My higher education and private instruction experience began in 2011. Since that time, I have taught the full Music Theory and Aural Skills sequence, Music Theory Fundamentals, Applied Piano, Secondary and Class Piano, Chamber Music, Writing and Scholarship in the Performing Arts, Music History, Music Appreciation, and Applied Composition. I have also served as a content expert, content advisor, and LMS instructional designer for curriculum development projects in Music Theory, Aural Skills, Fundamentals, Class Piano, Music Appreciation, History of Rock and Roll, and World Music across all modalities. Through these projects and my administrative appointments, I have mentored and collaborated with other music theory instructors while also participating in departmental assessment efforts. Alongside my academic teaching appointments, I have maintained a private piano studio, preparing students for regular participation in local and state-level recitals, competitions, and festivals. I am also heavily involved in leadership for community music organizations where I continue to build opportunities for youth musicians as well as continuing education for myself and my music instructor peers.

“Instructors and students are only as good as their resources.” This idea guides much of my teaching, mentorship, curriculum design, and scholarship. In Applied Piano, Music Theory, and Aural Skills instruction, I want students to leave class/lesson with more than a temporary understanding of a concept; I want them to have the tools to retain it, practice it, and apply it independently. My work as a teacher and pedagogue has therefore focused on building practical and accessible resources that support students outside the classroom/lesson while also giving instructors flexible tools for adapting to different levels of student preparation. 

This approach can be seen most clearly in my 2025 MTNA eJournal article, “Indexed Piano Repertoire in Support of Music Theory and Aural Skills Reinforcement.” In that project, I analyzed nearly 200 public-domain piano works and indexed them by level of difficulty and undergraduate theory concept. With this tool, students and instructors can reinforce topics such as harmonic function, phrase structure, modulation, and form through technically accessible repertoire. I continue to refine my delivery and implementation of this project in both private lessons and classroom instruction. The project grew from a dual need: 1) efficiently teach and reinforce music theory concepts in a private piano setting through sight reading and dictation exercises; and 2) reinforce abstract Music Theory concepts in the collegiate classroom by asking students to engage with the material both aurally and physically outside of the classroom. The index also serves as a flexible resource for instructors to collaborate across the core curriculum or supplement familiar repertoire examples with music by underrepresented composers without adopting an entirely new textbook or curriculum.

My current research expands on this idea by implementing automated practice logs, influenced by sports science and motor-learning research, that help students plan repetitions, tempos, and goals more intentionally. In performance-based assignments (either in the private studio or classroom setting), students are often told to “practice more,” or “slow down,” but they are not always given a clear process for doing so. While far from exhaustive, my automated practice logs use a clear, systematic structure to expose suboptimal practice strategies and document repetition data, giving instructors a clearer picture of the work students have completed.  In the private piano setting, I utilize this systematic tool to stress the importance of process-oriented practicing. The automated logs provide a data-informed approach to their weekly performance goals. After the initial implementation, I encourage students to generate their own “piano training cycles” using my digital sheets to promote accountability and growth. While this work began in piano pedagogy, I have adapted the same thinking to the collegiate classroom through aural skills and keyboard harmony practice.

I am currently a part-time professor of music at both Colorado State University and the University of Northern Colorado. In those appointments I teach Music Theory, Aural Skills, Piano, and Academic Writing. I also serve as the Faculty Advisor for the Northern Colorado Collegiate Chapter of MTNA, which serves students of UNCO and CSU alike.

As seen in my Teaching Philosophy, my classroom delivery, Open Educational Resources, and instructional design center around an integrated music major core curriculum. I continue to develop tools and refine my teaching approach in an effort to reinforce piano, music theory, aural skills, and music history topics. My Teaching Tools allow me to support colleagues across the core curriculum with accessible supplemental materials that do not require adoption of an entirely new textbook. Additionally, it has provided my colleagues and me with the opportunity to supplement and replace overused repertoire examples in the curriculum with music from underrepresented composers.