Jonathan S
Instruments: Trumpet
Styles: Classical, Jazz

From 2011 to 2014, I was a Juilliard Pre-College mentor. It was my job to offer support and advice to students in orchestra and brass quintet rehearsals. At Yale, I became a Teaching Artist in 2015 and gave private lessons to Yale Undergraduate students. As a Yale Teaching Artist, I also worked for the Music in Schools Initiative, teaching classes, sectionals, and private lessons to students in public schools in the greater New Haven area. Currently, I am a teacher at Sharps and Flats Conservatory, a local music academy for young musicians, and also have a private studio. I have taught students ranging from 9 to 60 years old. It’s always very exciting for me to find a student with whom I can share my musical experience and help grow, no matter their age or musical level.

My first objective when meeting any new student is to figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are, and what their overall goal in music is; whether it’s learning a new piece, playing jazz, playing for fun, getting first chair or making it into an ensemble. Being a classically trained trumpet player, I have come across nearly every issue and technical exercise imaginable. For all my students, I want to make sure that they are playing the trumpet correctly physically and not forming any bad habits. This means that I generally draw my material from various books and exercises that I know work: Bai Lin lip slurs, Shuebruk Lip Trainers, Clarke Technical studies, long tones and articulation exercises from Arban’s and Franquin, and also etudes to practice musicality from Herring, Concone and Bordogni. I know working on these technical exercises will help my students tackle their more musical assignments with greater ease and ability.