Stephen West
About
My name is Stephen West and I have been teaching music for over 15 years. I love working with students of various ages from children to adults, and I love learning and teaching a wide variety of music with several different instruments.
Teaching Style
Currently, I have been teaching K-12 music for over 15 years. I have taught elementary, middle, and high school choir, and I have also worked with choirs on the collegiate level. I have a B.A. in music with a vocal performance seal, and I have M.M. in choral conducting. I have been playing guitar since I was seven years old, and playing the piano since I was twelve. I have toured and performed solos in choirs in New York and in South Korea. In the last four years I have been teaching private music lessons in addition to my classroom teaching on instruments including piano, guitar, violin, ukulele, and voice.
Curriculum
I use a variety of teaching methods. For my basic instrument texts, I like using Alfred for piano and Suzuki for violin. For voice, I like to discuss the students' goals and preferred musical style, but I like using Sing Legato as a vocal exercise book along with several vocal exercises I was taught by my instructors. I encourage aural training in all instruments, and I like to find music the students want to learn to balance out the work we put in while learning the fundamentals.
Credentials & Affiliations
B. A. Music, vocal performance seal, Armstrong Atlantic State University
M.M. Choral Conducting, Youngstown State University