PEDAGOGY PHILOSOPHY

As I near my thirtieth year as an educator, I still feel a great sense of excitement when charged with the job of mentoring young clarinetists in their quest to become professional musicians. From my experience as a performer and pedagogue, I have developed a unique approach to teaching that challenges students to not only master the technique of playing the clarinet, but to find their voice on the instrument and to learn how to use the clarinet as a vehicle for artistic expressivity. My ultimate goal with each student is to ignite in them a passion that will instill a life-long thirst for knowledge and possibility. I am proud of the professional successes of my former students across a wide breadth of the field of music, but I feel more fulfilled that my musical progeny are thoughtful, self-aware and compassionate people.

In working with students in lessons, my goal is to help them develop ideals of technique, tone and musicianship to which they can aspire. I help them to set short-term goals so that they are able to assess where their strengths and weaknesses lie. I stress the idea of practicing as a science that needs to be studied and quantified in order to help the students objectify their playing and continually reassess where they are. It is through this process that they develop autonomy and begin to develop their own distinctive voice on the instrument. I teach the idea that the clarinet is an extension of the human voice and that their product is a representation of their ability to transcend the instrument and bring life to the music on the page in a convincing, engaging and stylistically appropriate manner. Although my method is prescriptive in nature, I am acutely aware of individual learning styles and I adjust my approach to meet the diverse needs and goals of the individual student.

As the clarinet is an instrument that is traditionally played without vibrato, the musical result can often be monochromatic in color and shape, as compared with the innate expressivity of instruments that employ vibrato in tone production. To help my students develop a more varied palette of colors in their playing, I have developed and written a series of exercises that are a synergy of technical control and experimentation with vocal expressivity. These exercises, that I have named “Bel Canto” studies, not only help the student to develop a solid foundation of tone with homogeneous motion throughout the range of the instrument, but also challenge them to explore tone color possibilities and how to breathe three-dimensional life into two-dimensional music from the page. The flexibility that is a result of proper study of these exercises serves as a jumping off point for color and musical shape possibilities in mastering repertoire and creating engaging performances. This approach addresses an area of clarinet pedagogy where there has been a dearth of methods written and it has been effective in training well-rounded and expressive musicians (Please find the Bel Canto exercises attached).

The year after I joined the faculty of the University of Michigan, the job of a second clarinet professor became vacant and I found myself  in a position to look at varied possibilities for the future of our clarinet program. It was at that point that I planted a seed to create a paradigm where the students could have equal access to both professors throughout their studies and where we, as the professors, could model collegiality, support and unity, creating a coalescence of the sharing of ideas. I am incredibly proud of our clarinet program and the vast ocean of knowledge that we have made available to our students as a result of our teamwork. Our studio is incredibly close-knit and the strong bond that has developed between us as educators is palpable and infectious. As a result, our students are supportive of one another and unabashed in their grit and desire to succeed.

I expose my students to a variety of musical styles, including not only the compositions of the traditional European and American masters, but those of jazz, Latin, Asian, African, contemporary music with extended techniques, Klezmer and improvisatory styles of playing that help to broaden their exposure and allow them to develop a wide palette of options in the field of music. In addition, I encourage my students to take advantage of the EXCEL program in the School of Music, Theater and Dance to help them gain insight into careers in music that lie outside of the traditional performing/education realm. I am extremely proud of the diversity of career paths that my former students have followed. Some highlighted examples of the scope of professions are: Sean Krissman, Principal Clarinet of the Houston Grand Opera; Danny Mui, Second and Bass Clarinet of the New York City Ballet; Jack Walters, Second Clarinet of the Detroit Symphony; Mark Dover, Clarinetist in the Imani Winds; Kari Dion, founding member and Clarinetist in the Akropolis Reed Quintet; Cecilia Kang, Associate Professor of Music at Louisiana State University; Joey Velez, Clarinetist in the Air Force Band; David Snyder, Asst. Personnel Manager of the Cleveland Orchestra. Examples of students who have gone on to study outside of the area of performance are: Allison Chu, pursuing a Ph.D in Musicology at Yale University; Rina Sugawara, pursuing a Ph.D in Music Theory from the University of Minnesota; Anita Ho, attending medical school at the University of Michigan. The above examples are only a small sampling of the successes of my former students (please find a complete list attached).

I greatly value my role as a mentor in my students’ lives. The trust and bond that develops over time often becomes something that they can count on as they work their way through their education and early adulthood. At the undergraduate level, guidance is especially important, as these talented and bright students are often unsure of their path and may want to explore options. I feel that it is my primary role to usher them down the path that will lead to a successful career in the field of music. But it is equally important that, in times of question, I leave room for and help them to explore possibilities that may not lie within this path and to support them as they look at options and possibilities at these crossroads. I have worked hard with my students to equip them with the tools, desire and knowledge to succeed at a high level and to always strive for excellence as they move on from my studio. It has been one of my greatest joys when these mentor-mentee relationships continue as my students make their way into the professional world. Many of them return for advice, further study, or to share in their excitement and successes. It is my great honor to be a part of my students’ journey  and to have an impact on the next generation of musicians.