Instruments:
Piano (Beginner-Advanced)
Guitar (Beginner-Intermediate)
Recording/Engineering
Education:
Bachelor of Arts in Music and East Asian Studies 2017
Master of Music in Music History and Literature 2019
Skills and Specialized Training:
Music Theory
Ear Training
Protools Recording
Bio:
Joshua Sims is a Chinese-American classical pianist and studio engineer, with a broad passion for classical music, contemporary, and just about everything in-between. Born in Bellevue, Josh grew up and has been teaching in the PNW for over 5 years now. He is a 3x National Fine Arts merit recipient in solo and ensemble categories, and has recorded + lended keyboard knowledge to various bands in the PNW spending 2 years interning and then recording at Robert Lang Studio in Shoreline.
He is currently further pursuing his music education at Western Washington University, with a specific focus and interest in teaching children and those with cognitive/learning disabilities.
The biggest influence on Josh was his classical piano instructor Donna Sams, a traditional classical instructor of 20+ years, who introduced him to the WA Chopin festival, his love of classical music, and the theory needed to adapt and take up styles such as jazz, improv, and many others. He has also participated as a line drummer for Bellevue's Snowflake Lane.
Above all, Josh's goal is not just to foster theory, music knowledge, but also imprint a deep love and passion for music, individual to each student, that is long lasting.
Influences:
In addition to Mrs Sams, some of the most notable influences on Josh's life were his middle school youth leader Jordan Shipley, who got him his first gig playing keys at church, which led him to enjoy the passion of performance, as well as his choir teacher who took him on a field trip to Robert Lang Studio, and introduced him to the engineers who would eventually become his instructors. In terms of music, the artists who have imprinted the most on him would be Chopin, the alternative rock band Colony House, and Japanese composers Joe Hisashi and Ryo Fukui.