As a student of music and a performer of the saxophone, it is up to me to continue the tradition of instilling excellence in performance and pedagogy for my students. In doing so I have to consider how I approach the studio. The first being the community I create as the studio teacher. Fostering an environment where every student feels seen, heard, and understood, no matter their background is the goal for inclusion. This will lead to having a community that can respectively challenge each other, uplift one another, and hold each other to a high standard excellence. By holding every member accountable, fostering each other’s weaknesses, and honing our talents, no one shall feel left behind.

All students deserve the equal and equitable opportunity to grow and learn. Each student brings a unique contribution and presence in the studio due to their musical background, race, ethnicity, gender, orientation, ability, and life experiences. By understanding and appreciating the background of each student, I make a connection with them to understand their weaknesses and talents. By establishing this connection, students shall feel free to express their thoughts and ideas about the music they’re studying, and hopefully some that I had not previously considered. This independent thinking and problem solving prepares students to be curious and analytical when outside of instruction when practicing, performing, and teaching. It is through this avenue that I can guide the instruction to push them in their career and life.

Fostering the importance of performance is essential in what we do as students of music and saxophone. One can study new and old literature every day, but without performing it, there is almost no purpose behind it. Performing often and performing with integrity is a strong belief of mine. Providing an environment where students may perform solo literature, quartet, and chamber literature in a departmental or studio class is imperative to teaching. In this medium, students can gain the performance experience needed to enhance their musicianship, stage presence, collaborative skills, and overcome any performance anxiety they may have.

Establishing the importance of performance is nothing without pedagogy. To cultivate their artistic visions, I establish the need to understand the saxophone’s history. Who are our predecessors, and what did they do exactly for us to have the saxophone as it is today? Having and understanding, for example, of the musical contributions of Marcel Mule and Eugene Rousseau allow performers to build off what they have established to become better performers. For any piece of repertoire, I expect students to research why/who the piece was written for, information about the composer, and the performance medium. Having this information gives the performer an idea of what the composer is intending and how they can make it their own.