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08-17-2006
John, feel free to post my comments:
We have been extremely delighted with John's instruction for our daughter
who plays the Alto Sax. She has been with John for about 3 years now, and
has enjoyed very minute of it. She has become a really good musician, and
we know will continue to improve. We plan on taking her to John for as long
as we can, and for as long as he continues to teach. It is very obvious that
John loves working with kids and that he loves music and teaching. It is rare
to find someone who is that devoted to
making sure your child succeeds.
With many thanks, The Versola Family.
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08-10-2006
Dear Mr. Billington,
We wanted to take a moment and express our sincere appreciation
and gratitude for being the awesome teacher that you are.
Your knowledge, teaching techniques, patience, and guidance are
outstanding. Cole looks forward to his lessons each week and often
speaks of how you make learning so much fun!
You are appreciated more than you know.
Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Pete, Cindy, and Cole Calva
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08-24-2006
Mr. Billington was a great teacher for
me. Not only did I come with a
background of some REALLY BAD sax teachers but I was always nervous about
going and seeing new teachers. When I first heard about Mr. Billington I
told my mom no, I didn't want another sax teacher. But since she was my mom,
I didn't get a choice so I went anyways. When I met him in his little office
the first thing I saw was just smiles and laughter. It was great he was nice
and outgoing and became really interested in me as a player and as a person,
he constantly kept up with how I was and if there was a date I couldn't make
for ANY reason we could always reschedule.
Mr. Billington is a really easy guy to work with. If you have a vacation, he
works with you, If your sick, he works with you, If you had a bad day and
don't want to play (and everyone has bad days) he'll work with you. No
matter what your deal is John will always be there to support your decisions
and to work out when you could reschedule or what you're going to be doing for
the next time so you can make it up.
Another great thing about Mr. Billington is that he lets you work on what
you want. If you have something you need to practice, you can do it. Not
only can you work on it , but he'll help you on it and give you any sorts of
strategies and teach you skills you might need to play this piece you have.
I can say from a lot of experience with teachers that I would not have this
good of tone or technical ability if it wasn't for some of Mr. Billington's
help.
Oh yeah and whenever you need to call him he always answers his cell phone
and is ready for anything, if you don't go to Mr. Billington you're missing
out on a lot of good teaching
-Bob Longest
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08-18-2006
John was
my sax instructor for almost 4 years and in that time
I
became proficient enough to audition at various college campuses
throughout
the country. He increased my knowledge of music
theory,
scales, sight-reading and improvisation. We studied everything
from
Bach to Charlie Parker ... his love of both classical and jazz
was
contagious and although challenging, I was able to perform both
in
various college auditions. John always took more than a casual
interest
in my college plans, tutoring me one-on-one when necessary
and
spending lots of time filling out those college recommendations!
John
was always enthusiastic, conscientious, well-prepared and rarely
missed
a lesson. For the most part, he was always on time and besides
his
tremendous skill as a musician and his eclectic repertoire, he made
his
lessons interesting and most of all fun ... he could even on occasion
make
me smile ... no easy feat!
As
I head off to college, I go prepared for a career in music and will
certainly
miss those many sessions with John.
Marissa
Jensen
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08-17-2006
Dear
John,
We can't thank you enough for your fantastic
instruction and encouragement in teaching
alto sax these past couple of years. His skill level
has increased dramatically, and needless to say, we
were thrilled when he made the symphonic band for
all-county, and then again when he made symphonic band
for all-district this year! Your teaching techniques
and fun style gave him the confidence and desire to go
for it! And those experiences were ones he will never
forget. Thanks so much for inspiring him!
With great respect,
Larry & Elizabeth Webb
08-10-2006
John,
Thanks for the great job you're doing with Sam. You've been very
encouraging, patient and fun, which is especially great for an 11-year-old
sax player. Sam really is enjoying the progress he has made in the year
you've been his teacher. We're looking forward to his participating in the
concert this year. And to Sam's progress under your guidance in the years
to come.
Thanks again,
Sandy and Pat
Mueller
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04-13-04
Dear
Mr. Billington,
We were
so glad to be able to attend Lee's recital. She has made so much progress
since she began lessons with you. It was a pleasure to hear
all of your students perform. Each of them did so well - a testament of your teaching ability!
We
enjoyed seeing the historic house and the beautiful paintings exhibited throughout.
It was a nice environment for a recital.
Thanks
again for all you've done for Lee.
Roberta
& Ken Sommerfeld 04-13-04
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