Musical & Personal Background
I hold a B.A. in Piano Performance from Northwest Nazarene University, a private liberal arts college in Nampa, Idaho, just outside of Boise. I am constantly thankful for the excellent level of training that I received there, but the defining period in my instruction occurred early on in my childhood, when I studied privately with an outstanding teacher in the suburbs of Paris, France. Her unflinching strict demeanor pushed me to learn voraciously. Her insistence on perfection and on the importance of music theory and ear training stuck with me. I carry her legacy of high expectations and focus on basics with me, although my teaching style is substantially different from hers. (For more on exactly how I teach and less on my history, click here.) I studied with her continuously from age 7 through 17.
My instructor at NNU was Dr. Walden Hughes, a noted arranger whose works have been played on National Public Radio, in 45 states and in 49 foreign countries, and who earned in 1995 the coveted Master Teacher Certificate, presented to only three music teachers nationwide each year by the Music Teachers National Association. Visit him here: people.nnu.edu/wdhughes. During my college years, Dr. Hughes allowed me to prepare four solo piano recitals in which I was able to showcase my wide range of skills. Chief among the pieces I learned at that time are Liszt's solo piano transcription of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto. I credit Dr. Hughes with successfully challenging me to learn pieces I would have previously thought unlearnable. I like to think that some of his extraordinary skill in the field of arranging rubbed off on me a little as well during our five years of study together.
I graduated in 1997, taught piano intermittently, then my wife and I moved to the Seattle area in 2000. After a stint working in management for a specialty coffee company, I re-launched my teaching studio in March 2004 when we bought our permanent home in Bothell. I'll be teaching piano until I retire -- and then probably even some after that, I suspect. Teaching is where my heart is. As my two young sons pound away at the keyboard (and they DO pound, they are 4 and 2, after all), I'm reminded what immeasurable value lies in guiding another person along their musical journey. It helps that I love kids, too, and that I'm not too old to have forgotten how it was to be 8 years old and trying desperately to figure this whole piano thing out.
To hear a recent sample of my original work, please click here where you will be directed to a video (it's on on youtube.com) of me performing at NNU's Homecoming Concert on Thanskgiving Day 2006. When asked to participate in this event, I deliberated heavily before deciding to string together a series of well-known Beethoven themes, overlapping and adjusting them into one cohesive unit bound by the "Ode to Joy" theme. I thoroughly enjoyed piecing this project together, and I plan to perform it many more times in my life.
On a slightly more serious note, I consider myself an expert in the interpretation of the classical music of the Romantic Era (19th century to early 20th century). I am passionate about what music means, and about what great music can accomplish. This passion is something I enjoy communicating to my students in hopes that some of it will rub off on them.
The construction of a piece of music fascinates me, so I've become something of a music theory buff. I love examining the chord structure of a work; I enjoy spotting themes and motifs and analyzing how a composer used them; I get a kick, in short, of figuring out how a piece of piano music functions. Not all teachers think this way, and neither do all students. I integrate this knowledge into my teaching whenever I believe it will help students learn better.
I take great pleasure in writing arrangements of traditional and contemporary Christian music. I've been playing piano regularly in worship services since I was 13. Most recently I served as the head pianist at Redwood Family Church in Redmond, Washington from 2001 through 2006.
Some personal tidbits: I'm 33 and extraordinarily happily married. My wife teaches second grade in the Lake Washington School District. My boys, who are almost 5 and almost 3 years old, are a priceless joy in my life. My French remains fluent, I'm hopelessly addicted to expensive coffee and I'd really like to be able to plug my next car into an electrical outlet.
For more on NNU, click here.
For more on Redwood Family Church, click here.