I am incredibly passionate about all things music education! In a nutshell, my teaching philosophy revolves around:

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• The work of Lev Vygotsky and Social Constructivism

  • Encouraging student agency and leadership in the classroom (choir council, student conductors, student-led ensemble opportunities)

• The five pillars of Social Emotional Learning (Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision Making, Self-Management, Self-Awareness)

• The integration of Paolo Freire's Critical Consciousness into my every day instruction

  • Opening students' eyes to the ways in which they can affect meaningful change in the world around them, via music, or otherwise​

• Utilizing strategies provided by Django Paris and H. Samy Alim's Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy framework to be continuously mindful of how students' intersectionalities may uniquely affect their lived experiences

  • Dismantling an entire generation’s-worth of stereotypes that our young singers may still hold about communities that are different than us, by exposing students to music from a myriad of cultures outside of their own

• The gradual building of sight-singing and aural skills, so students may, at the very least, feel confident making music in casual/everyday settings, and at the very most, begin the process of bringing their musicianship to the professional level

• Facilitating in-depth conversation regarding the contextualization of music via textual and historical analysis

  • Via such conversation, instilling in students a reflex for compassion and radical empathy

• Showing students that emotional vulnerability is a strength and an asset

• Demonstrating disciplinary literacies and thought processes to students: how might we think, or conduct ourselves as, (young) professional musicians and artists?