Caleb M.

Caleb has been my son’s trumpet instructor for almost 6 months now. He has a keen ability to get across everything needed for a highly effective online lesson. I cannot tell you what a HUGE convenience it's been for us to have these expert lessons in the comfort and convenience of our home. I would have to drive 45 minutes over a mountain pass to get to the nearest qualified instructor. In the middle of snowstorms, and even with my son in p.j.'s, we can have our lesson right here at home. In an ordinary lesson environment a parent usually is expected to leave the room. With Caleb, I can be nearby while my son receives his lesson. This is helpful for me to reinforce points that Caleb made during his lesson with my son when he is practicing during the week. Currently he's working with my son on his honor jazz band audition, as well as a classical oratorio piece that he'll be playing on tour in Europe with our local community orchestra. Caleb is qualified to teach any style of music. He’s super friendly but never loses his honesty with the student. We often have special requests for each lesson and Caleb is able to tailor each lesson to work on the new pieces and still fit in valuable instruction with scales and solid technique. Not only is Caleb a great teacher, but he is on many professional recordings, and is a regularly-working professional musician in Chicago. My son is very lucky to have him as an instructor. We're very impressed with Caleb and know you will be too!

I have been taking lessons with Caleb for a few months now, starting as an adult beginner. Caleb works to help me see the big picture in order to facilitate a more comprehensive understanding rather than just teaching me to memorize. I have found his teaching style very effective, and am looking forward to growing with his continued instruction and guidance. I should also note that he's a real nice guy.

Caleb is a great teacher. He has a hands-on teaching style integrated with music theory. He's also friendly and easy going, so he's suitable for any age. A big plus is, unlike your traditional lessons of learning x pieces and x scales, he works with you on what you're most interested in learning while blending in what you need to know. I highly recommend him!

My 9year old is loving her lessons with Caleb. He is super patient with her many questions. I personally appreciate his willingness to let me watch/participate and his openness to new ways to approach helping her learn. He handled the differences in what she hears from her band teacher extremely well- being respectful of what the band leader said while explaining why we should really do something different.

Caleb tunes right into your experience level and has a ton to offer right from the beginning while being really easy to work with. We talked about goals and trumpet history and started structuring a new warmup routine. With Caleb's diverse performing experience, he can teach you about hip hop, funk, jazz, orchestral, and small ensemble brass work (plus probably some other stuff I don't know about yet).

Caleb has been teaching my son trumpet for the past 4 years. He is a very talented teacher who is musically gifted, as well as patient and kind.

Loving music and playing trumpet has enriched my son's life, both socially and emotionally. He is currently first chair in his middle school band and plans to pursue band in high school. His pleasure in playing with his peers and his pride in his accomplishments are wonderful to see. Last year, he played "New York, New York" as part of a three piece band at a school event and in March 2017, he will play the entire score of the Lion King with the pit orchestra for the 8th grade play.

But the best part as a parent is seeing that he often walks around the house humming a random tune under his breath, even when he isn't aware of it. It makes me smile to see him be so happy!

Thank you, Caleb!

Caleb has been teaching my son trumpet for the past 4 years. He is a very talented teacher who is musically gifted, as well as patient and kind.

Loving music and playing trumpet has enriched my son's life, both socially and emotionally. He is currently first chair in his middle school band and plans to pursue band in high school. His pleasure in playing with his peers and his pride in his accomplishments are wonderful to see. Last year, he played "New York, New York" as part of a three piece band at a school event and in March 2017, he will play the entire score of the Lion King with the pit orchestra for the 8th grade play.

But the best part as a parent is seeing that he often walks around the house humming a random tune under his breath, even when he isn't aware of it. It makes me smile to see him be so happy!

Thank you, Caleb!

Caleb is an amazing trumpet specialist and a wonderful wonderful trumpet teacher. My son is 13. He started taking private lessons from Caleb in Dec 2013 as a beginner. Caleb has been great throughout the 3 years. He is patient, fun, and firm. And he knows how to challenge a student and keep him interested. We are so glad we found him. An amazing teacher!

Caleb is both knowledgeable and passionate about music and he passes this on through excellent engaging lessons. After each lesson I feel I have progressed and his friendly approach helps to build confidence. I always look forward to my lessons with Caleb and would strongly recommend him.

Caleb was recommended to me by friends when my son inquired about trumpet lessons to augment the lessons he was receiving at his school. My son is 11 years old. Caleb has been instrumental in making my son have a ton more confidence in his trumpet playing skills and has taught my son to become a better player. My son's school band was not a good fit for him so he left, but he insisted on continuing with lessons with Caleb. Now my son is able to take his trumpet experience with his "rock band" shows.

