Music is the art of sound in time. It is one of the oldest and most powerful means of expression in the world. In the Old Testament, David calms wild animals and heals a king with music. In antique and medieval times it was one of the seven liberal arts, on par with mathematics and astronomy. In churches, it contributes to the highest form of religious praise. Some of mankind’s outstanding endeavors in the past 1000 years are unimaginably beautiful and complex pieces of music. In today’s secularized and commercialized world, we consume music all the time, even when we do not want to or are unaware of it. Nothing is sold or advertised without music, no war is fought without it, no dictatorship survives without it. Music can be a dangerous thing, because it works in your subconscious like nothing else. You can close your eyes, but not your ears.

I truly believe that it is a question of life and death of how we actively mold this powerful medium for future generations. The basis must be a quest for critical musical thinking and the highest possible musical awareness. Musicians and teachers bear the responsibility for opening people’s ears, hearts and minds to this.

Musicians, regardless of their level of talent or achievement, have to feel free to initiate a process that will lead them to results about which they can feel content, happy and whole. I strive to help people actively create or recreate music with all their heart, mind and body. As a teacher, you have to find the delicate balance between standing back and letting things happen, and actively involving yourself in that process. Criticism is important, and it should always encourage the student‘s enthusiasm for something that he or she so totally subscribes to with his or her whole being at that moment.

Many of the students that I teach on college level will go into the teaching profession. It is crucial to help students find their own way to teach through trying to be a shining example. There are many valuable approaches to pedagogy. There are highs and lows in any teacher’s life. The unifying factor is love of teaching, respect for the students, and a boundless love for music and the creative energy it unleashes. My goal is to ultimately make myself dispensable as their teacher, when they themselves become fulfilled colleagues, helping others become critical musical thinkers filled with love for quality music, and making them happier and more productive human beings.