Joan Timberlake
Joannie Timberlake, a lifelong musician and teacher, began studying music at age 8. She has a thorough knowledge of the classical flute cannon, traditional music theory, and composition. She began improvisation, singing, and playing by ear with her mother who was a pianist and vocalist, and by age 18 was performing in her first rock band. Her music education includes a year of Music Education training at Frostburg University after which she transferred to Berklee College of Music where she earned a degree in Music Performance in Woodwinds. In addition, Joannie holds an M.A. in English Literature and a J. D. with an emphasis in contracts and entertainment law.
As a multi-instrumentalist, she plays flute, piccolo, alto and tenor saxophones, clarinet, and keyboard. Performance through college included small ensembles, jazz band, concert band, orchestra and solo recitals. After college, she performed in rock/pop groups, Klezmer groups, and a wide variety of diverse global styles. She has performed professionally in Boston, Baltimore, New York, and Washington, D.C. Currently she performs in Northampton, Western Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut in brass bands, community concert bands, as well as pop, rock, blues, soul and R&B, and jazz groups. She currently plays in a variety of local groups, including PTM (a local brass band), several community concert bands, and Soular Eclipse (a classic R&B, soul, and funk band). Her current project is writing a musical (including the score, lyrics, and libretto) using Finale and DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).
Joannie loves to teach students of all ages and backgrounds. She works with students who have a variety of goals, who choose multiple styles of music, and who have different levels of skill. She teaches with positive learning methods to encourage students, making lessons fun and productive. Her skill-affirming techniques help students enjoy practice and delight in their progress. She builds confidence in students by assessing and building on their strengths, while systematically working on areas that need improvement. Music has been and remains one of the greatest joys in her life, so of course, she wants to share it!
Joannie enjoys creating an individual curriculum that is exactly what you want, whether you are a beginning student, playing in your school band, or an adult who played a woodwind in school. She helps students to make music, learn new skills, learn to improvise, and play by ear while building musicality, beautiful tone, the ability to read music, and much more.
Testimonials
“Joannie has taught me so much about music from improvisation and to classical pieces. She plays professionally in local groups, and I have seen her play many times. She plays and performs as a real pro.” - Rich M.
“I wanted to learn to play more than one wind instrument, and Joannie has taught me clarinet, flute, and sax. She plays them all equally well. But what is best is her teaching. As an adult student that really has helped me learn and review what I could do 30 years ago. She gets the best out of me, and I have learned so much.” David K.
“While she plays like a pro, she loves teaching the most and loves helping young and adult players alike. I have learned so much and it's been fun. She encourages me to play my best. She taught me to read music and to play in different styles.” - Candy S.