trumpet

Jordan Olive

Teaching

Jordan has taught as the Trumpet Instructor at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, IL and was an adjunct Professor of Trumpet at St. Xavier University in Chicago. In the spring of 2013, Jordan was invited to give a master class for the trumpet studio at the University of Michigan.  He has previously taught master classes for the studios at Universidad de Chile in Santiago, Chile, and the University of Northern Colorado.

For several years, Jordan has maintained a private teaching studio in Chicago and the North Shore suburbs. His private students have been successful in IMEA competitions and played in the top orchestras of both the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, in downtown Chicago, and the Midwest Young Artists, in Fort Sheridan.  His private students have gone on to be students at top collegiate music performance programs.

Jordan has developed his teaching methods and techniques through extensive studies throughout his trumpet career. He has had the good fortune to study with many incredible private teachers and learn from others in master classes starting, in his younger years, at the Manhattan School of Music preparatory college in New York and continuing at the University of Michigan and Northwestern University, as well as at the various summer festivals.

Jordan's teaching style largely depends on the individual needs of the student; though, he believes that all students need a solid foundation in the fundamentals of scales, arpeggios, rhythm, and ear-training. Toward this goal, Jordan uses a variety of trumpet method books, including the Arban's book, the Rubank method books, and the method books provided by school band programs. For rhythmic stydies, Edward Ayola's "Winning Rhythms"; and for ear-training Jordan has students match pitch, sing scales, and sing excerpts from the music they are learning. For advanced students, he uses Robert Ottman's "Music for Sight Singing".

Each year Jordan hosts recital opportunities for his students. He believes that it is important for students to become comfortable performing solos in front of an audience in addition to performing in a section of their school band or orchestra.