I have over 30 years of teaching and performing experience. I teach at the Rockland Conservatory of Music, Hoff-Barthelson School of Music, St. Thomas Aquinas College in New York, and the Thurnauer School of Music in New Jersey. I earned a BFA in guitar performance and composition from Purchase College of Music, studying classical guitar with Benjamin Verdery, flamenco with Dennis Koster, and composition with Andrew Thomas. I participated in master classes with Christopher Parkening, Sharon Isbin, and Manuel Barrueco. I perform concerts as a soloist and with the ensembles "Musicora" and "Ida y Vuelta Flamenco." I also create guitar videos for YouTube. My students have won competitions and attended prestigious music colleges.

I teach beginner to advanced classical and flamenco guitar. I am patient and compassionate. I balance working on correct physical mechanics with exploring ways to communicate emotion through musical ideas. My great source of joy is conveying emotions through music and instilling that same passion in my students. I also offer a creative musicianship course for guitarists comprised of music theory, ear training, sight-singing, sight-reading, and composition.

After assessing your placement level and choosing your repertoire, we customize a practice plan to bring your playing to the next level. Focus areas include finger exercises to build technical fluidity, sight-reading exercises, polishing old pieces, and learning new pieces. We will delve into what each piece expresses and how to communicate emotion through the music’s ideas. Note: Because the ABRSM repertoire is in the classical style. I recommend playing these pieces on an acoustic-nylon-string classical guitar, not an acoustic steel-string or electric guitar. However, suppose you are already a fingerstyle steel string or electric guitar player looking to adopt a classical style of playing to your style and instrument. In that case, I will happily help you develop a hybrid approach. I recommend placing an inexpensive foot stand ($10) under your left foot or using another device to accomplish the same goal of raising the guitar neck to a height that allows for a healthy left-hand playing position.