My Philosophy:
I believe that anyone can learn to play the recorder. I love working with students of all ages and all levels of experience. Patience, kindness, concrete steps, and a sense of humor are what’s needed. For both of us.
It can feel intimidating when starting lessons with a new teacher. I know! I’ve been there. Let’s start with something easy - discussing what you want from lessons.
When I began playing the recorder I had to teach myself. There were no teachers in the places where I was living. I played duets with a cassette tape. It was isolating, and my improvement was slow.
I experienced amazing, concrete progress when I began studying with experienced teachers. Thanks, Eva Legêne and Han Tol! As well as to Bart Kuijken, Bart Spanhove, Bert Honig, Bertho Driever, Beth Stein, Catherine Hawkes, Cory Jameson, Donald Livingston, Elisabeth Wright, Fred Zwick, Kathy White, Kaye Clements, Kevin Weiman, Louise Austin, Marieke Spaans, Marna Street, Mary Halverson Waldo, Omar P. Blackman, Paige Whitley-Baugess, Paul Frankenfeld, Paul Hillier, Shelley Gruskin, Stanley Ritchie, Thomas Baird, Weezie Smith, and Wendy Gillespie. Phew! No, these weren’t all recorder teachers. But each person taught me something, and in my case it took a musical village.
Four Places to Learn:
1. My cozy teaching studio in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood
2. Your cozy home via video chat
3. Music Institute of Chicago (Evanston)
Mondays and Wednesdays
Traditional private lessons, Suzuki lessons, recorder ensembles, chamber music
4. Suzuki Music School of Lincoln Park (Chicago)
Mondays
Suzuki recorder lessons
How to Begin
Simply email me at PatrickRecorder@mac.com and introduce yourself. I look forward to hearing from you and working together.