Introduction: I specialize in folk music instruction for:
* Bluegrass, country, and blues guitar
* Old-time, five-string banjo and music theory and history.
* Solo and harmony singing: I help students find and improve their own voices. I encourage the voices they are born with, rather than forcing them into a mold of what we have come to label as good. I do not coach voice for opera.
I have been playing music professionally for ten years and teaching for almost as long. I work comfortably with individuals or small groups of all ages (kids, adults, and seniors) and all skill levels, from beginners to advanced. My teaching philosophy is rooted in the belief that learning or improvement is a journey the student and the teacher take together. It is my duty as a teacher to work with the student's individual learning style rather than trying to apply a one-size-fits-all formula.
Following are my credentials:
* Studied music at Wesleyan University
* Studied guitar and banjo with folk music virtuoso, Bruce Molsky (Beacon, NY)
* Studied classical guitar with Terry Champlin (Poughkeepsie, NY)
* Studied voice with master vocal coach, Charles Williams (Washington, DC)
* Was a member of the winning group on the 2007 "People in Their Twenties Competition" on the A Prairie Home Companion radio show
* Was awarded an Appalachian music fellowship by Berea College in 2010
* Have placed in competitions at several folk music festivals around the country
