My philosophy of teaching is deeply rooted in the school of thought that students will be most successful when given the right tools to succeed and mentored in an environment where they feel safe to admit they need help along with a willingness to grow.  It is my responsibility as a music educator to ensure that students have the best educational experience that I am capable of delivering as a piano pedagogue.  It is not my desire to place a stamp of approval on a student for one semester, but rather to foster an inquisitive spirit and desire to complete life-long learning whereby students will continue their musical growth and study to correct knowledge gaps well after they have left the college classroom.  In doing so, I place a stamp of approval on the student not for just one semester, but rather for the rest of their life.  As seasoned faculty I will openly admit to students that I have high expectations, but will give students all the necessary tools they need to pass any course that I have the opportunity to facilitate.  In turn these tools will be a necessary requisite for playing the piano artistically, teaching piano to others, and making music within ones’ community long after I am no longer the pedagogue for each of my students.  I value hard work and a willingness to seek out the answers to your own questions and will walk alongside students to help them reach their professional goals.

Teaching music is an art that requires both skill of a specific craft and dedication, but one that is filled with abundant joy when we are true to our craft and inner desire. Estelle Jorgensen is quoted as saying, “When we are truest to our deepest thoughts, beliefs, fears, joys, and selves, we are happy and contented.  And our happiness and contentment as teachers spill over into joyful and buoyant relationships with our students”.  I believe that it is both a joy and honor to work with students who have skill and desire to develop their ability of playing the piano.  I find it imperative to share that on this journey for musical growth, it is not my intent or goal to create a clone of myself.  My goal is to help students find their own strengths and uniqueness, so they can be true to their own self and add to the musical community in ways that I am unable to do so.  Additionally, in meekness, I find it necessary to share that as the educator I will not always have "the answer".  Rather I seek to show my students that we can find answers together and model how to seek out the answers to your own questions.  I also find it more wholistic to allow space for different perspectives that brings about different ideas! When your own ideas are challenged and better ones are offered everyone grows, including you!  Finally, in my work as a music educator, I strive to be all inclusive and include a willingness to challenge the views and beliefs I hold most dear because in doing so I unite diversity and create a space where everyone belongs at the table – not just me as the leader.

What I want each student to know is that I want to meet them where they are as musicians and push them to grow to the best of their own ability; not any other student, or myself.  As I previously stated, I have high standards.  It’s important to have standards, but if they are too high students may be fearful of not reaching them and given up entirely and if my standards are too low, students may become complacent and not make sufficient efforts to improve to their full capacity.  I seek to work with each student individually and together reach the goals they have for themselves in conjunction with where I know they are capable of growing. With regard to academic workloads and repertoire to be reviewed throughout the time I have with students, I again defer to Estelle Jorgensen because my views on this align heavily with her own. "Rather than rushing over a great deal of repertoire, it may be more useful to be selective and study few things in a greater depth rather than many superficially". I seek excellence in all that I or my students lay hands on.