Your little VIP is in good hands.

Not to toot our own kazoo, but we have some of the coolest teachers around.

Trained instructors
Our teachers are trained in both education and our comprehensive curriculums. We create a positive learning environment for students, and we teach in a way that empowers learning and independence.
Consistent student path and education
There is no guesswork here! Our teachers follow a clear path through our programs, providing students a quality and consistent education.
Diverse talents and backgrounds
Our teachers range from classically trained, to multi-instrumentalists, to jazz pianists extraordinaire, to dueling pianists. It's like having a whole squad of superhero teachers at your disposal! With this perk, students get to tap into a variety of teaching talents and strengths.
A heart for education and a love of teaching
If we were to choose the most important quality in our teachers, it is hands down that we love what we do and it shows in our lessons, and on the faces of our students.

Meet our teachers

We’re the team behind the music

Miss Whitney
Miss Whitney grew up reading beautiful classical music, studying for 10 years under a Juilliard and Harvard trained teacher and concert pianist. She loved her piano teacher and she loved her lessons. But after some time in corporate America, Miss Whitney somehow ended up traveling the world as a full time dueling piano player. How much classical music do you think Miss Whitney read at her dueling piano shows?

If you answered none, you would be correct. Reading music is a critical skill in learning an instrument; but there is also so much more! Learning chords, improvisation, ear training, and beautiful pieces that DON'T require sheet music are equally important in growing as a musician. Miss Whitney has been teaching since 2001, and has extensive experience in a variety of curriculums, teaching methods and lesson styles.

Miss Whitney loves flowers, music, animals, color, the show Friends, office supply stores, and reading Enneagram accounts on Instagram. She was the 4th grade spelling bee champ and can also play Baby Shark in every key.
Miss Sarrah
Miss Sarrah grew up loving music. She joined band and choir as soon as she was able to. Eventually, she studied Music Education at St. Ambrose University. She graduated from SAU in May 2020. Miss Sarrah has been teaching K-5 General Music in Des Moines and it's surrounding communities for 3 years.

When she isn’t making music, Miss Sarrah loves to go hiking, hang out with her cat, read, drink coffee, and learn about plants. Miss Sarrah loves being a part of the Bloom Music Studio team. Her favorite thing about Bloom is getting to watch students get better each week.
Miss Melissa
Miss Melissa grew up in a musical family, singing and playing piano, organ, clarinet, guitar, and drums! She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music from Graceland University, where she specialized in piano pedagogy, music theory, and music history. She has been teaching piano in southern Iowa since 2012. Her genre specialty is movie and video game scores.

Fun fact about Miss Melissa! Since August 2021 she has been an affiliate with Twitch as a content creator, performing live stream shows playing piano, singing, and playing a variety of video games where she gets to interact with an awesome online community! When Miss Melissa’s not teaching or wowing the internet, she loves spending time with her cat and friends, and she spends a lot of free time learning music of all genres!
Miss Allison
Miss Allison has been in love with music her entire life. She started piano when she was 4, and now her main instrument is alto saxophone, on which she has performed many virtuoso-level pieces (her favorites being Concerto a Glazunov and Concertino da Camera). Miss Allison is currently earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Film Scoring— writing music for movies!— at Berklee College of Music. She has learned a lot about ear training, theory, and (of course) piano!

Miss Allison loves teaching and interacting with students, always striving to inspire them as much as they inspire her. In Miss Allison’s free time, she likes to read, spend time with her family and friends, take care of her concerning amount of plants, or volunteer (she has been a Shepherd at VBS for 7 years!).
Miss Kelli
Miss Kelli grew up constantly surrounded by music. Originally from Pella, Iowa, she was active in music activities from an early age. She has studied a number of instruments, including piano, bass, guitar, flute, and bassoon. Her musical accomplishments include performing at Carnegie Hall with the Iowa State University Women’s Choir.

