori Sims.  Upon graduating with a degree in music therapy, I began working as a music therapist on an inpatient psychiatric unit where I worked for 9 years with adults. Simultaneously, I taught piano lessons, Kindermusik classes, and provided music therapy to children at a local music school in Michigan.  I also have experience in providing group music education and movement classes to homeschool students.  I pursued a Masters of Public Administration in Healthcare degree and moved to the Philadelphia area to pursue a new career in that field.  Still with a passion for music, I plan on teaching piano lessons and music education for many years in the future.

I am a passionate teacher that finds ways to motivate students while sharing my love for music. I have been teacher as long as I have been playing, and I am still finding new ways to talk about and teach music. I graduated from Temple University with my masters degree in clarinet performance in 2011 and have been continuing to pursue my love of performing and teaching since. Luckily I have had the opportunity of performing at many different concert halls in the Northeast, such as Carnegie Hall in New York City and Verizon Hall in Philadelphia, and also in various halls in Italy and China.