Music Teachers

Brandon Kurzawa is a highly accomplished music professional with more than 24 years of experience in music education. He founded Music Notes Academy in the year 2000 and since then, has been dedicated to providing high-quality music education, preparing students for performances, assessments, and auditions. Brandon holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Rutgers University and a Master of Arts in Education, with a specialization in curriculum, instruction, and computer education. He also studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

As a percussionist, Brandon has an impressive track record of recording credits. He has played drums on Ansel Matthews’ Raised From The Dust and John Sonntag’s Chasing Stars. He has also performed live with rock bands, singer-songwriters, trios and quartets, wedding bands, and theater productions in the surrounding New York metropolitan area.

Brandon has contributed significantly to music education beyond his work at Music Notes Academy and is a published author. His articles, such as “Teaching Music, Teaching Percussion: A Balance in Curriculum” and “Teaching Music: Music Majors, Choose Education,” were published in Tempo Magazine in ’06 and ’07. Brandon is also the author, co-designer, and publisher of Learn Today, Play Tomorrow® Student Assignment Book, which was released by Brandon’s backbeat Music Publishing LLC in ’15. The book enhances Music Notes Academy’s approach to teaching music comprehensively, with methods for organization, feedback, and learning objectives. Learn Today, Play Tomorrow®’s 2nd Edition was released during the ’18-’19 School Year.

Brandon’s commitment to enhancing New Jersey’s music education profession and validating the importance of community music schools led him to acquire Mid Atlantic Music Teachers Guild’s MAMTG Student Music Festival in ’15, becoming its new Festival Director. He produced Festivals ’16 through ’20, offering instrumental music, vocal, and musical theater competitions, evaluations, and showcases for student soloists and ensembles.

As Festival Director, Brandon took on several responsibilities, such as securing the proper event venue, creating relationships with schools, adjudicators, vendors, and sponsors, B2B and B2C sales, staffing the festival, creating its marketing, new website, and social media materials, planning and supervising event pre-production and post-production, overseeing, while delegating, a team of event staff, and improving user experiences such as festival headquarters and its end-of-the-weekend Awards Show. Administrative responsibilities included bookkeeping, budgeting, and accounting, registrations, awards design and production, student assessments, and scorecard design, adjudicator interviewing, vetting, and on-site operations and management.

As an educational endorser of Vic Firth, Inc., a sponsored artist of Shine Custom Drums, and a Remo Health Rhythms Drum Circle Facilitator, Brandon centered his college teaching as an adjunct professor of audio engineering and music technology around rhythm. He taught classes in Apple’s GarageBand, Logic Studio, and Reason at Gibbs College, with additional semesters at Rutgers University and Kean University.

Throughout his 24 years of teaching at Music Notes Academy, Brandon has focused on delivering high-quality music instruction for students of all ages, offering and producing complementary performance events, and integrating strategic acquisitions while providing meaningful employment for degreed and dedicated music teachers residing in our local communities.

In recognition of his remarkable accomplishments with Music Notes Academy, Brandon accepted NJSBDC’s Success Award on behalf of Music Notes Academy’s staff of dedicated teachers and supportive students and parents.