Miss Kelli earned her BA in linguistics at Iowa State University, and her well-trained ear was a huge asset in learning other languages. After graduation, she taught English in China, Thailand, and Taiwan and tutored American students in Mandarin Chinese. Since moving back to Iowa, Miss Kelli loves being able to combine her passion for teaching and music at Bloom Music Studio. When she’s not in the studio, you can probably find Miss Kelli cooking with her husband or watching her favorite TV show, the West Wing.
Miss Carissa
Carissa started playing piano at age 5. She fell in love right away and started writing piano music for fun. It has evolved from songs about cats to lullabies for her kids. She also plays bassoon, oboe, and clarinet which led her to major in music performance and sociology at Iowa State.

Miss Carissa currently plays for several central Iowa school choirs, contests, and college auditions. It's amazing to watch young people evolve in their love of music, whatever genre that may be. In addition to teaching, she has a deep love of accompanying.

In her free time, Miss Carissa spends the majority of her time with her three kids who are the center of her world. They frequently go camping, hiking, play Mario Kart, and enjoy writing silly songs together. Miss Carissa is also an avid birder, kayaker, and loves to travel. Having always been a bookworm, Miss Carissa keeps a balance by reading kids' joke books and historical biographies. Her family also has two guard cats, named Jack and Astrid, who are likely to be sleeping on the job.

Miss Olivia
Miss Olivia began playing piano when she was 7 and has never been able to stop making music since. In addition to playing the piano, she also dabbles in the violin, viola, oboe, and pipe organ in her free time while pursuing her main instrument, her voice. She currently studies operatic voice in her vocal performance and music education degree at Drake University. She has always participated in every choir, band, and orchestra she could and loves to perform in the theater as well.

Miss Olivia loves getting to share her passion and excitement for music with students. While music is her main interest, she also enjoys reading, going on walks, solving puzzles, and spending time with her family.
Mr Tyler
Mr Tyler started playing piano at 7, after figuring out that hanging out in the corner during his sister’s lessons wasn’t nearly as fun as actually joining in! Since then, Mr Tyler has spent over 14 years diving into music. In 2019, he rocked Vocal Allstate and went on to study music composition with scholarships in percussion and voice. He eventually decided to follow his own musical path before graduating, and it’s been a wild ride—learning over 10 instruments and releasing 4 albums from home!

When not teaching, Mr Tyler is probably writing songs, going to concerts, hanging out with family, watching "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia," or cheering (sometimes yelling) for the Denver Broncos.

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Meet our studio musical therapy goldendoodles:

Miss Charlie Bear
Head of Public Relations
Charlie has been forcing charming her way into people's lives since August 2017. The most social girl you ever did see, Charlie passed her Therapet test with the ARL in October 2019; mostly because she had too much love in her heart and not enough places to give it. She loves visiting schools, and is especially fond of all of her small human friends.

Charlie is most certainly an Enneagram 7; she is outgoing, independent, and the life of the party. She is excited to meet you, and will most likely hit the floor soon after in her lifelong quest of nonstop pets and belly rubs.
Mr Henry Guy
Head of Studio Security
Henry joined the family in 2018 after Miss Whitney realized she could no longer spend hours every day at the dog park so that Charlie could see her friends. He may have lacked sufficient protein in his diet as a baby, because Henry's legs stopped growing early on in life. This resulted in a pint size doodle, who has since become a fan favorite of kids and grownups alike.

Henry is clearly an Enneagram 6; he is cautious, loyal and at times a bit of a worrier. These qualities have made him an excellent head of security, protecting all who enter the studio.
Teddy Tedderson
Head Garbage Inspector
Our newest addition to the Bloom family, Teddy is probably the most handsome guy you've ever known. With his soft, flowy red hair and black button nose, Teddy has likely missed his calling as an Instagram model and instead spends his days being admired and doted on at the studio.  

When it comes to personality, Teddy embodies an Enneagram 5. A mysterious soul, he holds his emotions close, preferring to observe the world from a thoughtful distance rather than wear his feelings on his (furry) sleeve. Once Teddy does approach though, get ready because his love language is most definitely giving kisses.