Haylee started playing the piano at age 6 with her mother. At age 14, she started taking private lessons with Dr. Sue Miller through The Sun Valley Music Institute, and began teaching piano at age 15 with the Sun Valley Music Institute’s summer session program. Haylee studied under Dr. Stephen Thomas and Michal McQuay for three years at Brigham Young University-Idaho. Haylee has a motivational approach to teaching. She wants each of her students to feel empowered to continue practicing and building their skills, and to ultimately love the process of learning and performing pieces. Music can be very therapeutic, and she seeks to create a refuge in her lessons-- a place where students feel safe, motivated, and heard. She is always looking to learn and implement new teaching methods to add to her library to better help students with different learning styles. She wants her students to learn that practice doesn't always make it perfect, but practice does lead to improvement, which leads to success. She believes that learning to play the piano builds life skills that help kids find balance in their busy lives. She is passionate about music and human development. Outside of her music education and experience, she also has a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, and experience as a youth mentor and personal trainer, she feels that she brings new ways of thinking and teaching that center around the student and their development. She is excited to meet new students and help them grow to love music as much as she does!
