Piano with Jack S.

JS Music

I started teaching piano lessons as a hobby while in high school. I am grateful for my informal start in teaching because it led me to formulate the philosophy that has guided my pedagogical approach ever since. Not being glued to rigid, predetermined methods allowed me to see how my students learned best. While at the University of Chicago, I continued to teach and amassed a studio of fifteen private students by the end of my senior year. To this day, I go into each lesson with a flexible mindset and I see my job as helping students achieve their goals, not mine. While it is important to have clear, organized long and short-term plans, I remind myself daily that my work as a teacher must be motivated by my students’ objectives. The greatest difficulty in teaching is that students often practice in a way that does not align with their established goals. It is my job to reconcile the practice method with the long-term objective of the student. Unsurprisingly, students who have agency in the process of learning the piano are more motivated and successful. When choosing repertoire, I never force students to work on pieces they dislike, and I would never value the allegedly proven fundamentals of piano technique more than I value my students’ sense of fulfillment and their love of music.

Stellar Music Space

As an assistant music teacher at Stellar Music Space, a private lesson studio in Brooklyn, NY, I taught piano and strings lessons and offered vocal coaching to students of various ages and musical backgrounds.

Great Neck Public Schools Summer Music Program

During the summers of 2014, 2015, and 2016, I worked in the Great Neck Public School District's summer school program. As a student assistant in the music enrichment program, I had the opportunity to work with students one-on-one, to coach small groups, and to lead larger ensembles. I worked primarily in the strings department, teaching beginner violin, viola, cello and intermediate orchestra. I also assisted with the jazz band and chamber music programs as a rehearsal pianist and a small-group coach.

Manhattan School of Music PreCollege Division

University of Chicago

Professional Proficiency

Native Proficiency

Native Proficiency