Peabody/Manhattan School of Music/Berkeley Composer

Danni S.

I’m a fourth year doctoral student at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, majoring in composition. I received my Master’s at Manhattan School of Music and my Bachelor’s at UC Berkeley, both in composition. I am deeply devoted to education and is pursuing a career of professorship. I also possess years of experience in private lesson and college application advising.

My own compositional works are in the genre of contemporary/experimental music, but I have received a solid classical training in my ten years of college music education, so both contemporary and classical pursuits are greatly welcomed.

I offer the following lessons:
- college application advising — for college applicants
I will make your composition portfolio attractive and professional by perfecting the notation and format and offering compositional insights. I will also help you prepare verbal introductions on the works in your portfolio for audition use, proofread your personal statement, perform mock auditions and prepare you with common audition questions, and answer other college application related questions.

- composition lesson — all levels welcome
I will help you conceive and develop ideas/topics from scratch then develop your own compositional approach and methodology. I will also equip you with the musical tools needed and guide you through the whole compositional process. If you already have works, I will offer comments on theory, form, notation, aesthetics, and much more.

- theory lesson — all levels welcome
I teach theory for all levels, from the basics of notation to advanced harmony. What is special about my teaching approach is that I always explain the reason and use for each “rule,” so that they are not just rules. I also organize the topics systematically, so that the students can have a clear and deep understanding of the whole picture as well as the fine details.