It’s been an insane week, but I’m finally on the other side! ✨ First of all, thanks so much to everyone who came out to my quartet’s show at Schwartz’s Point last night! We played three whole sets of all originals that I’ve written, and we had a great turnout of people who were really digging the music! Musically, it’s my favorite thing to play music that I’ve written, especially when people are resonating with that music ✨ Music can effect positive change on people and the world, and when I play my music it’s always my goal to encourage people to feel their emotions and open up their hearts - and I think we accomplished that last night ❤️
This week I also had the opportunity to teach for the CCM/CPS Summer Jazz Academy camp - which is the main reason why my week was so insane! And although I am exhausted from long days of combo rehearsals, sax masterclasses, and teaching jazz history and improv, it was a good week. It’s always so cool to see kids that are excited about jazz music and eager to learn. And to see their progression in just one week! Most of my combo didn’t even know what chord changes were when we started, and by the end of the week I had all of them soloing using the chord tones on a blues form and on Watermelon Man, and not getting lost in the form! (I refuse to be lazy and use the “just use the blues scale on the whole form” approach). I also had one student go from never having taken a solo in her life to volunteering to solo just about every time I asked! Even if these students don’t continue with this music, it’s so valuable to teach them that they can do hard/scary things and that it’s okay to take risks!
So now that the super busy part of my summer is over, I’m really excited for some time to recharge, and also to dig into my own projects! I’m planning on a writing as much new music this summer as I can, so I’m excited to get started on that.
Also, I do have one more show coming up in the near future! This Thursday 6/20 I will be playing alto sax with the Stephen Phillip Harvey Octet at the Liberty Exhibition Hall in Cincinnati, 8:30-10pm. Stephen is a fantastic saxophonist and composer/arranger - so definitely come check it out!
I actually have a pretty busy couple of weeks coming up, so I thought I’d give an update on what I’m up to and where you can see me perform! 🎷✨
Next week I’m teaching a junior high/high school Jazz Composition class at the Kennedy Heights Arts Center. I’ve designed the curriculum myself, expanding off of what I did for a similar class last summer. I’ve got 21 students signed up, 10 in the beginning group and 11 in the intermediate group. I’m super excited to work with them!
The week after that I’ll be on faculty for the CCM/CPS Summer Jazz Academy camp, which I’ve taught at for the past few years. I’ll be leading a combo, teaching a daily saxophone masterclass, teaching two elective jazz classes, and running a student jam session!
And here are my upcoming performances!
Sat. 6/8/24
Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra
Dillsboro Jazz Festival
Dillsboro, IN
8:30-9:40pm
Fri. 6/14/24
Angie Coyle Quartet (all originals!)
Schwartz’s Point
Cincinnati, OH
8:30-midnight
Thurs. 6/20/24
Stephen Phillip Harvey Octet @stephenpharvey
Liberty Exhibition Hall
Cincinnati, OH
7-10pm
✨💫✨💫✨
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For me, summer is the time of year where work slows down quite a bit - I only have around 20 private students instead of 40, I have some performances but not a ton, and I have a couple camps I teach at. And that’s okay with me! We are not meant to grind hard all year round, it’s just not sustainable. I refuse to subscribe to hustle culture - that’s how I got super burnt out on music and it’s taken me a few years and a lot of self development work to fall in love with it again.
I am so excited to have more free time to write a bunch of music and practice my instruments more. But I’m also excited to have more free time to go rock climbing, hiking, swimming, and other fun outdoor activities I love, as well as more time to just rest, relax, and decompress from the busy season.
It took me a long time to learn that music isn’t always the most important thing, and that it’s super healthy to have other interests outside of music. How do we create music that has any meaning if we aren’t out there living life? Life experiences are what inspire us to create great music that has a story to tell.
I know there’s a lot of pressure from society that we need to be hustling and grinding all the time, and that our productivity needs to be the same year-round, but screw that. It’s not realistic to expect someone to maintain the same level of productivity throughout the whole year. And your value as a person is not dependent on how much you work!! Musicians - as well as all other types of freelance workers - will have busier seasons and non-so-busy seasons, and that’s okay! In fact, it’s kind of a blessing.
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It’s that time of year again - my schedule is opening up for summer students! ☀️ Just a little bit about my teaching background: I have been teaching private lessons for around thirteen years. I have experience teaching students anywhere from 3rd grade to college, as well as adults of all ages. I love the process of problem solving I am required to use when teaching and I love watching my students progress and improve over the years - or sometimes within a single lesson! As for my education background, I have a Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree in Saxophone Performance from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire (where I also studied classical flute and clarinet).
Summer is especially a great time for any college saxophonists to learn their doubles (flute and/or clarinet) or to learn how to improve their doubling skills - and as a saxophonist who specializes in doubling and teaching woodwind doublers I am well-versed in helping sax players in that area!
I also enjoy teaching classically-trained musicians on any instrument how to play jazz and improvise! I feel like classical musicians are sometimes intimidated when trying to get into the world of jazz, and I want to help that process not feel so intimidating!
And of course, I teach all levels of saxophone, flute, and clarinet students, jazz and/or classical.
I also offer lessons in beginning to intermediate level jazz composition and arranging! If you want to hear any of my compositions, you can find them on my album “Far From Home,” and on my YouTube page!
If you want to work with me this summer, either in person in Cincinnati or via Zoom, send me a DM and we can set something up! I’d love to hear from you!
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A bunch of my students with the Cincinnati Public Schools Jazz Academy are off to the University of Idaho today for the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival! I’m so proud of them and all of the work they’ve put in this year ❤️ Eleven of my private students are on this trip, including the seven in the junior high big band pictured. I hope they all have a great time and play their best!
Also can I say how cool and rewarding it is for me to get to teach so many young ladies who are excited about improvising! In a typical junior high/high school big band it’s rare to have one or two female students who are willing to take solos. In this junior high big band we have five talented female soloists, three of which are my private students. And not only are they willing to take solos but they are excited to - it’s so awesome!
I’m incredibly grateful to have had the chance to be a part of Jazz Girls Day Columbus, organized by Rachel Azbell with @jazzartsgroup ❤️
There were around 50 girls in attendance - six girls from the jazz program I teach for even came up from Cincinnati! We had an amazing guest artist, Nadje Noordhuis, as well as a really great group of faculty - it was so awesome to work with and to spend the day with these ladies!
I can’t state enough how beautiful and impactful this day was. Women/girls coming together in sisterhood to lift each other up, inspire each other, learn from each other, and have fun together is so powerful! Especially in an art form like jazz that has such a long history of misogyny and discrimination towards female musicians.
I just think of how amazing it would have been to be able to go to an event like this when I was this age and it makes me so happy these girls were able to have this experience ❤️
#jazzgirls#womeninjazz#jazzwomen#jazzladies#girlsinjazz#womeninmusic
