Kelsey Christian
Instruments: Piano/Keyboard; Voice
Music has been a part of Kelsey’s life for as long as she can remember. Her grandparents were music teachers, and they nurtured a love of music in her from a very young age (they also might be where she inherited her amazing teaching skills from!). Ever since she started taking piano lessons at at 6 and voice lessons at 13, she has been active in choirs, musicals and vocal ensembles, winning several awards for singing and performance.
Kelsey is a 2013 graduate of Millikin University, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music in Commercial Music, with voice as her emphasis. While at Millikin, she studied and performed both contemporary and classical music extensively. In addition to her required academic performances, she performed and recorded with a blues combo and her own rock band, served as the manager of the university’s state-of-the-art recording studio and toured the country with the Millikin University Choir, including performing at Carnegie Hall. After studying vocal pedagogy, Kelsey began teaching voice lessons while still in school. She has taught at Sky Studios since January 2016, and is a popular instructor among beginner and advanced students of all ages.
Since moving to Nashville, Kelsey has recorded and released her own six song E.P., served as a guest artist for students of the Blackbird Recording Academy and spent a year singing with a professional ensemble, the Heimermann Chorale. Kelsey currently sings with the Nashville Symphony Chorus and can be found playing keyboard and singing at Crossroad Church in Green Hills on most Sundays. In addition to working at Sky Studios, Kelsey works in music licensing for a local independent record label and continues to write and record her own music.
Three favorite songs:
Hanson – Penny and Me
Mozart's Requiem (the whole thing, but particularly the Confutatis and Lacrimosa)
Anything from musicals. This question is too hard!
Favorite places in Nashville/Brentwood:
Hanging out at Musician's Corner at Centennial Park.
Trying new restaurants. My current favorite is Siam Cafe in south Nashville. Thai food for the win.
Going to the movies. Any and all of them. I've been known to host some pretty legit Oscar's viewing parties.
Why do you love music?
My grandparents were music teachers and had a huge impact on me growing up. My life has been filled with music from a young age, and nothing else ever resonated with me the way music did. I love how it can express any emotion, and I love the idea that there is no person that music can't touch.
What is your teaching style/philosophy or why are you passionate about teaching?
I think some part of me always knew that I would teach music lessons. I started taking lessons when I was 6, and learning music has been with me every since. It had a huge impact on my life ,and I know that lessons continue to impact people of all ages everywhere. I believe in well-rounded learning that focuses on reaching the goals of the student. I will ALWAYS ask the student what their goals are and and check back in frequently to make sure that we are working to achieve them. There are many elements that make up a good musician, and it is my goal to help the students to nurture and explore all of them. Each of my lessons is catered to the level, goals, and personality of the individual student because I understand that we all learn differently and each student has unique hurdles to climb and gifts to share. Most importantly, I want the lessons to be fun.