Clarinet with David K.

I am an orchestral clarinetist, K-12 music teacher and home school dad who teaches Christian clarinet lessons to students ages 10 and older. I graduated with a Bachelor of Music from Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA, a Master of Arts in Theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and I have studied with teachers who graduated from Julliard and Manhattan School of Music. I have also been influenced by the teaching style and signature sound of clarinetist David Weber, as well as Russian and Slavic traditions of teaching, all of which emphasize the art of clarinet playing. Throughout high school, college and as a professional, I have been first chair and principle clarinetist in almost every group in which I have played, and I have a passion to help my students enjoy making music for the glory of God. Making music involves more than playing notes on a page. It is an activity which captures our imaginations, helps us express our feelings, and draws us to our Creator. Music has been used to connect with God throughout human history, and in the Bible, music holds a special place in God's kingdom for worship. Even the ancient Greeks believed music was the bridge between the spiritual and the physical and referred to music as one of the seven liberal arts - disciplines which show us what it means to be human. In the art of clarinet playing, I emphasize the combination of proper technique with fluent, beautiful musicality, and I seek to lead my students to grand emotional experiences in music, to serve others with their talents, and to look beyond the music to a relationship with God. My philosophy of education is Christ-centered and classically oriented, and I seek to be an inspiring mentor to my students. As a classical educator, I lead my students to embrace truth, goodness and beauty, and to discover the wonders of God and His creation. I also use the trivium method, which breaks learning down into three stages: the Grammar stage for memorizing the details of a subject, the Dialectic stage for analyzing how those details fit together, and the Rhetoric stage for expressing a subject with skill and artistry. The Bible talks about these stages as knowledge, understanding and wisdom. I incorporate this method into my lessons by focusing first on the five basics of clarinet playing: angle of the instrument, embouchure, breathing, finger placement and tonguing. Next, I progress to beautiful sound production, dynamics and phrasing, and accurate tempo and evenness of notes. These basics lay a foundation for musical expression in performance without the encumbrance of bad technique, which will help students enjoy playing their instrument in various contexts throughout their lives. While playing the clarinet is challenging, I seek to make learning fun, interactive and family friendly. I also set goals for each student. For beginners, I use the Essential Elements curriculum, which incorporates music theory and history from the start. For intermediate and advanced students, I use the David Weber warm-ups and Daniel Bonade tonguing exercises, as well as a variety of standard clarinet method books, including those for scales, scale patterns, etude studies and orchestral excerpts. In addition, I specialize in high school district, state and college audition preparation, including help with sight reading and solo work. If you are interested in learning the art of clarinet playing from a Christian perspective, please give my lessons a try!