Ivan R
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Saxophone
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Rock, Blues, Funk, Latin Jazz, Swing, Bossa Nova
Ivan R
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Saxophone
Styles:
Classical, Jazz, Rock, Blues, Funk, Latin Jazz, Swing, Bossa Nova
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 9-80
-B.A. in Music Education from St. University. With teacher's certification.
Won an Saxophone Audition with the U.S. Air Force Band. 2- 2025
TMEA all-state jazz saxophone musician -2017
Fiesta Jazz festival -Winner -2014,2015,2016,2017
Numerous Scholarships both academically and musically.
Hello! I am a professional musician with over three years of experience teaching music in the public school setting, and now transitioning into a career as a saxophonist with the U. S. Air Force Bands! I graduated from St. Mary’s University with my music education degree and am eager to share my knowledge with you! I Like to have my lessons go one of two ways - 1. You share with me your goals, and I help you achieve them! 2. You would like for me to listen to you play and then create a plan to help fill in any gaps you feel you have. Either way, you will always have input on what you’re learning - this is very important to me. Let’s get your musical goals achieved!
My performance and teaching experience date back to when I was in the 6th grade when I joined band class in middle school. I developed a love for music and performing early on, with a particular passion for practicing my craft. I practiced more than anyone I knew and my achievements showed for it. In all of the music competitions and audition, I never made anything less than 1st chair - all the way until end of high school, and all the way up to the state level competitions. I made the TMEA All-State Jazz Band senior year of high school on the Tenor Saxophone. Afterwards, I continued my journey at the collegiate level, beginning to offer private lessons of my own and further honing my skills with various teachers of mine. After college, I taught in the public school settings for three years before auditioning and winning a position with the Air Force Bands! I am now currently in the process of enlistment. I am excited to share my many years of experience with you!
I like to utilize the methods that work best for the individual student. I am not a rigid, “one approach” only type of teacher. I find the student is more likely to succeed when I adapt to their individual learning style. For example, if you are a more digital/visual person, then I have plenty of books and materials we can work out of. If you prefer to learning by ear and through listening, then we can practice a “I do, then you do” approach. Likewise, we can find a balance between the two, as most students I find like to have variety in their lessons.
My teaching style is “goal oriented”. In my personal life, I like to set measurable goals (long or short term) then find out what steps I need to take in order to achieve them. This approach goes for how I interact with my students. We will start usually with me asking you “what would you like to be able to do in X amount of time?” This is important because without measurable goals, growth is not always guaranteed. These goals are flexible and can be something small and short term, or long term missions. We will most likely have a combination of the two!
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