Music Performance with Kari B.

Hi everyone! My name is Kari Burgess and here is a very brief intro on my studio, what all that I teach, and a little bit of how I operate as a teacher. I look forward to hearing from anyone who is interested in private music lessons. Also, please please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns! I am an open book and would encourage that no question is a dumb question. First off, my studio is located in a quaint little area called Multnomah Village and is located in SW Portland. It is near a guitar studio and a professional recording studio called DB Nation. It is a nice size studio space with a Somer & Co studio piano that has been in my family for many years and still plays beautifully. My expectations during lessons are pretty laid back. I expect people to try their best to show up on time (crazy traffic exceptions don't count), come willing to learn, and have an enjoyment of singing or playing. Music is meant to be enjoyed so I want my students to have fun!! I hope that they will also have ideas of what they would like to sing/play, but I have quite the music collection and can provide most of what is needed during lessons. I teach both Voice and Piano lessons in that studio and in all sorts of genres of music. Most of the time, I teach poplar music and musical theater (especially for voice) because of the age and initiative of the student. However, I hold a Master's Degree in Music Performance with an emphasis on Voice. I plan to one day receive a Ph. D in Music, but right now I am in the pursuit of performing. So for me, I would prefer to sing classical music because it makes me heart happy and that is the genre of music that I most love. I am comfortable singing and teaching in French, German, Italian, and Czech. My preference even pushes further to the genre of opera and performing on the stage professionally is my main career goal in addition to teaching. I am currently performing professionally around Oregon in pursuit of this wonderful career in opera. However, throughout these 4 years of teaching, I have found a huge passion in teaching children and adults of all ages in order to help anyone who wants to achieve their own personal goals of singing or playing; whatever that may be. I have also been playing the piano since I was a young girl and I have continually taken lessons throughout undergraduate school; and for a little bit beyond as well. I have read many pedagogy books, have done thorough research on teaching and playing techniques, and I hope to continue my education on that route as well. Last but not least, my dog Sebastian. He is a 8 year old Puggle (half pug, half beagle) and he frequents the studio with me most of the time! So I feel he must be mentioned of course. He is a lover of people and always ends up falling asleep to the music that is created. The students love him but if any future student is uncomfortable with dogs, I would most definitely respect anyone's wishes to not have him present on lesson days. Feel free to send a message and I hope to hear from anyone who is interested! All the best, Kari Burgess