Worldly and eclectic music teacher who makes learning fun!

Joey V.

I am a conservatory trained music teacher with years of both academic and real-world training. I earned my undergraduate degree in New Orleans, one of the major cultural centers of America, where I also worked as a full-time professional performer and won numerous awards for both academic achievement and musical composition/performance. I received my masters degree from the prestigious New England Conservatory, also working full-time as a piano and drum teacher and graduating with a 3.91 GPA. I also have extensive experience with world music, having performed Haitian and West African traditional music for ceremonies and public concerts, and spent three years in India studying Carnatic classical percussion with some of the great contemporary masters. I'm now based in New York City where I have spent a full school year directing a rock band program at KAPPA International in the Bronx as well as giving private lessons and tutoring.

I've been teaching for about a decade, with experience both in classrooms and private lessons. I believe the way to make music fun and accessible is by helping the students understand what it is about what I'm teaching that makes music sound great. I have extensive classical and jazz theory and practical knowledge from my education, but I also like to mix things up by adding in examples from music around the world as well as the student's own input. I believe it's important to help the student develop and understand their own reasons and approach to music, even though that usually involves first building a foundation and/or meeting academic standards.

I have taught students from below age 5 all the way to 50+ and have had great results! Reviews can be found on my website.