My Story

I grew up in Michigan, USA, where I've had a natural affinity for music from a young age. One of my earliest memories is playing with a toy xylophone for so long that my parents hid it so I'd stop driving them crazy. In elementary school I was given an alto sax by my mother. I taught myself how to read music and the key fingerings well before I was old enough to enter the school music program. In my teens I discovered what ended up being my life-long love, the guitar, and began performing it with the school jazz band and a fusion three piece with some of my classmates. Near the end of grade school my music teacher let me take an elective independent study focused on music theory (since my school didn't offer it) which kicked off another love-affair with theory and composition. My study of guitar and music never stopped and after school I began performing with various bands throughout the Midwest in the styles of Jazz, Funk, Fusion, and Popular Music. In my early twenties I went on to begin giving private lessons, and teaching group classes covering a wide range of subjects. Late in 2023 my wife, 2 dogs, and I moved to London to embark on a new adventure and I'm deeply excited to be a member of the musical community here. 

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Something I think prospective students should know about me is that things do not come naturally for me. Not music, teaching, and certainly not sports! Although this might seem like a weakness on its face, I think it (and have validated) that it uniquely positions me to have an effective teaching style for many students. For me to really get good at a given task, I must thoroughly understand it and spend a lot of time with it. This naturally causes me to give deep consideration to every element of musical education that I employ, which, in turn, helps me relay that information meaningfully to students.