Northwestern BM’18 (Curtis Institute of Music – Post Baccalaureate Program)
In my experiences with many renowned horn teachers, those aspects of horn-playing and psychology Jon emphasizes in his teaching are the most critical to success as a musician. His keen ear and attention to detail, humorous and thought-provoking analogies, vast personal experience as a working musician, and the magnificent example of his own playing always inspired and enabled me to hold myself to a higher standard and strive for greatness.
On many occasions, I entered lessons feeling like my playing was “out-of-whack” for some reason that I couldn’t clearly articulate (no pun intended). Jon was always able to immediately isolate and explain the root cause of my problems, and in this way, taught me the essential skill of how to be my own teacher. Jon is always a positive presence in my life – a fantastic role model personally and musically – and I never pick up the horn (or eat cupcakes) without thinking of the things I learned from him.