I had the privilege of working with three wonderful teachers while living in Seattle. I studied composition and music theory with Todd Kovell, a cellist, composer, and conductor. He also conducts the Phinney Ridge Orchestra, in which I played the trombone for several years. Stan Jeffs was my trombone teacher. He plays with various orchestras in the Puget Sound region and maintains a thriving teaching studio. I continued my piano study with Heather Howland, an accomplished teacher and member of the board of directors of the Seattle Piano Institute. And no list of my teachers would be complete without Lanetta Paul, my teacher from age 6-18.
Todd is a cellist and composer. He began playing as a young child in the 1970’s, and has now been teaching cello in Seattle since 1996 and runs the Seattle School of Strings.
He has a Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory, and Master’s in Film Scoring from the Seattle Film Institute.
Todd has composed hundreds of pieces, including original pieces that have been performed by Seattle Symphony musicians. He arranges music for civic chamber groups and orchestras play. This music covers many styles, including classical and pop.
Stan Jeffs
Stan is a professional trombonist and teacher based in Seattle, WA. He works with students of all ages and is currently accepting new students.
Heather Howland
Heather Howland teaches piano in Seattle and was invaluable in helping me expand my knowledge of repertoire and fine-tune my technique.
Lanetta Paul
Lanetta teaches piano in La Grande, OR, as well as music programming at one of the local churches and occasional accompanying. Her knowledge, skill, and encouragement inspired my love of piano and has stuck with me for my entire life.