Welcome to my Take Lessons profile, and thank you for your interest lessons. I'm a full time musician and music educator based in Winston Salem, NC. I've spent my life loving music and I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to share that love with my students. My own obsession with music began as a kid listening to the radio. I was transfixed by the pop songs of my youth from artists such as Tina Turner, U2, and Dire Straits. I started playing guitar for fun as a teenager, and my favorite music at that time was a mix of alternative pop bands like REM and Midnight Oil along with all the great music of the 60s and 70s, especially Neil Young, Dylan, The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder and Steely Dan. As my love of music and guitar continued to grow, it expanded to include the great artists of many styles and eras, such as the beautiful classical playing of Andres Segovia, the stunning bluegrass flatpicking of Tony Rice, and the elegant sophistication of early jazz masters Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian. I found, as so many others have, that music is an endless world of inspiration and possibility. Rather than specialize in a single style - though I do have a Masters Degree in classical guitar performance, and currently teach at a conservatory - I have chosen instead to indulge my enthusiasm for various styles and approaches. I've played in bands and ensembles in virtually every style, including rock, blues, jazz, bluegrass, folk, classical. I even spent several years studying Indian classical on the sarod. This diversity enriches my playing, teaching and writing, and affirms my belief that music is a universal language, and all the streams converge in the fundamentals of rhythm, pitch and harmony. Though my main interest is the guitar, I am constantly pushing myself to learn new instruments and skills. Drums, piano, hand percussion, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass and singing are all instruments I am working to become more proficient on, along with various styles of guitar. I also love writing songs, and producing them in my home studio. Teaching is also one of the great joys in my life, and I feel very lucky to make my living doing something I love. Many years of teaching full time have helped me become a skillful teacher and better musician. I believe everyone's life is enriched by learning to play music, and I'm happy to be a part of that process for so many people.