Experienced Piano Teacher And Member Of The Utah Music Teachers Association.

Teaching Philosophy:

I believe music encompasses universal truths, making an impact on everyone from young to old; but still contains different meanings for each individual. Music surpasses language barriers, gathers people together, soothes the soul, and heightens our imagination and emotions.

Teaching students to perform music provides an important challenge. The student/musician must understand and be grounded in all aspects of musicianship which include: performance artistry, strong technical skills, sight-reading, ear-training, theory, music composition, performance, music history, and the study of composers. These aspects are the basic stepping stones of my teaching program.

My goal is to have the student be independent of me by knowing how to practice correctly, how to count, articulate, set realistic goals, perform, and finally to portray his/her love of music and knowledge of music to others. Interestingly enough, when this is accomplished, the student will also have reinforced his/her self-esteem, thus providing the student with his/her own self motivation to continue learning. I strive to provide my students with new and innovative techniques that will foster their appreciation of music, but will still be within the grasp of their understanding, ability, and musical taste as they develop musically. Understanding what each student "brings to the learning table" helps me develop a distinctly personalized course of study for each individual.

My Experience:

I began teaching piano professionally 1986 after discovering the Utah Music Teachers Association (UMTA). I am a member of two local chapters and have served in these chapters in a variety of positions, including the following: Membership Chair, Teacher Referrals Chair, Webmaster, Recital and Ensemble Chair, Recital Committee member, Secretary and Past-President of the Sandy Chapter of the Utah Music Teachers Association along with the Festivals Chairman for the "Sandy Area" of the Utah Federation of Music Clubs (UFMC) affiliated with the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC).

I offer a vital mentoring program for high school and college students to current music students. Several of my students have pursued professional pedagogical studies, joined professional music organizations, and are now successfully teaching students of their own.

As part of these local music teachers associations, my students and I have participated over the last 25 years in monster concerts, ensemble recitals and benefit events. Through the Sandy UMTA, I organized and participated in large-scale benefit programs in local malls involving eight pianos for benefiting cystic fibrosis, leukemia and muscular dystrophy. The most recent benefit concert was to help s. My music students raised significant funding for these causes through their music. In 2000 we received a grant from the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) for our community effort.