To Teach Or To Perform, That Is The Question!

There’s an old wives tale that Teachers teach because they’re not capable of Performing! As for me, I began Performing at a very early age.

My first performance was on stage as a fourth grader at Francis Parker School #23 in Rochester, NY. I was hooked early in life!

By eighth grade at Monroe H.S., I was performing professionally 3 nights-a-week with musicians in their 50’s and 60’s. Smartly, I banked the money quickly!

Throughout high school, I was performing regularly throughout Rochester at night clubs and concert halls.

As soon as I enrolled in the University of Buffalo, performance opportunities opened a new world of Jazz-Rock at places like “The Mug,” not to mention bars and frat parties galore.

It didn’t take long for me to compose original music and direct the UB Jazz Orchestra, attracting the attention of the UB faculty! They immediately offered me a Graduate Teaching Fellowship, with free tuition and a monetary stipend to boot!

By now an accomplished performer, I was eager to be a Teacher, paying no attention to that old wives tale! I chronicle my career in education with a rollicking memoir, reminding myself that Life’s Lessons are certainly not taught in the classroom! 

My first teaching job fresh out of college came my way in North Haven, CT. This is where I realized that this a teacher could perform along with the student musicians under my direction.

The Jazz Workshop toured towns throughout Connecticut, earning a reputation for excellence, despite the long hair, beards, etc.!

In the years that followed, I enjoyed teaching (and performing) in Rochester, Palmyra and Batavia, NY, Morgantown, WV . . . on and on. Teaching is all about unselfishly Learning and Sharing,  precisely what makes teaching a worthwhile profession, despite the many challenges we surely encounter. My thoughts all these years later are for teachers, administrators, student teachers, college education students, parents, and the general population looking for a few good laughs along the way. Enjoy the ride!