Posted by Wayne Rice on October 02, 2000 at 11:03:03:
In Reply to: Manhattan School of Music ? posted by Tim C on September 29, 2000 at 19:39:39:
Although it appears that this may have already been talked out, I felt that as a former student at Manhattan with Toby that I should say something. I've studied with Brent Dutton, Bart Cummings, Abe Torchinsky, Wesley Jacobs, Roger Bobo and even a little with a great bass trombone player, Steve Norelle. I've even had one or two lessons with Warren Deck, Ron Bishop and Tommy Johnson. In short, I've studied with some very good high-profile players. Toby was not the best player among them; I think he'd admit that. But Toby has a couple of things that the all the best teachers have: passion for playing and the proven ability to overcome adversity.
In my experience, highly talented players often do not make the best teachers. These special folks do things without the same effort as mere mortals. In my experience, a great teacher is one that has gone through pain and emerged on the other side of it, AND can show you how to do the same.
Now, in addition to the above, Toby is a dynamic guy. He won't let you slide and if you are not doing well, he won't hesitate to let you know. But the thing that struck me the most about him was that he was "musical" with a capital "M." So often we get caught up with how high or fast or loud someone can play. All that stuff is exciting, but it is not about the music. I felt when I was in the room with Toby that I was sitting with a musician who happened to be a tuba player--which was great with me because that's what I wanted to be.
That said, Toby is not going to hold your hand. As you can tell from his list of schools, he is busy. If you want someone who is available to you all the time, I'd suggest going to a place with a full-time teacher whose primary focus is his faculty position. But if you are ready for a good musician to help you become a better musician, and you're excited about going to NYC (that's a must, by the way; if you're not thrilled about going to the BIG CITY, you're not ready to go yet; I learned that the hard way) you couldn't do any better than to study with Toby.
Wayne Rice