Many children have no idea what they want to be when they grow up, but for Dan Auerbach, music has always been a way of life.
Auerbach, assistant professor of music at the College of Stanton Island, will be teaching a free masterclass Monday, Sept. 25 at 2:30 p.m. in the Lionel Hampton School of Music. Following the masterclass, he will perform a solo violin concert at 7:30 p.m. in the Administration Building Auditorium. Tickets will be sold at the door and cost $5 for adults and $3 for students.
Events like this are common for Auerbach whose job requires him to travel to different universities to teach and perform. Auerbach said he has travelled to multiple states including Georgia, Montana, Michigan and Texas and will be going to Iowa soon.
“For me it’s sort of mandatory, but I love it anyway,” he said.
Auerbach said he has been teaching since he was 17, years before he received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. He said he began as an adjunct and has since taught at Juilliard Pre-College, Georgia College, and Rutgers University. Each summer, Auerbach teaches at the Blue Lake Summer Arts Festival in Michigan.
Auerbach said, with the industry of classical music declining, there aren’t a lot of options for musicians. He said being a teacher became a necessity for him.
“It was a combination of what I really liked to do and I was good at but also what I had to do,” he said.
His job includes teaching academics, recruiting new students, conducting an orchestra of high school and college students, supervising strings competitions and performing at multiple venues, Auerbach said. He said he performs around the world and recently performed in Helsinki with the American Festival of Microtonal Music.
Auerbach grew up immersed in classical music. He said he began playing the violin at a very young age, and although he was forced to do it, it was sort of a given that it would always be a part of his life.
“Music is sort of like a calling — it calls you, you don’t call music,” Auerbach said. “It’s a way of life. I’m always going to end up doing music.”
Auerbach said his typical day is extremely busy, so much so that he never watches TV and usually only eats one meal per day. He said his day consists of teaching, conducting administrative duties, attending meetings, practicing and trying to get gigs. He never gets a break from music and must always be working to create opportunities for his career, he said.
Auerbach said his relationship with music is love-hate, and sometimes he has to force himself to do it, but it’s something he will always build and continue.
“It becomes part of you, and it will always be a part of you,” he said.
He said his main goal as a teacher is to inspire and motivate his students as well as help them solve problems and learn to enjoy it.
“It’s those one or two kids you can really influence and really help,” Auerbach said. “That fulfills my teaching.”
Jordan Willson can be reached at [email protected]