Marco began playing music at age 10, starting out playing trombone in the school band. He received his first guitar at age 12, and was instantly hooked, eventually putting down the horn to focus on guitar full time. Marco currently studies music at Towson University, spending time under the instruction of John Lee, Eric Kennedy, John Dierker, Aaron Irwin and Dave Ballou. When he is not working or studying, Marco enjoys reading, physical exercise, composing music and most of all, playing music with others. Marco has spent time in a variety of musical settings including small groups, big bands and pit orchestras. He is also a member of the eclectic, Towson-based band, Captain Ahab. Marco’s major musical interests include jazz, folk rock and indie rock. He draws great inspiration from jazz artists including John Coltrane, Jim Hall, Bobby Broom, Lage Lund and Andrew Renfroe. He also has been influenced greatly by Crosby, Stills and Nash, Jackson Browne, Led Zeppelin, Death Cab for Cutie, Brittany Howard and Dawes, in both playing and composition. Marco takes an individualized approach to teaching, designing lessons around each student’s unique goals and interests. He focuses on helping students apply technical and conceptual skills to music that they both choose themselves and enjoy playing, emphasizing the importance of playing music with others to improve one’s own playing. Although he focuses mainly on jazz/rock/singer-songwriter in his own playing, Marco is capable of teaching multiple other styles such as pop, country, blues, funk, and R&B, and believes it is valuable to study a variety of musical styles to broaden one’s perspective and skill. Marco lives by two pieces of advice when playing and teaching: “You are your own best teacher” and “Your ear is your greatest tool”.