Piano Lessons in Fontana, CA

Instruments: Piano

If you have a Music Degree, what is it in (Performance, Education, Musicology, Theory, Composition, etc) and why did you choose that degree?
My degree is in both piano performance as well as composition. While I originally went in as a piano performance major as I got more and more involved with composing there was no way I could not include that as an important part of my education. While a student I did take some pedagogy courses including theory of childhood development related to elementary school education. However I ultimately opted out of exploring an education certificate. What made a double major as pleasant was it was was that I was able to compose and perform my senior recital.

What is your dream piece to perform and why?
I especially enjoy learning the Preludes and Fugues from the Well Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach. There is something both calming and exciting about them. They demand an incredible amount of focus and dedication. They can also almost serve as a textbook for the learning of counterpoint, invention and fugal writing. Every emotion seems to be present in the entire set as well as some very uniquely hidden tonalities and modalities. They also serve as a wonderful way to meditate and find some peace both in playing and to study as a text book.

If you weren't a musician what do you think you'd be doing instead?
Fortunately I am able to do what I enjoy as I perform, compose and teach. I am an avid woodworker and fine furniture builder. It is a hobby and I also receive commissions for furniture pieces. I suppose if I were not teaching or doing any other musical thing I might be designing and building fine furniture full time.. or at least more than I do now. I also have a minor in biology and though, for a very short time, that upon getting my under graduate degree I might explore a career in the medical field.

What is your favorite style/genre of music to play and why?
I enjoy playing many different genres of music. I might enjoy Baroque if I feel a certain way or wish to just get lost in the beauty of a great piece of counterpoint. So you might say I enjoy "classical" music. However, there are times I might like to take a great book of old jazz standards out to play for my own pleasure. Or even a Beatle or Billy Joel songbook out. Of course there are those times I might just enjoy being fun.. and playing some country/western song with a classical twist to it.

If you play more than one instrument, how did you decide to start playing the second? (Or 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc)!
I have taught many band instruments while teaching in a middle school band class. However these were all on a very rudimentary intermediate level. Developing good musicianship skills and a strong understanding of how music, scales, transposing etc. works makes it much easier to learn other instruments. I do, however, play the bagpipes and the Scottish Smallpipes. This comes out of a love I have for the sound of the instrument, it's modality being quite different than most scales we are familiar with.

Does music run in your family? Tell us a little about your musical family members.
I do have a very musical family. Both of my parents were musical even if they did not make their living at it. All of my siblings are musical and all have performed publicly in one manner or another. At family gatherings we all get together to go over music we enjoy and will, sort of, create this big family band. The music we play is all over the place including some old jazz standards, rock and roll classics and some more contemporary popular music of the day .. or perhaps some music from a musical we all enjoy.

When did you decide to become a professional musician? Was it a gradual decision or was there a defining moment for you?
I lave always been a musician. In one form or another I was always making a living at it. While still in high school my "band" would perform at events and gatherings. During and after collage I would often have a small handful of students as well as receive commissions for pieces, usually for smaller compositions such as works for solo or small ensembles. From time to time I would be hired to create arrangements and actually did develop a reputation for my string arrangements that were used on several albums. For the past 30 years I have been teaching and accepting commissions nearly full time.

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