"Hi, I'm Scott! I'm a bass trombonist and composer/arranger from the NYC metropolitan area, currently a majority of the way through earning my bachelor's degree in Jazz Performance at Texas Tech University after a yearslong break from college. Prior to TTU, I studied music at Rutgers University, Cumberland University, and privately with a variety of teachers. At Cumberland I won both of the school's first two annual instrumental competitions, playing jazz the first year and classical the second, and during the aforementioned break in my traditional education, I worked and performed both on my own and alongside industry professionals around NYC and Nashville, including current jazz and commercial industry leaders as well as alumni of such storied bands as Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson, Woody Herman, and The Temptations. My playing resume has earned me an audition at a major regional orchestra. I am also an active composer and arranger, and some of my jazz arrangements are still in some professional NJ-based big bands' books to this day.

As a playing tutor, I can teach any common brass instrument as well as voice and the fundamentals and theory of jazz improvisation on any instrument; I put a strong emphasis on general musical understanding to help my students succeed in transcending the idiosyncrasies of their chosen instrument to become well-rounded and effective musicians with a deep appreciation for their craft. I can also teach aural skills ("sight-singing" and ear training) and the Western traditions of music theory to students of about any skill level, and I've had numerous peers at the collegiate level attribute success in theory classes to my tutoring after they had been in danger of failing. My past students have ranged in age from 11 well into adulthood and in skill from complete beginners to industry professionals with multiple degrees above my own. I try to take as versatile approach as I can to figure out the best individualized ways to help my students learn with great joy and effectiveness." less...