I love making music and sharing the joy of creating with other people. I’ve learned that the teacher’s job is to inspire the student to learn. It is not only to give practice materials and exercises, but to form a healthy relationship with the student to increase the interest in the area of study. In my experience, the best teachers weren’t the ones who gave me the most challenging material, but the ones who invested in me as a person and created a bond of trust between us.

I am familiar with teaching many different styles, and am most comfortable in Jazz, the Blues, Rock, Pop, and Soul. I also have played on many worship teams for different churches, so I am comfortable diving into that genre as well. I am an alumni of Cairn University(Langhorne) where I got my Bachelor’s in Worship & Music, and a Bachelor’s of Science in Bible. I have been involved in many different projects and collaborations. I also have composed original music for a chamber ensemble for my Senior Recital, which you can watch below:

When did you begin playing Guitar, and why?

I originally started playing guitar in 11th grade to take a break from sports. I taught myself for 2 years, and accelerated very quickly. Eventually, I took lessons with a performance emphasis, and decided to make it my major in college.

What other instruments do you play, and what is your experience with them?

I play bass, drums, and keyboard, and am also a singer. I have experience performing all of them onstage and speaking their respective languages.

What are your personal goals as a musician?

In the long term, I want to enter the Philly Jazz scene and make connections with other creatives with similar visions as mine.

Do you have a memory of a time when a musical concept or technique really clicked?  Something you’ll remember forever?

Learning the Major 7th arpeggios is something that I’ll never forget. I remember it specifically impacting my improvisational ability and opening my fingers up to new shapes and melodies across the fretboard.

What is your favorite piece of advice from one of your past (or current) teachers?

Joshua Stamper gave me some advice I’ll never forget: The state of myself directly impacts the state of the music. Music is not only an artistic activity, but a personal and even spiritual activity.

What was your most challenging moment learning an instrument

My first time performing in public during high school was very difficult. I recall battling many technical issues and a lot of stage fright. On the guitar, I struggled a lot learning the melodic minor modes and their respective tone colors. In particular, imposing those new colors over different chords and improvising outside of the key is still something I’m trying to master, but starting that process was a big challenge.

What is your biggest musical achievement?

My Senior recital in college. So much preparation went into this project! Booking flights, scheduling rehearsals, writing all of the music, and finding the right room were all involved in making this the success that it was. It is something that is uniquely mine, and a display of my ability in a way that none of my other gigs were.

Favorite thing about teaching?

Watching the student fall in love with music is unlike any other thing. Learning the song they’ve wanted to learn or reaching goals they’ve set is the reason I teach. These things make me proud of my students, and happy to be their teacher.

What is a piece of advice you would like to share with anyone learning music?

It is important to learn recorded songs, but equally important is to extract concepts from those songs and recognize what makes them tick.

Personal music projects:

Crooked Hill: pop music and songwriting, guitar and production
Sed Contra: experimental hip hop: assistant producer
Andrew Narvaez: pop music and songwriting, guitar and production
Vistablue: indie-alternative, lead guitar in performances and recordings
imechoes: devotional music, songwriting and composition