Teaching Philosophy

 

My enthusiasm for teaching stems from my experiences both as a student and an educator,  and is driven by a key fundamental principle.  That principle is centered on my hope to instill within students a passion for learning the subject at hand, be it in private lessons, studio classes, or the academic classroom.  I believe the ultimate goal of learning is to enable the learner to better communicate through their art, whether that manifests in a contextualized understanding of past musical tradition, an ability to engage a modern day audience through performance, teaching their own students in the future or perhaps gaming an increased appreciation as an audience member.

 

In the viola studio, my goal as a teacher is to provide students with the tools to be independent thinking musicians with the technical know-how to problem solve within their playing.  I teach that the greater part of musical  problem solving begins with the art of critical listening. The skills to independently diagnose and correct a performance are what ultimately allows students to take their art from a cloistered educational environment to the outside world.  For this reason, I passionately encourage students to seek out occasions to both attend and present live performances.  I also feel that group studio classes are an invaluable training ground for students to gain experiences playing for others as well as an opportunity to offer and receive constructive comments in a peer setting.

 

On a tangible  rather than a philosophical level, I advocate that viola playing and teaching should always be rooted in the solid fundamentals.  If the goal of learning is communication through music, then the tenets of sound, intonation, articulation, rhythm, and phrasing are the vernacular of a musician’s language.  I teach my students that dedication to the refinement of these large scale rudimentary ideas breeds both consistent well rounded performances together with a method for clearly focused and organized listening and teaching.  I also recognize that every student will forge their own career path in today’s job market.  More than  promoting technical mastery from an instrumental standpoint, I believe that the focus required in the pursuit of playing core viola repertoire promotes discipline in alternate fields of scholarship beyond music.

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Whether in the recital hall or lecture hall, learning is a lifelong process.  It is always my privilege to be a part of each student’s learning journey. On an individual level, I respect that students hale from a myriad of backgrounds.  My approach, therefore, involves engaging students personally as well as academically, which opens doors on how to best enhance their particular learning experiences.  Accordingly, I like to be accessible and keep multiple methods/options of teaching in my toolbox: auditory, discussion, demonstration, etc.  Students with a voice in their learning process can more easily meet or exceed expectations. As for those expectations, or assessments, I prefer to keep my format succinct as offered in a syllabus, yet employ more than one method of evaluation. Once again, a variance in assessments will most likely more accurately reflect a student’s progress.

 

I was the first visually impaired doctoral candidate to graduate from my conservatory, and am one of a extremely small number of professional blind string players in the world.  I address my unique position because it has concomitantly shaped and affirmed the key values which I bring to the table as a performer and educator.  My particular journey has instilled within me a desire to teach the value of dedication to a goal, “outside of the box” thinking, and the ability to constantly seek out and nurture the potential in others regardless of differences.  My academic and performance roles occasionally merge with that of a liaison, connecting music to a myriad of differing groups of people, oftentimes opening dialogue about music and  performers in today’s culture. This, too is an undertaking I relish.  Teaching and performing are callings I have aspired to for a number of years.  I continue to go forward with viola performance and classroom instruction with eagerness, always excited to hone my craft.  My mantra might best be summed up by noting “I took the one [road] less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” I hope to encourage all of my students to aspire to that divergent road, and to be empowered and impassioned by the infinite possibilities that scholarship in music offers.