Biography
My name is Claudia Pawlikowski and I am a recent graduate of Berklee College of Music with a degree in Music Education. I am an instrumentalist (guitar, piano, bass, drum set) but my principle instrument is my voice. I have classical vocal training as well as training through songwriting, performing in bands, and overall experimentation. I have been playing guitar since the age of eleven and have experience teaching private vocal and guitar lessons. I have had the privilege of working one on one with Stephanie Nolan (renown vocalist from Vermont) and Walter Keith (my deceased guitar teacher and life mentor who played with Louis Armstrong). I have experience singing and working with multiple genres of music such as classical, jazz, rock, r&b, contemporary pop, folk rock, and musicals. It is vital to have a music instructor who not only teaches the fundamentals of music (theory, technicality, etc.), but also directs you towards finding your own voice/instrument.
I grew up participating in choral groups as well as rock groups. I performed in a band while in high school and into my first year at Berklee, gigging around Boston and areas within New England. My goal is to educate students on different vocal styles and fundamentals of music theory while keeping in mind the importance of personal preference and growth. I have experience working in high school (Boston Arts Academy) and middle school (Edison K-8 in Brighton, MA) music departments, along with teaching private vocal and guitar instruction.
I also volunteered with "Kids On the Block Vermont," before attending Berklee. It is a non-profit organization that involves a troupe of puppets educating children on issues like disabilities, cultural diversity, children's mental health, substance abuse, and maintaining healthy bodies. I was involved in the musical aspect and got children to engage in the subjects through singing and playing guitar. After experiencing the positive outcome of enhancing children's education through music, I found my path.
"Music can derive from a collection of thoughts or feelings not necessarily associated with one's own story. We understand ourselves through culture and relation to others, which always changes. To grow musically means not just accepting this constant change, but embracing it and learning the various styles, stories, and syllables being emancipated, regardless of origin." (Anonymous)
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