Osseo

New to the Twin Cities, Emily is thrilled to share her musical knowledge with you. She began private lessons on the flute at 8 years old and practiced avidly while growing up in Idaho. While studying art in college, she constantly drew from the combination of discipline and expression she learned from her musical education. Emily finds a uniquely transportive experience whether playing the flute or piano which shapes her experience of the world. Her love of teaching comes from the opportunity to enable others to cultivate this experience. When she’s not teaching, Emily is making ceramics, listening or watching jazz performances, and enjoying the outdoors.

Cynthia offers 50+ years of experience as a musician, educator, therapist and clinician.  She graduated Cum Laude from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education and her journey in her careers has given her a broad and creative philosophy of the use of music in every aspect of life.

She began playing piano at age 5 and then continued to develop her musicianship through all of her educational pursuits.   She gained experience in instrumental performance, vocal and choral performance and conducting, piano instruction, public school music education, liturgical music, music therapy, psychiatric nursing and performance venues.   Her most recent performance venue was at New York’s Carnegie Hall where she shared the stage with a former piano student in the world premiere of “Esther”, a choral composition by Mark Blankenship and Mark Cabiness.

Cynthia utilizes a success-oriented model for supporting the learning of students.  She works with each student with an eye toward individualizing lessons to the student’s learning style and interests and Cynthia believes that students develop a lifetime appreciation of music when they can maximize their skills as well as enjoying their musical pursuits.  Her time spent as a music therapist and psychiatric RN provided a wide view of approaches with special populations, including autism, neurological and physical disease, psychiatric illness, behavioral problems and cognitive deficits.  Her practice recognizes the vast benefits of studying music and performing music as an amazing tool for brain development and achievement which benefits all students, young and old.  Cynthia’s skill set is broad and creative but her ever present goal is to provide a joyful experience through music which can last a lifetime.

She looks forward to partnering with students and parents in learning to play piano and make music a part of each student’s life.

Rachel grew up in a musical home where singing and playing instruments together was a regular part of family life. She began private piano lessons when she was 7 years old and studied with various piano instructors, including her dad who supplemented her private piano lessons with additional music theory.  She continued lessons throughout her undergraduate studies at Augsburg University, where she studied piano under Professor Jill Dawe. 

Rachel has kept her connection to music alive in a variety of ways since graduating from Augsburg, including accompanying vocalists and other instrumentalists, playing piano for church services, volunteering to play at nursing homes, and tutoring elementary and college aged piano students.  In addition to her musical expertise, Rachel has extensive education experience. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Masters in Education and has taught middle school science for the past seven years. In addition to her classroom experience, she has also worked for afterschool programs and worked as an educator for the International Wolf Center. 

Rachel is excited to get to know students and help them grow as pianists. Playing piano can bring joy and confidence to a young person’s life as well as equip them with a lifelong skill. 

Outside of work Rachel enjoys reading, baking, hiking, and spending time with her two-year-old son Zayn and her dog Cato.