about andrew

Andrew began playing music at the age of five, when his mom brought a piano into the house and signed him up for lessons. He was trained classically through middle school, but fell in love with jazz at an early age and studied under Amy Stephens-Chen in high school. He picked up the clarinet in fourth grade with his sights set on the tenor sax, which he began playing in 7th grade. That same year, he began fiddling with the other instruments in the house, including guitar, harp, trombone, trumpet, and didgeridoo. He played in concert, jazz, pep, and worship bands throughout high school, as well as performing with cover band The Potentials. He moved to Salem in 2009 to attend Corban University. There, he played in a variety of campus ensembles, and led the jazz combo for three years. In 2012, he began teaching individual and group lessons at Guitar Center in Keizer, and that’s where he fell in love with music education. He taught at GC for 6+ years, serving the last 4 as Lead Instructor. He began working in schools in 2014, establishing an elementary band program at Riviera Christian School before taking a position as Music Specialist at Abiqua Academy. There, he teaches Pre-K through 4th Grade General Music, Middle School Concert, Jazz, and Guitar Ensembles, and a variety of Music History courses. 

Andrew loves the Salem music scene, and has participated in it in a variety of forms. He currently plays keys with The Ferenjis, a funk project with Trevor Fischer, Jason Pluemke, and Peter Ellis. The Ferenjis recently released their first full length record, and toured it down the west coast. 

Andrew is passionate about music education, and in fostering an environment that creates confident, competent musicians. Andrew began working at RiverCity in 2019 and is available for private lessons for piano, guitar, saxophone, clarinet, drums, and trumpet.