Michael Becker

Mike Becker is a woodwind specialist from the New England area who teaches and performs on saxophone, flute, oboe, and clarinet. An avid performer in classical, jazz, contemporary, and commercial music, Mike holds a bachelor's degree in saxophone performance from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree in multiple woodwinds performance and pedagogy from Ohio University. Mike has performed at various theme parks across the United States, such as Dutch Wonderland Theme Park in Lancaster, PA and Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA. He has played with professional wind symphonies from New York and Pennsylvania, such as the Great Lakes Wind Symphony and the Northern Appalachian Wind Symphony. As a teacher, Mike has plenty of experience with diverse topics in woodwind studies such as jazz saxophone, reed-making for oboe and English horn, and Baroque flute practices. He has previous teaching experience with children and adults of all ages at varying skill levels on all woodwind instruments, from teaching at the Logan-Hocking School District of Ohio and the Forbes Music Company of White Plains, NY. He has also taught for the Music and Arts company at their locations in Vernon and East Hartford, CT. Mike is a lover of video games and their music, which he incorporates into the educational practices of individual lessons, allowing students to express their passions through music. In his spare time, Mike likes to cook and spend time with friends and family.

Students will gain knowledge about their primary instrument through personal practice and individual instruction during lessons. Lessons and practice will incorporate long tone study for tone improvement, scale exercises to facilitate better finger technique, breath support practice to create better musical lines when playing, and listening studies to establish a foundation of personal musical expression. The goal of these exercises and studies is to create a well-rounded set of fundamentals that the student can employ in their everyday playing. Utilizing a multitude of different recordings from other professional musicians, the student will be able to form a base of good tone that can be applied to their primary instrument. The use of drones and tuners, as well as intonation matching exercises, will help to establish good musicianship that will allow the student to integrate their sound into any ensemble setting, whether that be with a piano, a chamber group, or a large ensemble. Breathing exercises will better help the student to establish their own musical voice by providing them with the support necessary to bridge long lines of music in a manner that is stylistically accurate. The development of these attributes will instill a sense of musicianship and scholarship that will be pivotal in improving the confidence and musical ability of all students