Rockdale teachers are the real deal—we make sure of it! We select our teachers here carefully (think CIA application process but harder), making sure that our team meets three key criteria:
Today, we’re chatting with Stephen, our resident saxophone, flute, and piano teacher. We talked with him about his music journey, his best advice for new musicians, and the artists he’s loving at the moment.
How long have you been teaching music?
I started teaching when I was in college. I picked up students over the summer and had the opportunity to teach at the Play on Philly Program, where I taught woodwinds and most recently instructed a course on beginner composition!
How long have you been playing music?
My first instrument was piano, which I started playing when I was six years old. It wasn’t until 6th grade that I picked up saxophone. I actually just started playing flute seriously this past year, and I hope to work up my clarinet playing to a respectable level.
What advice would you give to a new music student?
My main advice to new or long time students of music would be to seek out recordings or videos of professionals playing your chosen instrument. What advice would you give to a new music student? It’s incredible how much information you can soak up, both consciously and subconsciously, about how the instrument should sound and be played. When looking at a video of a master musician, try and notice elements of technique.
What’s your favorite thing about teaching at Rockdale?
The best thing about teaching at Rockdale is the community that comes along with it! With such a close knit community, opportunities like the Carol of the Bells project arise, which wouldn’t happen in other more clinical or less sociable programs.
What have you been listening to lately?
I went to school to get my undergraduate in jazz performance and my honors degree in jazz composition. Because of this, I primarily listen to any music or genre which intersect with jazz. What have you been listening to lately? My current favorite saxophonists are Michael Brecker, John Coltrane, and Seamus Blake! I listen to a lot of them, as well as a ton of other jazz musicians from yesterday and today.
What’s a fun fact we might be surprised to learn about you?
One fun fact that might be surprising is that I’m a triplet! We’re fraternal, and very different – one of my brothers is an English teacher and teaches students from places like China and Taiwan, and my other brother is a software engineer.
Any recent projects you’d like to share?
One of the virtual recordings I’ve done over the past year is of a composition I wrote that switches between a slow waltz feel and a bossa nova feel.