Mike is a Toronto-based woodwind specialist with over 15 years of teaching and clinician experience.  He has taught students from ages ranging from 5 to 75, and is comfortable teaching beginners to advanced aspiring professionals.  Mike has studied and currently performs Jazz, Classical/Chamber, Musical Theatre, Pop, and a variety of World musics on all of his instruments (saxophones, flute and clarinet), which allows for teaching curriculum and musical genres to be dictated by student’s level, goals and interests.  If you are an adult student looking for ensemble playing and group learning opportunities, Mike directs the Toronto Jazz Explorers program - Jazz Ensembles for the adult learner! Click Toronto Jazz Explorers to link to the website for details and registration.

• Private lessons 
• Group Workshops & Masterclasses 
• Rudiments, Theory & Harmony 
• Ear Training 
• Jazz Improvisation 
• Post-Secondary Audition Prep 
• RCM Examination Prep. 
• Ensemble Coaching 
• Community-Learning Jazz Ensembles

PHILOSOPHY: 

“When studying music, we are all on the same path - some are just in different spots than others.  With guidance and encouragement we move along the path, picking up information, valuable lessons, and wisdom along the way. I believe it’s important to have the right student/teacher connection, no matter what the musical interests or ultimate goals may be. This relationship needs to go beyond the passing along of information and become more about forging a mentorship.  There’s a lot of information out there ready to be accessed, but where does one begin?  Each student is a complex individual and I prefer to teach from a holistic standpoint with regards to how one’s musical pursuit intersects with the individual.  The teachers who made the most impact on me when I was a student were the ones who supported and nurtured my development as a person just as much as a musician.  ” 

On The Arts:  “...They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”    

                -Kurt Vonnegut 

“Through improvisation, jazz teaches you about yourself. And through swing, it teaches you that other people are individuals too. It teaches you how to coordinate with them.”  

              -Wynton Marsalis