Education

D.M.A. Jazz Studies Performance, New England Conservatory of Music, 2024

M.M. Jazz Studies (emphasis in Recording Engineering), University of Central Oklahoma, 2013

B.M. Jazz Studies & Performing Arts Management, DePaul University, 2006

I recently compled my D.M.A. from NEC in Boston and currently reside in Tulsa, OK. Before starting this degree in 2019 I was an adjunct faculty member at The University of Tulsa where I taught Applied Jazz and Classical Saxophone, Jazz Ear Training, and conducted the Jazz Combos and the second Big Band. My goal as a classroom and private educator is to cultivate a complete musician who is able to function in many diverse fields, whether as an improvisor, composer, educator or recording engineer. I specialize in the art of American jazz improvisation but I was a classically trained saxophonist in my formative years so students should expect the following in private studies: embouchure formation, tone production, technical skills (scales, arpeggios, thirds, etc), jazz vocabulary and theory and transcription work. Since I host weekly jazz jam sessions at Low Down (Wed. nights starting in July) and Coffee House on Cherry St. (Thurs. afternoons), a primary goal with in private instruction is to hone the skills necessary for the student to come to a session confident to play a selection of tunes from memory and improvise around the chord changes. Jazz was historically a music learned through oral transmission and I believe the most effective way to make music is to take our eyes off the page and try our best to make our fellow players sound good.