Teaching is one of the most noble and rewarding professions. As Senior Instructor of Viola at Florida International University, I am charged with the task of imparting this glorious art form to music performance and music education majors, as well as non-music majors, at the undergraduate and graduate levels. I am also dedicated to teaching gifted pre-college student, who consistently garner awards, scholarships, and admission to the most competitive conservatories of music, universities, and music festivals. I feel very fortunate to be able to share my lifelong passion for music with my students. As a child, growing up in Rochester, NY, I began attending the Eastman School of Music’s Preparatory Division at the age of eight. For the next fourteen years I studied music in the Preparatory and College Divisions at Eastman with some of the world’s most important performers and scholars. Subsequently, I moved to New York to further my education at The Juilliard School with other outstanding musicians and revered scholars. These individuals helped me develop my musicianship and also became important examples for me to follow in all aspects of life. For me, the true essence of the student-teacher relationship is that the teacher will bear an everlasting positive effect on the student artistically and morally speaking. I teach my students to be their own teachers. Listening attentively, rather than passively, is s very difficult task. In one-on-one viola and violin lessons, I work tirelessly with students on technical points such as intonation, articulation, bow distribution, tone production, tone color, and dynamics, as well as musical style.