Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerome Autin.
Hi Jerome, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My musical journey began at an early age at a Montessori school in New Orleans, and ultimately led me to pursue a degree in music at Southeastern Louisiana University, with a focus on piano. I moved to Austin, TX, for the first time in 1994. It was there that I began my career as a freelance music educator at different preschools in South Austin. My experience in teaching led me to pursue work with DeafBlind students at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, where I began learning American Sign Language (ASL). In 2000, I enrolled at Austin Community College (ACC) and began studying to become an ASL interpreter. In 2005, I became a certified ASL interpreter. I now live in San Marcos, TX, with my wife, Lauren Goodley, where I work both as a private music instructor—teaching music out of my home—and as a freelance ASL interpreter serving the Deaf community of the Hill Country. I enjoy connecting with people of all ages and abilities, using music or ASL as a bridge to meaningful communication.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
During the years 2002–2005, I stopped teaching music and moved back home to New Orleans to be closer to my much younger half-siblings and their mother. Our dad had died, leaving their mom with cancer and four young kiddos. It was also in New Orleans during this time that I met my future wife, who had a small apartment on Frenchmen Street—the coolest street in downtown New Orleans. I was set to graduate from the interpreter preparation program at Delgado Community College in New Orleans, but in 2005, Hurricane Katrina forced Lauren and me back to Austin. I re-enrolled at ACC and finished there in 2006.
In 2008, my stepmother died of breast cancer. My brother Albert, who was 15 at the time and legally orphaned, moved in with Lauren and me in an apartment in South Austin. With assistance from a lawyer who worked for us pro bono, we took legal guardianship of Albert. Lauren acquired her master’s degree from UT Austin while Albert was growing up with us. She now works as a digital archivist. Albert moved out in 2013 and has become a success in his own right. Albert and Lauren are both my best friends now.
In 2014, I started teaching music again. I now teach private music lessons from my home in San Marcos. It was a long journey with both struggles and successes that I’m immensely proud of all three of us for.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Teaching music and interpreting sign language aren’t just professions for me—they’re my passions. Both fields have enriched my life in countless and continuous ways, allowing me to connect with diverse communities and individuals. Naturally, I’m an advocate for accessibility and inclusion and am committed to making education and communication accessible to everyone I work with.
With that in mind, I recognize that all of my music students have their own musical “voice.” I embrace their individual learning styles, and never require practice or homework unless requested by the student or parent. Music education can be enriching for all ages and for all parties involved. I attempt to make music lessons—including theory—as fun as possible, especially when some may find them challenging or even frustrating.
I recently began holding yearly recitals where all of my students are welcome to perform, either on piano or on an instrument they’re studying. Alternatively, they’re also welcome to simply observe and enjoy the performances.
I continue my own music education and enrichment through regular instruction with one of our local liturgical organ masters, Julius Coyle, who, like me, is a rocker at heart. Over time, we plan to explore different church organs and keyboards in the Hill Country area and possibly beyond. He’s a great teacher, friend and collaborator.
When I’m not teaching or interpreting, you’ll likely find me immersed in music in some way—either practicing piano or organ works, transcribing music, exploring and listening to new and old music, writing art music, or singing bass in the church choir. Music brings me joy every day, and I truly enjoy sharing that experience with my students.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
When I was a kid, I used to go to the Mississippi Gulf Coast with my family every summer until I was about eight years old. We’d stay at a specific motel across from the Gulf of Mexico in Biloxi. The motel had a swimming pool with a diving board, which I spent hours jumping from. I’d start in the morning and dive until lunch, when I was forced to take a nap. As soon as nap time was over and until the sun started going down, I was diving. Even though I wasn’t jumping into the Gulf, I could see the ocean from the diving board. It almost felt like I was diving directly into the ocean waves.
Those summers had the feeling of days that lasted forever but ended too quickly, coupled with the seemingly infinite and overwhelming vastness of the gulf across the road that could swallow you up. This was when I learned how to tell time by the position of the sun, and how to count the seconds between lightning strikes and thunderclaps to guess how far off a storm might be. It was all centered around getting back to the diving board.
Pricing:
- $35 for a 30 minute piano/ music lesson.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.signsoftreble.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/signsoftreble/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-autin-21a96318/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jeromedeorleans
