Andrew Lawson is a multifaceted musician and educator who’s been working in the field of music for 5 years now. Growing up in Philadelphia allowed Andrew many opportunities to learn; from jazz to classical, rock and folk, recording techniques and of course how to educate. Growing around so many awesome minds in the city of Philadelphia, allowed Andrew to see many different styles and approaches to educating.

Andrew started his education career at The Philadelphia Kimmel Center of Performing Arts. For 3 years, he cycled through many different schools in the Philadelphia area teaching music appreciation, theory, jazz history, guitar, Orff Instruments and more. This was a great opportunity to work with students of all demographics including ESL. During this time, Andrew’s goal was to learn how to best get students engaged, active and caring about music. As a teacher, one can make a student learn but true success is found when the student wants to learn.

During this time at the Kimmel Center, Andrew was also earning his degree at University of the Arts. UARTS provided a great opportunity to learn whatever was desired as opposed to being placed on a track with no opportunity to branch out. Here he met two very influential professors in terms of pursuing a vocal career; Justin Binek for Jazz studies and Paul Adkins for classical studies. With these two professors who are experts in their field, Andrew developed a great fusion of styles over his four years of Undergrad.

Andrew returned to UARTS for an additional year, to pursue a Masters Degree in Music Education. Education is such an integral part of his life and music in the world as a whole, earning a Masters Degree helped Andrew develop further and cement ideas and beliefs which he had been formulating years prior. This year as opposed to others allowed for Andrew to nurture deeper connections to his students. While at the Kimmel Center, he was Teaching Artist, maybe seeing a school 2 or 3 times a year. A majority of this year though was spent doing fieldwork/student teaching and teaching private lessons. The following summer after graduation, Andrew took on a long-term position at Play On, Philly! as a teaching artist, teaching Vocal, Music Theory and Musicianship.

Alongside of his education career, Andrew feels it’s very important to cultivate experiences in the world of performing. Bringing these experiences and stories to a classroom can really bring a new dynamic. Andrew has worked with professionals from all genres and styles. Such people Include; Questlove, Ben Folds, Ladysmith Black Mabazo, Philadelphia Orchestra, Andrea Bochelli and Christian McBride. Though Andrew is rooted in classical music, his interest and pursuits span far beyond that. This is also reflected in his teaching style and musical repertoire he brings to his students. It’s important for students to gain many experiences because everything cyclical and can bring a new approach to something familiar.