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ABOUT US: About

The founder, Michele Kennedy, is a pianist and piano teacher who opened her studio in 2019.  She moved to Denver from St. Louis, Missouri in 2017.  She studied Piano Performance, Music Theory and Pedagogy at Missouri State University.  While raising her twin sons, she taught, accompanied theater productions,  composed music and performed in a seven-piece band for ten years.

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Michele is the author of "Name the Note Workbook",  a tool to help students remember where notes are located on the grand staff.  By writing in the names  of over 7000 notes in  random, but sequential order. The workbook has proven to speed up the process of learning to read music. 

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Michele is a member of the National Music Teachers' Association and the Colorado Music Teachers' Association. She creates much of her students' curriculum and arrangements of music for her students and she is also in the process of developing a program for teaching piano to 4-6 year old students. 

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Michele decided to expand her studio into a musical arts school because she realized that there are very limited opportunities for kids to be musically creative, collaborate in a group setting and perform on a regular basis.  Since music is a gift that is meant to be shared, it is important to offer the opportunity for students to set goals, set timeframes and perform ...often.  That's why Denver Academy of Musical Arts schedules regular recitals, competitions, theater productions, talent shows and performance workshops.

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She has brought together some of the best teachers in Denver who specialize in piano, guitar,  voice, and musical theater to teach individual private lessons and ensembles, choir, preschool/toddler music and  acting classes.

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The school mascot is her dog Lola, an 9 year old Golden Doodle who greets students and then naps all day.  When she isn't teaching her 46 students, managing the academy or creating lesson plans,  Michele most enjoys spending time with her 4 year old granddaughter and 2 year old grandson.  

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About the Founder

Piano Instructor-  Katie Rose Ford

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Raised in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, Katie Rose Ford moved to the Denver area in July of 2021 after graduating Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Musical Theatre and minors in Spanish and Psychology from North Central College. Since she was 16, Katie Rose has cantered at her church every weekend as well as sang for funerals, weddings, and quinceañeras. Throughout college, she sang in Women’s Chorale, Concert Choir, and Chamber Singers as well as studied Classical Voice and Musical Theatre Voice. At her alma mater, she performed in shows including Vinegar Tom, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and How I Learned to Drive. Katie Rose not only performed in shows but also music directed many productions at North Central College including as Spring Awakening, Peter and the Starcatcher, and I Love You Because. 

 

Starting young, Katie Rose began learning piano at the age of 6 and she continued playing through high school where she would accompany the school choir in concerts and school Masses. Katie Rose is also quite proficient in the flute and piccolo and auxiliary percussion due to high school concert and marching band. By the end of high school, she was a drum major, a leader of the Mass Choir, and assistant vocal director for the annual musicals. 

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Guitar Instructor- Jeff Gleason

Born in Alaska, and raised in Colorado, guitarist Jeff Gleason holds a Master of Music in Guitar Performance from the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music and a Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance from Metropolitan State University of Denver.  He was the third-place winner of the Denver Classical Guitar Society’s solo competition in 2009.

 

He has been an active studio teacher in the Denver area for over 20 years, and was also part of MSU Denver's guitar department from 2009 until 2020. While on the MSU faculty, Jeff  taught private guitar lessons, class guitar, Intro to Music, and History of Rock and Roll.

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He has performed throughout the United States as a soloist, including recitals and competitions in St. Louis, MO, Gainesville, FL, Reno, Santa Fe, and nearly every mountain and valley throughout Colorado.

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