“If music be the food of love, play on.” Shakespeare
I am pleased to be a part of the music teacher team for band and strings at St. Thomas High School in
Pointe Claire, the FACE School in Montreal, and the wind coach for the Mount Royal Youth Orchestra for the 2023-2024 academic year. I also say farewell to my previous post at Allion Elementary School in LaSalle.
I strive to teach music in such a way that it is treated as a conduit to human flourishing, and not just as a performance art. For the majority of my students, music education will teach them how to work in groups, how to develop confidence in social situations, how to develop an understanding of how sound can be organized, and how to appreciate other cultures. For the few students who take their music education to a higher level, they will learn about the impact music can make on people socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively. They will go on to change the lives of others through music.
I see music as a means to self understanding and to self expression, to creativity and to autonomy. A person who has learned how to listen to and appreciate music will effectively have learned another language; a language which expresses emotion — a human element which helps us to stay connected with our spirit.
I love to teach music because it brings me infinite pleasure seeing musicians and students take gratification from performing and enjoying it. I thrive most when I see them reach their potential. I reflect with joy on my former students who are currently using techniques learned in my music classes to live more enriched lives and to manage obstacles they encounter along their way.
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