Hi! I’m Julie.

As a young child, I just loved the sound of the piano. Imagine my excitement when at age 6, my mother decided I needed to harness that love of sound and actually “learn” to play the piano. So, she signed me up and drove me to piano lessons every week. Sound familiar?

Enter Mrs. Schauland, my first piano teacher.

We were a good fit, Mrs. Schauland and I. She patiently corrected me when I consistently mixed-up bass F and treble G in my note speller. And somehow, she knew exactly what pieces I needed at exactly the right time – to motivate and inspire me to reach my full potential. Eventually, I broadened my music study by learning to play the pipe organ, flute, and saxophone. And by then, I could drive myself to piano lessons.

My path to open a teaching studio may not be typical if there is such a thing. I didn’t set out to study music or teach. I earned my Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from North Dakota State University and landed my first job at a hospital in Alexandria, LA. I married my college sweetheart, and with his career we moved many times over the years. But at every location, I found two things that traveled with me – my love of music and my passion to share that love of music with others. I accompanied choirs, was a church organist and played for many weddings.

Then, over 20 years ago, a church friend asked me to teach her children to play piano. At first, I laughed and then I thought, why not? I enrolled at the University of St. Thomas and under the direction of renowned pianist and scholar Kathie Faricy, completed my Certificate of Piano Pedagogy.

This is the journey that led me to open my studio in 1998. These are the gifts I bring: endless passion and energy to try (and tackle) new things, a lifelong love of music and the unique ability to help students discover the beauty of the piano and the wonderful world of music at their fingertips.