Andrew Carpenter
Andrew Carpenter, Saxophone, Head of Wind and Percussion Department
Preferred Student Age: 10
Preferred Student Level: Beginner
How long have you been on Faculty at Sherwood Conservatory of Music?
Since 2005.
Briefly describe your musical pursuits outside Sherwood.
I teach at several other locations, including the University of Illinois at Chicago, where I am the saxophone instructor and assistant director of the concert band.
What do you want to impart to your students through your teaching?
I want for students to understand and love the expressive qualities of the saxophone and to show them how to perform in an engaging style.
Are there specific methods or techniques that you use in your teaching that may be important to share with prospective students?
I begin students with a melodic approach concentrating on simple tunes, smoothness of tone and continued reinforcement of basic rhythm patterns.
What do you enjoy most about teaching?
I enjoy seeing good students become their own teachers able to make their own artistic decisions, and I enjoy watching all students maximize their own abilities. I also love hearing long-term progress, from beginner to artist.
What is your earliest musical experience or best musical memory?
My best musical memory is performing my first recital at UIC in 1995, after which my new colleagues from other areas of music raved about it. That is when I realized I could be an artist on the saxophone.
Please describe one of your favorite teachers.
Although I have only worked with him for a week at a conducting workshop, my favorite mentor is H. Robert Reynolds, who recently retired from his position as director of bands at the University of Michigan. His ideas about musicianship, which I first learned from other colleagues who worked with him, form the foundation of all my teaching philosophy.
What is your favorite type of music?
I am partial to modern music; my favorite composer is Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Preferred Student Age: 10Preferred Student Level: Beginner
How long have you been on Faculty at Sherwood Conservatory of Music?
Since 2005.
Briefly describe your musical pursuits outside Sherwood.
I teach at several other locations, including the University of Illinois at Chicago, where I am the saxophone instructor and assistant director of the concert band.
What do you want to impart to your students through your teaching?
I want for students to understand and love the expressive qualities of the saxophone and to show them how to perform in an engaging style.
Are there specific methods or techniques that you use in your teaching that may be important to share with prospective students?
I begin students with a melodic approach concentrating on simple tunes, smoothness of tone and continued reinforcement of basic rhythm patterns.
What do you enjoy most about teaching?
I enjoy seeing good students become their own teachers able to make their own artistic decisions, and I enjoy watching all students maximize their own abilities. I also love hearing long-term progress, from beginner to artist.
What is your earliest musical experience or best musical memory?
My best musical memory is performing my first recital at UIC in 1995, after which my new colleagues from other areas of music raved about it. That is when I realized I could be an artist on the saxophone.
Please describe one of your favorite teachers.
Although I have only worked with him for a week at a conducting workshop, my favorite mentor is H. Robert Reynolds, who recently retired from his position as director of bands at the University of Michigan. His ideas about musicianship, which I first learned from other colleagues who worked with him, form the foundation of all my teaching philosophy.
What is your favorite type of music?
I am partial to modern music; my favorite composer is Ralph Vaughan Williams.