Music—and all art forms in general—is an essential part of the human experience. I believe art teaches compassion, and I believe compassion is the most important quality a person can possess. The main purpose of music education is not to create more professional performers, but rather, to help build a society where people know how to listen, how to feel for each other, and how to be a better person. My own artistic pursuits have dramatically improved my life. They have changed my outlook on how I live and how I perceive daily happenings. A meaningful artistic experience can bring about feelings of exaltedness that cannot be found elsewhere. Music and art are more important than I could ever describe in words, and every public school curriculum should have a place for them so students can thrive intellectually and emotionally.
Since I was a baby, my parents knew I would become a musician. They fondly recall me incoherently singing and playing the harmonica while holding onto the living room table, as I could not yet even walk. They have more VHS tapes of me singing and playing instruments growing up than they can keep track of. When I was four, my grandfather (the only musical one in the family) bought me a keyboard and began funding my weekly piano lessons. At age nine I started playing trumpet in the fourth grade band, and in sixth grade I switched to horn. I remember sitting in middle school band rehearsal and looking up to the band director as a musical god of sorts. He could play every instrument so beautifully (or at least that's what I remember thinking), and I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life. In high school I participated in every instrumental ensemble the school had to offer, playing horn, trumpet, trombone, and percussion, in addition to playing in various other ensembles outside of school. Aside from music, I had many other interests throughout high school, but music inevitably ended up on the top of my priority list. I went on to study music education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I developed a passion for photography through my job at the UMass Digital Media Lab. Today I maintain a very busy lifestyle practicing and teaching both music and photography, and I could not be happier with where I am at this point in my life. Thank you for reading my story and for being a part of my journey!
