Bio

As a Musician

I’ve played the guitar for 26 years. Over the course of that time, I’ve performed in many different styles and settings. My musical projects have ranged from hard rock to jam bands, funk, jazz, groups that played completely improvised music, solo classical performances, gigs playing original solo guitar works, and various duo configurations.

While attending Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, I performed extensively on the local music scene in a handful of bands. I also performed in the ASU Guitar Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Douglas James.

I also studied guitar performance with Mark Mazzatenta at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where I received instruction in both jazz and classical guitar. I performed in the UNCG Jazz band, and gained so much knowledge and wisdom from the talented, dedicated jazz faculty there. I also attended clinics with notable jazz musicians such as Reuben Rogers, Wessel Anderson, Ralph Bowen, and Joey Calderazzo.

Since then, I’ve stayed busy writing and recording my own music, playing occasional jazz gigs, and playing with an assortment of bands in Greensboro: Bitterroot (instrumental prog rock), Hot Politics (funk), The Heavytones (blues/funk/rock), The Storytellers (smooth jazz), Red Umber (jazz/fusion), and Just3 (jazz/fusion). I write original fingerstyle guitar pieces, and I play classical guitar at weddings and private events.

Along the way, I’ve performed at many of the local music venues around the triad as well as across North Carolina.

As a Teacher

My teaching journey began after finishing college when I took a job teaching English in China. For three semesters, I taught English classes at a university in the city of Guangzhou to college freshmen. This was when I discovered how much I enjoy teaching, and started thinking about other things I could do that involved it.

Upon returning to the United States, I decided to continue to pursue teaching along with my other great passion: music. I enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro School of Music and studied for a year in their Miles Davis Jazz Studies program.

Around this time, I started taking on my first private guitar students. I also began teaching guitar lessons and small classes at Erwin Montessori Elementary School, where I was a guitar tutor for two school years.

After UNCG, I went full time with teaching private lessons and started to build a teaching studio. I have now been teaching guitar lessons for 14 years, and have helped hundreds of students learn to play or improve their guitar skills. I currently teach full time out of my home studio, where I see around 45 students per week.