Hello! I'm Mr. Tannenbaum, Assistant Director of Orchestras at Rice Middle School

This school year will be my third with the Rice Ravens! I am extra excited that this will be my 7th year educating Plano's most talented students. I am not native to Texas, but after 10 years of living in Dallas I'm proud to call it my home. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and as a young student I took up the study of the cello and became enchanted with playing in orchestra. In addition to my interest in music, I also swam competitively from elementary school through college, so I have much experience with juggling multiple time-consuming interests. Before I left Ohio, I attended Oberlin College where I studied Music Performance and Psychology. Upon moving to Dallas, I enrolled at Southern Methodist University where I received Master's degrees in Cello Performance and Music Education.

When I'm not teaching, I'm performing in my wedding music string quartet, playing rock music in my band, cooking a new recipe, or hanging out with my three cats! 

Why do I teach??

Collaborative music-making brings me joy, and I believe that the feeling of working together in an ensemble is an experience that is impossible to duplicate in any other discipline. Orchestra is not about playing notes on a page, but about expressing feelings and emotions through an instrument whose voice is one's own. I feel like it is my duty to help students find their instrumental voices and to get them to hone their skills and explore the ever-expanding world of music.

eric.tannenbaum@pisd.edu