David S.
Private tutor in Philadelphia, PA
Education
Sophomore at The University of the Arts (Jazz studies--Guitar Performance Major with a minor in Music Education). Studies at Loyola University New Orleans. Attended Sleepy Hollow High School
Experience
My goal, upon graduation from The University of The Arts is to be a public school Music Teacher (preferably Band Director) and private guitar teacher. I love music, and, I have found, after volunteering to teach guitar at a community music outreach program my old high school (being the only teacher who was not a graduate student in music or a professional musician), I truly enjoy teaching. Not just the 'ah, ha' moment where everything finally clicks for the student, but all of the steps leading up to that. The study of didactics and the formation of a curriculum, then tailoring that to the individual needs of a student, then working with them, piece by piece to build a skill set that leads to (at least) results and (hopefully) personal fulfillment, a sense of accomplishment and nurturing the love of a subject (I teach both music and english) for years to come. As far as my education goes, I am beginning my second year of college at The University of The Arts, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While I am currently in a conservatory-styled program, there are liberal arts requirements and all of my courses require two essays per semester to give us ideological, historical and philosophical insights on the techniques that we study (in my Music Theory course, for example, in addition to mastering the theoretical constructs of western harmony and learning how to analyze music, both with and without the printed page, we are required to do original research on a Jazz Artist--either living or dead and present a biography that discusses the artists life and work and their place in society). The courses I am taking now include Music Theory, Ear Training, Applied Guitar, Brass and Percussion Methods and Pedagogy and Improvisation and performing ensembles. At Loyola New Orleans I took similar classes as well as an Introduction to World Religions Course, which covered the ideological and social basis of all of the judeo-christian religions, as well as Buddhism, Shintoism, what the west calls Hinduism and Jainism, as well as the philosophical and political repercussions of said religions and a course on the Harlem Renesaince, which involved reading essays and books from that period and, in addition to analyzing the text considering how it helped the goal of the Harlem Renesance- to advance the African-American Race through art).
Availability
Weekdays after 5PM, Weekends at any time
Can Meet
Up to 25 minutes away for no additional charge, Up to 45 minutes away for a flat fee, Up to 1 hour away at my regular hourly rate
Hobbies
While Music is now what I spend most of my time studying, it is also a huge hobby of mine. In addition to studying Jazz I also practice classical Guitar and Euphonium and I am currently learning Trumpet and Drum Set. When I attended Loyola New Orleans, I was also in a rock band that gigged regularly (most weekends) at venues in the city Aside from music, I have loved and been involved with theatre, science and prose writing since High School, in addition to being a vapid reader. I have acted in a multitude of shows, and, while I no longer have the opportunity to be on stage (one of the disadvantages of going to a school with over one hundred theatre majors), I still love to read plays; some of my favorites are Our Town (Wilder), Orpheus Descending (Williams), August: Osage County and Superior Doughnuts (Letts). In High School (over the course of three years), I designed an original project on the psychological effects of the tonality of music on the emotions of the listener, and presented it at a bevy of local science fairs, including the WESEF fair where I took the third place (out of about 45 projects) in the topic of Psychology. As far as my writing goes, my hard-drive continually grows with the things I write when I become complacent; nowadays they often have to do with the practice and teaching of music though they sometimes will venture off into different territory.
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