Piano Lessons in Colorado Springs, CO

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Flute Clarinet Drums Synthesizer Piccolo Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Oboe Bassoon English Horn Keyboard

If you have a Music Degree, what is it in (Performance, Education, Musicology, Theory, Composition, etc) and why did you choose that degree?
I have a Bachelor's Degree in music performance from Hope College, where I also got a Math degree! I also have a Masters in Music in jazz studies from the University of South Florida. At the time, performing is what I wanted to pursue (with math as a backup in case I wasn't able to support myself, lol), and it is in fact what I do for a living. In hindsight, I might have gotten a teaching certificate as well. I didn't realize how much I'd love teaching until I got into it, and now I'm passionate about it.

What is your dream piece to perform and why?
I've actually been able to check off quite a few of those boxes since joining the Air Force band 15 years ago: - 43 states and 13 foreign countries - playing for 3 U.S. presidents - Carnegie Hall - NFL halftime games, MLB 7th-inning stretches, NBA and NHL pre-game shows - major jazz festivals across the country (e.g. Clearwater, Telluride, Twin Cities, Monterey) - frequent national and local TV/radio spots But my "dream" place to perform is for an audience who's attentive and with whom we connect. That can happen at a civic center in Bemidji MN, an orphanage in Djibouti, or a cafeteria/gymnasium in Kazakhstan just as easily as the Kennedy Center.

If you weren't a musician what do you think you'd be doing instead?
I love math, so probably something like being an actuary or statistician. Possibly a math teacher, because I really love to teach. In my early 20's, I taught for the regular source of income, but now I realize I really love it. I love the puzzle of helping someone figure something out, I love the light-bulb when they have an epiphany, and I love the "before" and "after" pictures of seeing them progress over time.

What is your favorite style/genre of music to play and why?
Whatever I'm playing at the moment. I know that sounds like a politician's "sitting on the fence" answer, but I really mean it. I'm probably most adept at playing jazz and classical music. But I deployed in 2017 as a keyboardist with the rock band, and I loved it! Whatever the audience is into, that's what I want to give them. When they're really into what I'm playing, there's an energy that I feed off - it's great!

What does a normal practice session look like for you?
I try to spend the majority of my time working on "real" music, whether that music is a written piece, something I'm learning by ear, or a jazz tune I'm learning how to improvise over. Scales, long tones, and other exercises are great, but I try to spend no more than 25% of my practice time on them, and I recommend my students do the same. The purpose of the exercises is to help you play music better, so immediate application is key.

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