"Hello, I'm Jonathan! In 2015 I graduated magna cum laude with my Bachelor's of Music (Composition concentration) from Belmont University (Nashville, TN) before heading to Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY) where I earned my Master's of Music in Composition in 2019. I have been accepted into the University of Georgia Doctor of Musical Arts program. I am married with two cats and very soon will have my first child, a daughter, who I am very excited to meet!

My love of teaching started in the mid-2000s when I began teaching swimming lessons. Very quickly I was an instructor's instructor and managed adult teachers while also working with both regularly-abled and special needs students. This love of teaching has carried over into my other passion, music! As a composer, I have a great grasp on the principles of music theory, the importance of music history, and of course, composition! Since beginning to enter competitions in January 2019, I have won three awards, including the Ithaca College Concerto Competition (Composition), the Ithaca ACDA Choral Composition Competition, and earning an Honorable Mention from the Society for New Music (NY) in their Brian Israel / Sam Pellmann Composition Competition.

My two years in the Master's program at Ithaca College were both partially occupied by a Graduate Assistantship. My primary assignment was to support the teaching of the Fundamentals of Music Theory course. During this two-semester (Fall of 2017, '18) assignment, I tutored and gave group lessons in music theory and saw the vast majority of students pass their entrance exams into the theory curriculum at Ithaca College. I also assisted by grading papers for the course.

In addition to this assignment, I worked with the Rock Styles course. While in class I studied teaching, pedagogy, and the pedagogy of music theory specifically. I also passed multiple assessments on my own knowledge of music history and current musical trends (e.g., classical music since 1945).

No matter your musical level or interest, I would love t" less...