Kayla Cardin
Flute, Voice, Piano, Early Childhood Classes
Hi! I’m Kayla and I love being a music teacher! I’ve been teaching voice, flute, and beginner piano lessons at Apple Tree Arts for 3 years. I’m also the Early Childhood Outreach Coordinator at ATA and teach early childhood classes both onsite at Apple Tree Arts and at preschools and daycare centers in the surrounding area.
Flute was my primary instrument in college. Did you know that I can play the flute backwards? I can even play it upside down! I played piccolo in the marching band in college and was the drum major of the UCONN marching band while I was in my first year of graduate school. I received a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of Connecticut in 2013. I graduated with a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction in 2015 and am certified to teach music in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for grades PreK-12.
I believe that music education is for everyone. I want to help create lifelong music learners and love watching students grow through the process of music making. It’s such a joy for me to work with students as they express themselves musically.
Music has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. My mom used to sing to me as a child and I will always have a passion for singing because of her. I mean, who doesn’t love to sing!? I took voice lessons in elementary, middle, and high school and still sing at church every other weekend.
My favorite aspects of teaching voice lessons are ear training, technical skills, and sight reading. I LOVE using solfege syllables to help with this. It’s important for my voice students to be as musically literate as my flute and piano students. I love teaching all genres of vocal repertoire including but not limited to musical theatre, folk songs, art songs, and spirituals.
For fun, I like to ballroom dance, hike, read books, watch movies that make me think, and complete puzzles. I live at home with my boyfriend and my pets, “Kate the Kat” and Friday, the black dog you’ll see hanging out in the ATA office on occasion. Even though Kate is my only pet at the moment, my parents have horses, goats, and dogs so I’m always surrounded by animals.
My goal is to help foster an environment that instills confidence, lifelong music learning, a love for music and is fun! I asked some of my students to give me some feedback about what they love most about their lessons with me and they told me that I have a positive attitude and useful feedback. They love the use of solfege and sight reading. I also have a way of finding fun and creative ways to teach new concepts. I teach challenging pieces in small, manageable chunks. I also received feedback from parents that I communicate well with them, am flexible, and am a good judge of skill and interest level.
I hope that by reading my bio that I conveyed my passion and love of music and you are inspired to take lessons here at Apple Tree Arts!