Private lessons with top French Horn instructors near Hyde Park, MA

I teach hornists of all ages, and have been teaching privately for 6 years! I have a music education and horn performance background and teach based off the learning styles that best meet a student’s needs. I have experience with teaching young and mature beginners, elementary-high school, and college. I love helping students prepare for college auditions and exploring different options as to how music can be a part of their life. A unique process I love for teaching : using my students’ favorite song or artist to build fundamentals on the horn!

I am currently serving as Assistant Professor of Brass at Mount Allison University. An accomplished international chamber musician, I have performed with Volante Winds at the prestigious Fischoff Chamber Music Competition as well as being featured the Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival and the Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival. Volante Winds has also toured extensively throughout the United States giving concerts and masterclasses at various colleges and Universities. I have also performed in Europe as part of the Festival Internacional de Música Clásica in Vilagarcia Spain. I focus on beauty of sound and engaged music making and as a result my students have won places in the Chicago Youth Symphony, Sacramento Youth Symphony, Roanoke Youth Symphony and Superior Ratings at the NYSSMA State Solo Competition.

I am a jazz trumpeter, improviser, and composer as well as an avid listener and enthusiastic educator. I maintain an active performance schedule playing improvised music as well as funk, soul, afro-beat, reggae, hip-hop, and American folk music. In addition to trumpet, I have experience performing and recording on slide trumpet, trombone, baritone horn, and french horn. I write and arrange music for my own groups and regularly write and record horn arrangements for folk, pop, and reggae groups. I have attended Berklee College of Music and Ithaca College, and I have a Master's degree in jazz trumpet performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. I have over nine years of experience working with students ages 7 to adult. I have worked both from my home studio and though several public and community music school programs including the Hudson Arts Alliance in Hudson, MA, the Kittredge Elementary School in North Andover, MA, and the Performing Arts Center of Metro West in Framingham, MA. I have studied jazz performance with trumpet greats John McNeil and Walter White, improvisation with jazz gurus David Schumacher and Jerry Bergonzi, and George Russell's Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization with master composer and theorist Ben Schwendener. As an educator, my aim is to inspire in my students an enthusiasm for the artistic performance of music of any style. I strive to convey my own excitement for the art to young trumpeters and improvisers, and I have worked to encourage self-motivation and a longstanding interest in musical self-expression in elementary through high school students and adults. I have experience performing many styles of music from jazz and experimental improvised music to funk, reggae, and afro-beat, and I use my knowledge of divergent genres to encourage creative experimentation and convey the expressive artistic elements shared by all music. As an improviser I am particularly interested in teaching the theory and philosophy of spontaneous composition and musical communication.

I use a variety of materials to best fit what the student needs and would like to get out of taking lessons. I enjoy teaching and playing music and I try to make sure my students have fun as well!

Hello, and welcome to my music studio! If you are a beginner, I recommend you start with 30 minute weekly lessons. More advanced students often choose to have 45 minute or 60 minute lessons, depending on their goals. I have been teaching French horn professionally for over 6 years and I specialize in the elementary and intermediate levels of the instrument. I use a differentiated instruction method in my lessons which centers around tailoring instruction to meet individual student needs, interests, and goals. Instruction varies based on the type of learner, the age of the student, and whether or not they have prior experience. In private lessons, I teach students about basic theory, ear-training, sight-reading, scales, proper breathing, embouchure development, and much more. I will help students prepare for school-related events such as District Band auditions, Solo and Ensemble Festival, and coach them as they advance through middle and high school band and/or orchestra. A little about me: I began private French horn lessons at age 11 and continued lessons until age 17. I currently teach online and in-person music lessons in the DC/Northern Virginia area. I have played horn in ensembles such as the Manassas Ballet Theatre Orchestra and the Capital Wind Symphony. My current and past French horn instructors include Geoffrey Pilkington (Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra), Dr. Eric Moore (U.S. Navy Band), Philip Munds (Orchestra of the Royal Opera House; Baltimore Symphony), and Kelly Satterwhite (U.S. Army Band).

excellent instruction on a difficult horn many years of practical skill playing as well as teaching horn.

Want to learn how to play the Horn? My goals as a teacher are to make a judgment-free teaching environment with an emphasis on support and to further your own goals. All ages are welcome! Lessons will be catered to each student and you or your child will build a strong foundation that can be applied to all things in life! Send me a message and let's get started. We will use a 2-1 approach to constructive criticism, where for every possible improvement, we will say two positives. At times, we will use singing as a tool to figure out everything from melodies and rhythm. I also believe heavily in making music fun and enjoyable and loving our own sound. The types of repertoire we will explore include and are not limited to: solo music, concertos, etudes, calisthenics, orchestral repertoire, and duets. My only expectations - come in with an open mind and preparation! If you are a beginner horn player and do not know music theory (i.e., note reading, rhythm), please consider adding on a short Theory lesson every week so that the horn lessons can be the "application" part of the weekly lesson process.

Make the french horn sing as we work on your all-region material, your college audition work, or your festival music. We will also work on tone development, range, and finger technique.