Lesson Feesfrom $35.00 / 30 Minutes
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About
I have been performing professionally for 23 years and have over 20 years of teaching experience. I am originally from Richmond, Virginia and currently reside in Brooklyn, NYC. I have a BM in Jazz Performance from Virginia Commonwealth University. While at VCU, I spent 7 years studying classical percussion, jazz and composition with nationally recognized jazz musicians such as Howard Curtis and Doug Richards and Richmond Symphony members Jim Jacobson and Donald Bick. I continue my education by taking master classes and working intimately in the Philadelphia art scene.
In my own artistic work, my personal focuses include odd metered patterns, tuplets and phrases based on numbers and fractions, improvisation, experimental sounds, metal and dissonance that create sonic phenomena, while maintaining a free associative approach.
I also have extensive experience professionally performing and teaching Jazz, Classical, Rock, Metal, Avant-garde and Experimental among other styles of music.
I also teach locally in Philadelphia at a nationally run private studio chain. I am currently ranked in the top 10 teachers out of approximately 2,000 teachers spanning over 156 studio locations. I also have the highest retention rating of all studio locations in the Northeast.
I have gigged up and down the east coast including New York City, Richmond, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Raleigh and perform with musicians from across the country. I released my first album in 1999 and have since expanded my recording experience in many situations as both a bandleader and sideman. Some of my projects include Nehema and Epoch Trio. Aside from standard size projects, I have composed music for various ensembles from duo projects to seventeen piece big band charts as well as for film and theatre.
I currently write and record with many artistic projects in and around the Philadelphia area including Anabiosis, Vierra-Branco/Moehring Duo, Dahb, Massless, Tulpa, Thumbarton, Autothysis and Moehring/Litwin/Masri Trio. I work out of my own studio where most of my time is spent practicing, rehearsing, recording and engineering alongside my dog Podo. I love experimenting with other musicians and developing new ideas and concepts. I am passionate about my art and enjoy passing all my knowledge and experiences on to my students. I feel very fortunate to be able to surround my life with the arts and look forward to each day, working full time as a creator, performer and educator. Music is my life.
I am an excellent communicator who is patient and focused while teaching for the individual needs of the student. My main objective is to focus on the development of each individual’s artistic sound with proper technique. I identify the different needs, strengths and weaknesses to create a unique lesson plan for each student that allows them to develop and reach their own long and short-term goals. I love seeing and being involved in "the process" of developing art and craft.
Over the many years of developing my craft and extending my education, I have acquired a wealth of knowledge and experience. I use this collective pool of expertise to guide each of my students down their own creative path.
BM with a focus in Jazz Performance
including: extensive college classes in classical percussion and composition