Kirstin R
Instruments: Piano, Voice
Styles: Classical, Pop, Rock, Folk, Gospel, Musical Theater, Opera, Showtunes
Kirstin R
Instruments: Piano, Voice
Styles:
Classical, Pop, Rock, Folk, Gospel, Musical Theater, Opera, Showtunes
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 9-80
MM- University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee BA- Luther College Additional Graduate Coursework- University of Iowa Overseas opera studies with the Franco American Vocal Academy in Salzburg, Austria Other certifications: Health Coach Certification from Institute of Integrative Nutrition (in progress)
2013-2015 Music Scholarship University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2010- Research Grant University of South Dakota
2009- Spotlight Young Artist Classical Singer Magazine
2008 Semi-Finalist National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Districts Auditions
2005-2009 Weston Noble Scholarship Luther College
I'm a passionate, veteran voice and beginning piano instructor who loves helping students achieve their goals. I completed my Master of Music studies at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee and a Bachelor of Arts in voice performance from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. As a young artist, I spend three summers performing and studying in Austria with the Franco- American Vocal Academy. In addition to teaching, I maintain a busy performing scheduling in opera, musical theatre, and recital. I have been a member of the Madison Opera chorus since 2017 and an ensemble member of Belle Ensemble (Racine, WI) since 2019. In addition to stage performance, I work as a church musician, employed by both Catholic and Presbyterian churches.
I began teaching voice during my undergraduate college years. Since then, I have taught both in-studio and in-home lessons. My students have consistently received high honors in solo and ensemble performances, as well as singing, leads in school and area productions. My piano students develop good beginning technique and theory skills that help prepare them as they move into the advanced repertoire. Both my piano and voice students perform in competitions regularly. A number of my piano students have successfully completed ABRSM exams. Not only do my students learn technique and theory, but we work on movement, history, and performance preparation. We have fun while working together!
For beginning piano students who are children, we will typically either start with Alfred or Piano Adventures series. I find that both these series introduce the concepts of technique, theory, solo playing, and terminology in ways that help them learn effectively. Depending on the age, they will be placed in either early beginner's series or the beginner series. For adults, I look at what they are interested in and build a course for them based on that. For voice students, we start with the technique, first and foremost. We learn about breath and alignment right away. For some students, we might go into repertoire fairly quickly. For others, we will spend the first few weeks becoming more comfortable with the voice and learning how to use it.
Music lessons were one of my favorite activities growing up and continue to be for me as an adult. I want to give my students the same joy that I have for music, regardless of what their goals are. In the first lesson, I ask every new student what their goals area. That is how we start working together. For instance, if I know that a student is hoping to audition for a school production in a few months, I want to make sure that I include performance preparation in our lesson. We work on how to audition, for example. Each student is different and I want them to feel that their time is important. That's why I tell students frequently that their lesson time is "their time." I give them assignments and feedback to help facilitate goals, but ultimately, our time together each week is for them, not me.
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