Curtis - BAH Teacher #2732

“Music has the ability to offer people a sense of purpose and meaning.”
 - Curtis

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Working as a music instructor gives me the opportunity to share my passion for music with other aspiring musicians. Music has the ability to offer people a sense of purpose and meaning, and I believe my job as a teacher is to encourage that mindset while offering students tools to hone their craft. Teaching should be a creative process, especially in the Arts. It also requires trust and security in order for a student to fully discover their abilities. My teaching style involves establishing a relationship with my student first as a foundation that can lead to music discovery and understanding. I believe in a versatile teaching approach that incorporates metaphors and analogies to illustrate the fundamentals of performing. In my opinion, this leads to productive studio sessions where my students and I can collaborate towards goals which make both of us proud.

Name: Curtis (Full name will be provided upon registration)

Age: 25

Gender: male

I have an Honours Bachelor's of Music Education degree from Wilfrid Laurier University. My degree included weekly studio lessons, masterclasses, and ensemble rehearsals as a trumpeter. During my degree, I played in Laurier's jazz band, brass ensemble, wind ensemble, and musical theatre pit band. My specialization in music education allowed me to work alongside beginner and trained musicians, discover my own teaching style, and learn new instruments.

My background in trumpet began during high school, after originally hoping to play the tuba. In my freshman year I was asked to perform with senior band and by the end of the year performed first trumpet sheet music at Walt Disney World. From there, my passion grew and I began private study with Ira Zingraff, lead trumpet of the Niagara Symphony Orchestra. My love for performing extends to many different genres, as I have played trumpet in operas, symphony orchestras, jazz ensembles, pit bands, and marching bands. My passions deepened during my undergraduate degree as I studied under Guy Few, Juno award-winning trumpeter and pianist. His ability to communicate with me as a musician, mentor, and friend encouraged me to teach in the future, and I hold his expertise very close to my own teaching style. This experience, along with collaborating with my piano accompanist, allowed me to improve my skills and confidence as a solo performer. Two years ago, I was able to bring my music experiences full circle by performing as a soloist at my high school's end of the year performance. I am currently freelancing as a journalist, and unsurprisingly have a love for music reporting. Working as a journalist has allowed me to immerse myself in new music and the progression of the pop industry.

English

Rates and Studio Policies
Registration Fee: $25.00 (One-time lifetime registration fee may be used by all family members)

Rates for instruction:
30 minute private lesson: $39.00
45 minute private lesson: $49.00
60 minute private lesson: $59.00

Travel charge: additional $15.00 per visit (for lessons in a client's home as opposed to my studio)

1. Cancellation Policy
Lessons not cancelled or rescheduled with at least 24 hours notice are billable to the client and payable to the teacher. This does not of course apply to travel fees unless the notice is effectively given at the door and the teacher has travelled to the location.

2. Cessation (quitting) Policy
A client must provide a 2 lesson notice period to stop lessons. So a weekly student needs to give 2 weeks of notice, a biweekly student works out to 3 weeks notice and a twice weekly student works out to a week of notice.

3. Illness Policy
Lessons cancelled due to illness or extraordinary circumstances with less than 24 hours notice remain billable to the client and payable to the teacher.

BAH teachers are encouraged to offer a make-up lesson at a future date in the interest of client relations and general goodwill. This only makes sense as teaching a student with the flu for example, will ruin the rest of your week's employment.

No more than 2 lessons may be made up due to illness within a 60 day period.

4. Rescheduling Policy
Any lesson can be cancelled or rescheduled with at least 24 hours notice.

Summer Vacation and Extended Absence Policy

Clients may schedule longer absences for trips etc. 24 hours notice is required.

It is normal and typical for students and about 20% of our teachers to schedule a break in the summer. We do not enforce a notice period (see cessation of lessons) at the end of a long summer break.

5. Evaluation Period
There are no free trial lessons with Beethoven at Home but we do offer a 2 lesson evaluation period where it is easy to try out a teacher. There are no free lessons during the evaluation period and clients may choose to discontinue the lessons at any time by providing the required 24 hours notice. After the student's 3rd lesson the required 2 lesson notice period will apply (see cessation of lessons above).

Lessons in your home

Curtis is available to teach in your home if you are located in the following areas

Online lessons

Curtis can provide online instruction. While other platforms are possible BAH strongly recommends the use of the Zoom video conferencing platform as it is optimized for music lessons and audio quality.

BOOK AN INTERVIEW WITH CURTIS NOW