Caleb is patient, well versed in music, and is incredibly talented. We take weekly lessons with Caleb and have been very happy with his teaching style and my son's ability to become a better trumpet player.

I HIGHLY recommend Caleb for trumpet lessons for any age!

I had a great experience taking piano lessons with Caleb and would highly recommend him to any friend who was looking to take trumpet or piano lessons. He made sure to teach the theory behind the music, as well as the technique of playing it, and encouraged me to feel free to choose the direction, pace, and focus of the lessons.

Caleb is the best trumpet instructor I have ever had! He is thorough, explains his methods and why he is teaching what he is teaching, helps his students develop good practices that will be extremely beneficial down the line, and is flexible with how to structure a lesson depending on what you want out of it. On top of all that, he is amiable, interesting, and professional. I feel very good taking trumpet lessons from a professional trumpet player; especially this one.

My 9year old is loving her lessons with Caleb. He is super patient with her many questions. I personally appreciate his willingness to let me watch/participate and his openness to new ways to approach helping her learn. He handled the differences in what she hears from her band teacher extremely well- being respectful of what the band leader said while explaining why we should really do something different.

I can't really say enough good things about Caleb. His resume is an impressive one, but his personality and teaching style are far more impressive because those are things you can't get from a resume. My ten year old just completed her second session with Caleb and has already shown improvement of which she is super excited about, and can't wait to improve more under Caleb's tutelage.

Caleb tunes right into your experience level and has a ton to offer right from the beginning while being really easy to work with. We talked about goals and trumpet history and started structuring a new warmup routine. With Caleb's diverse performing experience, he can teach you about hip hop, funk, jazz, orchestral, and small ensemble brass work (plus probably some other stuff I don't know about yet).

Caleb tunes right into your experience level and has a ton to offer right from the beginning while being really easy to work with. We talked about goals and trumpet history and started structuring a new warmup routine. With Caleb's diverse performing experience, he can teach you about hip hop, funk, jazz, orchestral, and small ensemble brass work (plus probably some other stuff I don't know about yet).

My 9 year-old son has been enjoying his trumpet lessons with Caleb a lot. Caleb is nice and patient, which is very encouraging for children. He is also easy to communicate with, very flexible and always on time. I highly recommend him for younger clients.

My 17 year old daughter has had lessons with Caleb for over a month now and she really enjoys working with him:) She signed up for "customized" lessons. As messy and random as that sounds, Caleb brings progression and structure which allows her to learn and expand as a student and an artist. They begin their lessons with scales and exercises for finger coordination and dexterity, and then move on to reading and practicing with the metronome. Gradually, they segue to my daughter's favorite part, which is when she has him listen to a song that she likes (her genre of vocaloid or anime music which is not easily found--if at all--in printed music), and they both tinker on the piano by ear until they are satisfied with a dual-handed rendition--by portion or in entirety. Caleb then transcribes whatever they worked on and he additionally gives her homework for the next week. Caleb is patient and meticulous, soft-spoken, but direct. His approach to music and tailoring lessons to his students, is something that one cannot teach but must come from the soul. He is warm and friendly, and his passion for music translates to his method of teaching. I honestly cannot imagine anyone not benefiting from and enjoying his instruction. My daughter and I could not be more pleased:)

Caleb has been teaching my 13 year old son trumpet for 3 years. He is an amazingly kind and talented teacher who connects well with kids.

My son loves his lessons and has made excellent progress. In fact, when he recently played the Sinatra song, "New York, New York", with two other children for the school play the enormous smile he had on his face was priceless!

Caleb is a real find! I highly recommend him!

Caleb was recommended to me by friends when my son inquired about trumpet lessons to augment the lessons he receives from school. My son is 10 years old. Caleb has been instrumental in making my son have a ton more confidence in his trumpet playing skills and has taught my son to become a better player. Now, when my son comes home from school-band practice he says that the "other" trumpet players aren't keeping up. :-)

Caleb is patient, well versed in music, and is incredibly talented. We take lessons in his home and have been very happy with his teaching style and my son's ability to become a better trumpet player.

I highly recommend Caleb for trumpet lessons for any age!

Caleb is an amazing trumpet specialist and a wonderful wonderful trumpet teacher. My son who is now 12 started taking private lessons with Caleb in Dec 2014 as a complete beginner. He has progressed so much in a little over a year that he is the best trumpetor in his middle school. And he may be performing in a jazz band with high schoolers this fall. This is greatly because of Caleb. He is incredible with children and teens. He is patient, fun, and firm. We are so glad we found him.