Trombone Lessons in Sterling. Amazing Teachers.

Hello! I’m Michael, and I play trombone for the United States Army Band. My lessons focus on fundamentals of playing that last a lifetime!

I am an experienced teacher, having been a low brass teacher for over a decade. Over 90% of my students that study privately through their senior year of high school receive some form of college scholarship for musical ability, as well as excellent standardized test scores. Additionally, my students have received placement in state rankings for organizations such as NYSSMA, TMEA, ASBOA, as well as Interlochen and Tanglewood summer institutes.
My lessons are customized to each students needs and goals, with the primary goal being a cultivation of great fundamentals.
As a performer, my experience as a freelancer in NYC and performing with word class ensembles like the Metropolitan Opera, Broadway shows, and chamber ensembles makes me an excellent choice.

Learn to produce an even, beautiful sound in all registers, and prepare solos, music assigned for school, or whatever else you're interested in!

I have been playing trombone, and more specifically, bass trombone, for over 20 years. I have studied trombone at New Mexico State University with Dr. Allan Kaplan, and at CalArts with James Miller of the LA Philharmonic. I have played, performed and recorded professionally with choirs, theater productions, jazz bands, marching and concert bands, symphony orchestras, small ensembles, and brass bands all over the world.

I work to make my lessons enjoyable AND engaging. I will spend time with you on fundamentals such as key and scale studies, tuning, functional harmony, breathing studies, arpeggios, mouthpiece studies, rhythm and counting exercises all the way into more difficult materials such as extending your range, melodic and improvisation skills, single- and double-valve studies, and even into extended techniques, such as multiphonics, split tones, circular breathing, quarter tonal methods and more.

I am a professional trumpet player and an experienced brass teacher. I moved to the UK in 2014 and have been working with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and have also performed as a soloist with the New Mozart Ensemble and the Verbier Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland. I graduated from the Juilliard School in New York in 2012 and spent one year with a contract with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra as assistant principal trumpet. I have also been a member of the Verbier Festival and Chamber Orchestras since 2012, touring with them all over Europe and Asia. As a teacher, my experiences have been diverse. I was the trumpet coach of the pre-college program at the Juilliard School during my time as a postgraduate student and have taught at workshops in Rio de Janeiro. I am currently the brass teacher at St George’s Ascot, a brass tutor for both Lambeth and Sutton music services, a brass coach for the Chineke Orchestra, and the sabbatical cover ...

Students begin with the Rubank method. A strong emphasis is placed on the fundamentals of scales, ear training, sight reading, and music theory. Along with this we have fun playing the music student enjoys.

I've been teaching Trombone and Bass Trombone for 3 years. Within the first few lessons, I'll have taught you new breathing techniques and you will (hopefully!) improve more so than you were before and as time goes on you'll be able to move on from this lesson to something more advanced. I have a heavy focus on Technique in both playing and breathing and I will typically use my own books or Rochuts for practice or warm up (All Provided by me of course!) :))