Paula’s focus lies in teaching saxophone privately to all ranges of experience and age. Her goal is to cultivate their musicianship and help them gain confidence in their performance abilities whether they are planning on pursuing a career in music or not. She believes that having a solid foundation in saxophone technique and a healthy embouchure are imperative in saxophone pedagogy and aims to implement this philosophy in her lessons. Paula also believes that education is just as necessary for teachers as students and strives to continue learning about the saxophone so that her students receive the highest quality of education.
Paula has been teaching saxophone privately since 2017 with students ranging from complete beginners to university students in both private and group sessions. She has prepared students to compete in Kiwanis festivals, led saxophone sectionals for students in elementary, high school, and university level ensembles. Mainly based in Stratford, she is also taking on students in the London and Waterloo area.
Paula holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Wilfrid Laurier University where she studied with Dave Wiffen and has now completed her Master of Music in performance and literature with Dr. Bobbi Thompson at Western University. Throughout her education, Paula has been fortunate enough to participate in guest masterclasses led by artists such as the Quasar Quartet, Dr. Masahito Sugihara, Dr. Diane Hunger, Dr. Shawna Pennock, Chris Mitchell, and most recently Dr. Henning Schröder. During her own career has participated in the Kiwanis festival, performed with the Szivi Quartet in the Stratford Summer Music festival, and is an active member of the Stratford Concert Band.
What Paula’s students say about her teaching:
“After taking saxophone lessons with Paula for two years, I was able to further both my technical skills and my passion for music. With her help, I substantially improved my scales, sight reading, and tone, was exposed to a larger variety of saxophone repertoire, and even gained insight into a saxophone performance as a profession.” – Emily, student
“As a non-saxophone major and student enrolled in a science program, Paula was incredibly accommodating to work around my super busy schedule. During our lessons, Paula was able to hone in on my weaknesses within the horn, helping me log my progress every week as we worked toward mastering the twelve keys. From altissimo exercises to working on different vibrato techniques, Paula’s extensive knowledge foundation and experience with the saxophone truly shined as she was able to help me visualize and perform complicated techniques on the saxophone. I highly recommend Paula to anyone looking for a teacher and mentor to help them level up their saxophone playing.” – Demo, student
Contact: Paula.k@rogers.com, (226) 921-8008, PaulaKokot.com