The Early Days
At three, I began begging my mom, “I wanna play violin-piano.”
Two years later, she finally gave in… sort of.
“We can’t afford both. You’ll have to choose one.”
Even at the ripe old age of 5 years, I knew I had to play the violin.
At least that’s how my mom tells the story, and it just so happened the world’s foremost violist (no kidding!) had just moved to town and his wife taught violin lessons…
Violin Opens Gateways
Playing my violin has taken me from New York to Honolulu, from Moscow to London, and many places in between. I eventually met my wife through my violin teaching. I was teaching her niece. Ask me about that story sometime… Learning to make music truly opens so many gateways.
Learning to Teach
I began teaching and pedagogy training as a teenager in the 80’s. As an adult, I attended both Utah Valley State College and Portland State University, where I was concertmaster of each symphony and a scholarship student to boot.
While living in Portland, I joined the American Federation of Musicians (the musician’s union) and worked as a violinist playing in the Vancouver Symphony, Columbia Symphony, Portland Chamber Orchestra, some other classical groups, and also with some bands. I was brought on at Linfield College to sit side-by-side with college students as a player/mentor/coach in their orchestra. I also taught private and group violin viola lessons as a performing-artist instructor on the faculty of Portland’s Community Music Center. Additionally, I taught orchestra at Stoller Middle School before accepting a position directing the orchestra program at a prestigious private K-12. After moving to Utah, I continued my private teaching and conducted and coached after-school youth symphony groups as well.
Although I enjoy teaching private lessons and coaching small ensembles much more than the typical school orchestra programs, I’m grateful to continue to be invited to adjudicate for regional solo & ensemble festivals as well as orchestra festivals for the excellent high school, junior high, and middle school programs around Utah Valley, as well as solo & ensemble festivals for younger children from other private lesson studios.
Now when I teach I draw on all the experiences I’ve had in learning to play music. I strive to make learning music fun and creative. I do that by getting to know your unique aspirations and then teaching what you want to learn to move toward your musical goals. Play on!
Some of My Favorite Musical Artists
You would be just as likely to hear me strumming a guitar and singing a Beatles love song as playing Irish jigs and reels or a Bach suite on electric 5-string violin. There is so much incredible music… And I love so much of it that it’s difficult to make a short list of my favorites, but I have to mention Itzhak Perlman, Nigel Kennedy, Andrew Manze, Kevin Burke, Martin Hayes, Mark O’Connor, Angela Hewitt, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte, Bill Frisell, Neil Diamond, Elvis Presley, Etta James, Pablo Casals, Andrés Segovia, Quartetto Italiano, Emerson Quartet, Hagen Quartet, Gil Shaham, Mendelssohn, Resphigi, Stravinsky, Vaughan Williams, R. Strauss, Leonard Bernstein, Vienna Philharmonic, The Beatles, CCR, Jimi Hendrix, Rush, Oingo Boingo, U2, Massive Attack, Muse, Radiohead, Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony, Georg Solti, Cleveland Orchestra, Carlos Kleiber, Claudio Abbado, and of course, John Williams, Mahler, Mozart, Haydn, Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Bach. That’s just getting started. There is so, much, more!
Please contact me if you’re interested in lessons.