David Schnittman
Grades 5-8 Music Teacher
Background & Experience

David Schnittman joined the staff in 2007 to teach our 4th, 5th and 6th grade music program. He received his BA Cum Laude with special departmental Honors in Music from New York's Stony Brook University in 1984. He continued his studies at Stony Brook in the Musicology Master's degree program before moving to Santa Cruz, California in 1987.

With more than 20 years teaching experience, David has taught a multiplicity of instruments as a private instructor (currently at the Music Tree in Morgan Hill) as well as music theory, composition, analysis and jazz improvisation. He enjoys teaching students of any age and at a wide variety of levels, including the university level (at SUNY Stony Brook as a graduate student and Cabrillo College as a guest lecturer and substitute teacher.)

In 1995, following several years working as a counselor with SED children, David was approached by a mental health organization (EMQ) and asked to create and direct a music program to serve troubled youths in San Jose. The result, "Music Jam," is a wildly successful, weekly community-based music therapy program and is widely known and recognized as cutting edge programming for “at risk” kids. Last year "Music Jam" celebrated 11 years of service to the children of San Jose.

David is also a successful professional musician whose experience includes two USO/DOD tours, as well as an amazing tour with Blues legend Johnny Shines. You can find David locally, leading his own jazz group, the Dave Schnittman Quartet. David looks forward to sharing his love of music with the CSMH community.