Why do I perform? Why do I teach? When I was younger, I never considered those questions. I just wanted to be the best, because if I wasn't the best, then what was the point? 

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Luckily, I have had two experiences in life that have stuck with me, helping shape my answers to the earlier questions. The first, I had just finished a performance when an audience member came up to me and thanked me for the last song. She told me it was a song her husband and her danced to at their wedding night and my performance brought her back to that night. There is a power to music, it's incredibly personal to the performer and audience, for likely entirely different reasons.

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The second, on my last day of teaching a student gave me a card. They told me I was their favourite teacher and that their love of band was due to not just the way I carried myself in class, but because of how I brought that enthusiasm to all our interactions. That card stays in my desk as a reminder that not every student will grow up to pursue classical music, but that does not make my role of teacher any less important.

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I may never be the best teacher or saxophonist, and quite frankly, I do not care to be. My approach to music and teaching is to always grow, always improve, and to bring to my students and audiences what they need.