Mr. Noah Baerman teaches a private piano lesson to Jeremiah Olubowale ’25.
By Francesca Howard ’26
Choate piano teacher Mr. Noah Baerman’s introduction to music began with an episode of Sesame Street. As he watched Stevie Wonder take to the stage on his TV screen during his special appearance on the show, the realization that music was Mr. Baerman’s true calling slowly dawned upon him.
In the following years, Mr. Baerman dedicated himself to music. He began learning the piano in second grade and quickly displayed a natural aptitude for the instrument. Mr. Baerman’s zeal for jazz led him to Rutgers University, where he earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Jazz Studies in the 1990s. Under the tutelage of revered professors and jazz maestros, he immersed himself in the discipline, soon becoming a fixture in the Connecticut jazz scene and making a name for himself by playing at an array of venues.
Aside from performing, Mr. Baerman loves composing music. He finds that while playing preexisting music involves memorizing notes and replicating sounds, whereas composing requires a broader understanding of musical theory and how notes fit together.
Mr. Baerman’s evocative compositions have become a conduit for his social activism. He is open about his experience with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a congenital, irremediable connective tissue disorder. The condition causes discomfort in the hands, fingers, and wrists, which inhibits the strength and skill needed for playing instruments. EDS nearly caused Mr. Baerman to give up the piano, but his perseverance and openness about his condition have now become a powerful part of his narrative as an artist, inspiring others and raising awareness about EDS and similar conditions.
Mr. Baerman explained, “It is an amazing gift to have a bright future in spite of adversity. I hope to create things of sufficient beauty that I can give that gift back many times over.”
His dedication to sparking passion in others encouraged him to teach jazz and popular music at Wesleyan University and, later, Choate. He relishes performing and teaching as he finds that the two vocations are closely linked. Mr. Baerman regards music as a “beautiful ecosystem,” in which there is an intergenerational exchange of ideas and knowledge — artists learn from veterans in the field and pass their insights along. One way Mr. Baerman shares his knowledge is through publishing instructional books on piano.
In addition to Stevie Wonder, one of Mr. Baerman’s biggest inspirations is John Coltrane, a saxophonist whose expressiveness, spiritual depth, and work ethic are a template for who he aspires to be. Mr. Baerman hopes to be that same inspiration for the next generation of musicians. He thinks he has a broader responsibility to synthesize what he has learned, experienced, and observed to help students achieve their long-term goals.
Mr. Baerman considers himself more of a mentor than a teacher. He describes the two roles as related but separate. “You can teach someone how to do something without mentoring them,” he said. He believes in the power of music to shape characters, not just careers.
But teaching isn’t always a one-way exchange. Sometimes, he becomes his own teacher. When he struggles with a song and is frustrated, he thinks of what he’d tell a student in his position. For both him and his students, Mr. Baerman’s classes turn black-and-white keys into a colorful experience.
