John O’Leary
is a professional saxophonist and music educator with over 15 years of performing and teaching experience on piano, saxophone, clarinet, and flute. He received his Bachelors of Music from Florida State University and obtained his Masters of Music from the Manhattan School of Music both for jazz saxophone performance.
During his time at MSM, he studied directly under many jazz legends and was fortunate to perform in some of the biggest jazz clubs in New York City. Over the years, between playing on cruise ships for a year, and moving between NYC, Miami, and Atlanta, John has had a lot of amazing musical adventures: from teaching summers in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York, to playing lead alto for an international Broadway Tour, to holding a weekly Bossa Nova Brunch in South Beach Miami, and touring Canada with a NYC-based funk band. He’s got plenty of stories to tell, and more importantly, many life lessons to share!
As an educator, John is influenced by his work as a contemporary musician with conservatory training. Because of his education and varied performing experience, John puts the focus on practical, real-world techniques that are rooted in traditional methods. This way, you’re not only learning all the “classical” skills like reading music, analyzing theory, and technical mastery; you’ll also develop your ear so you can play without sheet music, you’ll learn about songwriting and improvisation so you can write your own music or jam with others, you’ll study current music styles/trends, so you can understand not only the foundations of music and how to play your instrument, but how to play music like today’s top performers, and how to have all the tools necessary to do anything you want musically!
INSTRUMENTS.
Band Coaching, Clarinet, Composition, Flute, Music Theory, Piano, Saxophone, Songwriting, Woodwinds, Audition/Performance Prep.
STYLES.
Jazz, Rock, Pop, Blues, Funk, R&B, Soul, Brazillian, Classical
REQUIREMENTS.
Students all ages & abilities welcome!
CONNECT.
TESTIMONIALS.
"His teaching style balances fun and productivity perfectly"
- Jessey
“‘John Woodwinds’ was a great mentor. He taught me a lot about saxophone, jazz performance, and theory."
- Louis
"He was fun, helpful, and renewed my interest in music"
- James
"John is an amazing teacher who has helped me hone in on my skills on tenor sax and build confidence in playing jazz music and improvising."
- Jess
"I loved working with John because he made me feel confident and excited about music and my passion for jazz"
- Rebecca
LISTEN.
Coming Soon!
