Carlos Cordeiro
About
Hello! I'm a professional musician, specializing in clarinet. For the last few years, I've studied and performed in most of the members of the clarinet family all around the world in Europe, North America, and Asia. My background is in orchestra playing and ensemble playing, with a lot of solo concerts and recitals. The most recent groups I’ve been a part of are loadbang Ensemble and TAK Ensemble, although through the past 5 years I’ve been part of and played with many more.
I graduated with a master's degree in Orchestral Performance from Rice University, Houston, TX, and a master’s degree in Contemporary Performance from Manhattan School of Music, New York City, NY. My teaching experience started during undergrad, I was the artistic director and conductor for a small music school, and gave lessons in clarinet, flute, guitar, and keyboard. As I specialized more and more in clarinet, so did my teaching, and culminated with being an assistant to my teacher during my master’s. Now I teach mostly private lessons and masterclasses. I believe that consistency is one of the most important assets when leaning an instrument. Even if only for a short duration a day, consistent practice will make improve much faster. I encourage my students to challenge themselves, compose, improvise, experiment, and very important, enjoy and feel accomplished and happy with what they are doing.
Teaching Style
It is my belief that each student is unique and brings a different set of challenges for both parts. And so, I try to learn as much from interacting with the student as I learn from the student’s evolution in playing. As I take great pride in seeing my students grow as musicians and instrumentalists, I believe that it is also my responsibility to prepare and equip them to not need me, – and so I teach not by just imitation or dogma, but by guiding the student to understand what the problems and solutions are, and foster a inquisitive and curious environment, where hopefully the student will learn the skills to forge its own path and prosper.
Curriculum
When it comes to methods, I believe in developing a method for every student – everyone is different, has different strengths and struggles, and everyone learns at a different speed. For beginners I tend to not use publish method books, instead I design/compose exercises and pieces (usually in a style that the student is interested in) to develop the student’s ability focusing on what the student needs, and then when the student is more advanced we look into traditional etudes and pieces – always encouraging the student to compose and improvise, no matter if a beginner or advanced. My versatility, experience, and formal training help me to make the learning experience easy, stress-free and fun. My personal passion is contemporary music, but I firmly believe that great technique is essential to any and every style. I look forward to meeting you and helping you to become a better musician!