I give private lessons at my home studio in SE Portland, Oregon. I have taught piano, guitar and ukulele full-time since mid-2013, supplemented by 2 full-time years at the start of my career in 2000, and 13 part-time years in between.

I am a member of the Oregon Music Teachers’ Association, which I serve as chair of Publications on the Board of Directors. For interested students I offer Syllabus preparation in classical piano.

You can reach out to me via my contact page. Below is my full resume.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Teaching is of central importance in my career. I believe that we musicians have inherited a priceless tradition, and that the most significant thing we can do as musicians is to pass on the skills, knowledge, and joy of music to the next generation. As such, I have been teaching in some way for my entire adult life, and teaching full-time since 2013. My aim with each student is to cultivate a fruitful balance of technical, interpretive, and creative skills.

MUSIC BACKGROUND

Piano:Over 30 years of study, mostly with private teachers. Highest level MTAC Certificate of Merit in Piano earned in 1993 (California equivalent of the OMTA Syllabus program). Classical focus through 1995 (to age 18); jazz and pop styles since. Principal focus in recent years has been jazz and funk.

Guitar: Over 30 years of study with private teachers. Classical focus from 1998 to 2000; jazz and pop styles since. Principal focus in recent years has been jazz, funk, country, folk, pop and rock.

Composition and Production: Independent studies in orchestral composition and arranging. User of Ableton Live from 2016 and Ableton Push from 2018. I produce electronic music as Baby Tiger and started releasing tracks in 2021. Other skills in this area include recording engineering, mixing, and Logic.

Other studies: College studies included extensive coursework in functional harmonic analysis, sight-singing & solfege, jazz improvisation, jazz arranging, orchestra and small ensemble playing, composition. Casual studies of mandolin, banjo, bass guitar, ukulele, saxophone, singing, and drums.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Private piano and guitar teacher, San Francisco Bay Area and Portland, 2013 – Present

·       Craft individual lesson plans for up to 35 weekly students.

·       Create materials where published materials are insufficient to students’ needs.

·       Balance student's technical skills, reading skills, and ability to play without printed materials, which may consist of playing material by heart, improvising, or both. Lessons also advance theory concepts and music appreciation.

·       Balance students’ interest in learning specific material (e.g., favorite songs) with material that will advance their skills and knowledge.

·       Prepare interested students for the OMTA Syllabus evaluations in classical piano.

·       Work with parents to ensure students are advancing skills and retaining interest.

·       Work with a wide range of ages, age 7 to adults.

Keys to Life, Portland and Beaverton, fall 2018 through spring 2024

Instructor

  • All skills and duties as in my private practice, above. Had up to 15 weekly students.

Guitar Center, Portland and Beaverton, summer 2018

Instructor

·       Worked with students booked and scheduled by the store staff, mostly one-time adult students.

·       Seeing new students from week to week presented the additional challenge of quickly ascertaining what they would most benefit from learning, and presenting it to them.

Sound Roots School of Modern Music Summer Rocks! Camp, Portland, August 2018

·       Taught two one-week sessions which ran from 8:30 to 3:30 each day.

·       Each week I was assigned a “band” of 6 students, roughly grouped by age.

·       I led each “band” in selecting or writing 2-3 songs to perform at a big show at the end of the week.

·       Other activities and topics taught: creating a band name; creating a poster; the art of negotiation and compromise; musicianship; ensemble skills; leadership skills; performance skills; instrument skills.

Private Piano and Guitar Teacher (Part-Time), 2003-2013

  • Worked with private music students, usually adults, in a small studio setting. I rarely had more than two or three at a time during this decade.

 Music department tutor, Cabrillo College, CA 2001-2003

·       As a high-achieving recent student, I was employed to assist music majors with their coursework.

 EDUCATION

My education in music has largely been pursued through independent studies and with private teachers. I completed four years of academic instruction at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California from 1995-1997 and 2000-2002. At that school, which had an incredible music department, I was a music major with a focus on piano performance and jazz improvisation.