CHECK OUT MORE AWESOME TEACHERS!

MS. SHELBY

Teacher

MS. KEIKA

Teacher

MS. AUDREY

Teacher

When I first dabbled with music…

My earliest memories include watching my father attempt to play his favorite songs by ear, followed by me banging my hands on our family upright piano as loudly as I could. My mother grew sick of hearing the same “cluster” noises over and over again and enrolled me in actual piano lessons.

I took my first piano lesson at age 7, bounced among 3 different piano teachers for several years, grew exhausted of not winning in piano competitions by age 14 and decided to “take a break” one summer. 

I never went back to lessons. 

At around the same time, I also taught myself improvising with pop chords as part of a contemporary church worship band. Private piano lessons had never taught me how to play with a drummer, let alone how to play with an entire band!

Fast forward ten years and I ended up being the main keyboardist for several different worship bands and a keyboard worship leader in college. 

---

Why Teach?

I believe in the unparalleled impact music can bring to people’s lives.

​I believe in the importance of music literacy AND fostering the passion for creating music.

I believe in the power and significance of relationships, and I am passionate about the relational aspect in the art of teaching.

Because I believe humans are meant to be in community, I find teaching to be one of the most rewarding jobs out there.

​What a blessing it is for me to have the opportunity to impart the joy of music to others! 

Outside Music

When I’m not doing music, I love to set aside time to paint and I've recently gotten into watercolors!

Fun fact: Before I delved into music as a career, I worked as a face paint artist for Six Flags theme parks for 3 summer seasons.

Nowadays, you will find me face painting for school carnivals a few times throughout the year. 

One of the greatest pleasures in life is FOOD, and I love bonding over trying out new restaurants. I especially love going to Disneyland and snacking on my favorite cream cheese pretzels and lobster nachos.

In order to make room in my body for all that delicious food, I try to carve out a few days a week to sweat away in my indoor cycling class, to dance plies in my barre class, or to hike at national parks.

As of right now, Bryce Canyon in Utah is my favorite! 

Most of all, I cherish spending time with my husband. 

Currently living in Irvine and I can’t wait to get to know all the wonderful families of FreshStart (and maybe paint a few of your faces)!