Paul N. — Saxophone Teacher — Toronto

I have a BA in Music from St. Francis Xavier University (graduated 1987), and an MA in Music (Composition) from York University (graduated 2010). I studied saxophone performance under Andrew Weinzler at Francis Xavier and composition under David Mott at York. I play in many Toronto ensembles including the Starfires, Tone Cathedral, the Cowbird Composers Collective, Cosmic Homeostasis, Dust, the Toronto Improvisors Orchestra and in duos with guitarist Brian Abbott, saxophonist Harrison Argatoff and trombonist Heather Saumer. As a composer, my piano piece Newton's Cradle was recently released on the recording Agnostic Luddites, on Redshift Records. My recording, Duo Compositions, with Karen Ng and Heather Saumer, was listed as one of Exclaim! magazine's 10 best recordings of 2016. I have been teaching privately since 1988.

As a teacher, I consider it my task to help musicians of all ages to achieve their musical goals, no matter what those goals may be. I have been a musician for almost 50 years now, and have the experience to help you refine your techniques on clarinet and saxophone, in both the classical and jazz worlds. I also enjoy teaching theory and composition, improvisation on any instrument, and beginner piano. Every student is different, and so I develop different approaches and lesson plans for each student. You may want to be a professional musician, or you may just want to play for fun and relaxation. Maybe you're an accomplished classical player who wants to learn jazz, or maybe it's the opposite. Or maybe you tried Conservatory piano and found it wasn't for you. But no matter where you're coming from or going to in music, I want to encourage your creativity. I want lessons to be enjoyable; music requires work, but the work should be a pleasure.