Mercedes M.

I am a current Music Education Major at the University of Illinois. Before that, I attended West Aurora High School as the first chair trumpet player in the concert and jazz setting for 2 years, and was a trumpet section leader and drum major of the marching band there.
I earned the John Phillip Sousa Band Award and the Semper Fidelis Marine Corps Musical Excellence Award for leadership, musical talent, and dedication in music. I was privately taught under Dr. Rod Schueller, a band director who formerly taught at Michigan State, Texas State, and Western Illinois University, and I currently study under Professors Ronald Romm and Charles Duval. I graduated in the top 1% of my class. As well, I attended and was an intern at the prestigious Smith Walbridge Drum Major Clinics, where I earned my 1st class rank nationally as a leader in teaching music.

I have been tutoring trumpet for 3 years, and have been playing for 10. I have taught between the ages of 10 and 17, and have experience on the beginning level up to classical and jazz music at the advanced level. Teaching is one of the greatest experiences I have ever had, and doing what I love for the rest of my life is a blessing in itself!

With my students, I work on creating a positive and comfortable playing environment so that the student feels safe making mistakes and asking questions. The only way to grow as a player is find the confidence to fail. As brass players, we need diligence, patience, and strong work ethic to improve, and a safe place to gain these skills is essential to every student. I want to get to know exactly how the student plays and what their goals are so I can work with them on achieving them and a little bit beyond them as well. Learning how to play an instrument or get better at it goes far beyond simple instruction- it comes from a connection to the music and a joyful willingness to mess up sometimes! That's how we grow.