West Jordan Music Lessons

ce to our group Master Class which is 90 minutes
(one a month)

What to bring to your first lesson:
*Bring a song you are very comfortable with for voice assessment.
(CD, MP3 player, minus track or we can use YouTube)
*Lyric sheet if necessary
*A recording device (IPhone, digital recorder)

d students into life-long musicians.

My primary instrument is the cello and I have performance experience as a soloist, as well as orchestral and chamber musician. Upon arriving in Chicago in 2010, I served as Principal Cellist with the University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra for two years and took gigs as a classical and improvisational chamber musician throughout the city. In addition to my private studio, I was the primary cello instructor at Musical Chairs Studio, Inc. and Ortegan School of Music in Chicago.

I am also a percussionist and teacher with Salt Lake City's Samba Fogo, an afro-Brazilian music and cultural organization. I have studied Brazilian music with some of the major musicians and scholars in the field at California Brazil Camp in Cazadero, California. My training in percussion has brought an entirely new perspective to my musical practice that highlights rhythmic fluency and precision as a foundational element for both left and right hand stringed instrument technique.

*** Lesson Details ***
I am excited to offer lessons to people of all ages and ability levels and have experience teaching within and beyond the Suzuki Method approach.

Lessons are tailored to each student’s experience, individual needs, and most importantly, their goals! Lesson plans will combine interactive rhythmic, singing and listening exercises away from the instrument with music theory and technique-building exercises. The aim is to cultivate musicians with strong rhythmic, aural, and technical foundations and great problem solving skills that will open many doors as you or your child grow into your talent.

I aim to develop well-rounded musicians and performers by focusing on these 5 teaching priorities:
1. Balanced posture of body including instrument and bow hold
2. Balanced tone production or "tonalization"
3. A system of "perfect" or excellent intonation
4. Artistic musicianship in performance
5. Learning notes and bowings to new pieces

While learning notes and bowings is lowest on the priority list; it must be taught first! Fun listening games aid in the development of aural memory as I help students acquire listening skills that will stay with them for years to come and allow them learn to play any tune they can imagine. Once my students can do the note choosing on their own we are free to focus on the other teaching priorities during lesson time.

I also focus on teaching my students how to practice efficiently and use excellent problem solving skills! We want to get the MOST improvement with the LEAST amount of practice time. I like to combine practice at the instrument with games and exercises that can be done away from the instrument to give each student a degree of flexibility for those busy weeks when it's hard to find time to sit down and play. Students leave each lesson with a detailed practice plan that breaks down the difficult question of "what" and "how" to practice into a clear, concise checklist of familiar exercises. Students will also have suggested YouTube videos to watch some of the best musicians of all time and learn from their mastery of technique and musicality!

*** Additional Information***

I also have experience with extended and amplified cello techniques using loop and distortion pedals to layer and explore the variety and versatility of the cello.

*** Travel Equipment ***
2015 Subaru Forester that will get me to your lesson with all my instruments and any other equipment each and every time!

I travel to lessons with a music stand, metronome, and all teaching materials that would be present at a lesson taught in my home or studio.

ed at starting beginners, and also adept with intermediate students.
For special needs students I would need someone familiar with the student's needs to attend lessons with the student.

s stumbling blocks. It is my passion to help them identify those, understand them and then...shatter them. Singers are complex people with complex instruments, and no matter what our expertise level, the DESIRE to sing is something to be protected and nurtured. I value honesty, discipline and detail work in the singing studio. I find those three things, meshed always with a genuine sense of FUN, are the keys to helping singers unlock and develop what makes them unique artists with something to say."

Professionally as a singer, Kait has headlined her own blues band, sung in several cover bands and also performed as a featured lead vocalist alongside John Lee Hooker Jr. (Blues Grammy artist nominee) on his western tour of the U.S. Kait was the lead singer and co-songwriter for the band Light Vizion and co-produced the band's debut album "Looking For An Angel" and can be heard as the solo vocalist on the album "True North" by Tristan Moore. She is currently a freelance vocalist in Salt Lake City, Utah. She has sung lead and solo in a large variety of venues, including Capitol Theatre, Abravanel Hall, Rose Wagner (Jeanne Wagner Stage) and several local clubs and restaurants as well as festivals and outdoor concerts including the annual Scarecrow Festival and the Brown Bag Concert Series and Furry Fiesta Fundraiser! While in Los Angeles, Kait performed in numerous clubs and blues music venues, including The Brown Derby, The Blue Cafe and BB Kings in Hollywood. She has also worked as a professional singer for several years in the Los Angeles Music Industry where she performed in several bands and worked as an in demand "session" singer (someone people hire to come in and quickly record vocals for various professional and experimental projects).

Kait's education as a singing performer includes a B.F.A. from the Actor Training Program at the University of Utah, an M.F.A. in Musical Theatre Performance from San Diego State University plus 5 years post-grad study in Los Angeles training in voice with world master voice teacher, Edward Sayegh.

In 2004 Kait returned to her roots in Salt Lake City, UT to continue both her singing and teaching career. She continues to write, arrange and record as a freelance singer, and has appeared as the featured vocalist with groups like Children's Dance Theatre and Ririe-Woodbury as well as other local blues and rock bands.

Kait: "My goal with each student is to help them to become the very best they can be as singing performers. But in addition, I aim to lift their spirit during the time they spend here, so that when they leave for the day, after the work they've done, they feel better, more inspired, more empowered and more confident and driven than they did when they arrived at my door. Teaching and watching my students evolve as both artists and people is thrilling! I have the honor of watching them find themselves through music while they build truly lifelong friendships with the performing peers they meet in the classes and performances they participate in here...they end up finding some of their 'kindred spirits' in life here, and that is something that is priceless as an artist."

opera companies, in recital, and as a church musician. Currently I sing with the Utah Opera chorus.

I have a MM in Opera from ASU, a BM in Voice from FSU, and am a recent grad of the William Esper Studio for Actors.

While I'm most at home in the classical world, I encourage my students to develop healthy vocal habits and sing what they enjoy.