Faculty

"I try to foster a sense of honesty, tolerance, passion, and social responsibility in my students. Stressing the development of critical and creative thinking skills, I encourage clarity, precision, and originality of thought in writing and speech; the ability to ask relevant questions and solve problems; an openness to new ideas and experiences; and a flexibility of mind that allows one to view topics from multiple perspectives and see connections. I continually emphasize a respect for individual and cultural diversity and encourage students from different countries to interact with, and learn from, each other. I try to help my students view the world with compassion, fight injustice whenever possible, and heed the words of the great writer and social activist James Baldwin: 'Artists are here to disturb the peace.'"

“As far back as I can remember I always knew I would end up doing something music-related, but it wasn't until I discovered music production and engineering that I truly found my voice. It fits like a glove, since it blends a highly creative and philosophical endeavor with a highly precise, tangible, and technical craft, and the convergence of those elements go totally in line with my personality and passions. I’m drawn to understanding people, emotions, and things, to figure out how to use and combine elements for an emotional outcome. That’s what I do in this profession: I communicate with musicians as human beings, try to really understand the emotional connection that moved them to make music, and figure out how to capture and bring out 110% of their message (and in doing so, also my own).”

"Teaching is a way for me to pass on the information I’ve gotten over time. To function as a jazz composer at any level, you’ve got to be willing to produce your stuff, even if it’s just a demo of what it’s supposed to sound like. As a producer you facilitate everyone else’s ability to fulfill their roles. You have to acquire listening and analytical skills and understand underlying systems of harmony, form, and development. You need be able to communicate both abstract concepts and concrete ideas; to conceptualize what’s going to be on a stage before even thinking about writing for what’s going to be on that stage. You have to learn how to organize sounds, instruments, time (in the musical sense and otherwise), groups of people, and schedules. It takes attention to detail. And—because this is jazz after all—it takes flexibility. You have to plan for improvisation."

"I want to open up more possibilities for my students, more doors for their creativity. The first few weeks of counterpoint seems totally the opposite of that. It's very typical to hear complaints about how there are too many rules. But the result of experiencing that kind of discipline while creating music—having to be creative within a very narrow set of parameters—is that later on when you're free to do whatever you want, you still have this very disciplined method to apply to it."