All About McKenzie: Group Piano Teacher

I’d like to introduce Kennedy Carsten, a Group Piano Teacher at HeartStrings School of Music! McKenzie Peterson's love of music started by plucking tunes out on the piano as a 5 year old and singing as loud as possible during church services. It developed into formal piano lessons, cello lessons, percussion in band, and self-taught guitar and ukulele. She was often in a musical, choir, play, church production, or band event in her free time. She is constantly singing and making up songs with her kids, Mable & Henry - if only to get them into their car more easily!

Professionally, she started her musical and teaching career as a Children's and Worship Pastor. Developing children's music and teaching children the joy of music through singing and playful rhythmic gestures was always the highlight of her urban work with the nonprofit she co-founded and co-directed, The Des Moines Dream Center. She also spent 10 years in the Optometry world as a Vision Therapist and Optician primarily working with pediatric patients before shifting back to the music world.

In the summer of 2020, she and her kids were introduced to Music Together in a park and the rest, as they say, was history. McKenzie has been teaching Music Together Family Music and Movement classes for 4 years, becoming Certified through MT Headquarters this March. Privately, she has extended to teaching general education music in daycares, preschools, and lower elementaries for 3 years. This year she launched ukulele classes for 3rd/4th graders!

She is excited to teach group piano to first time piano learners with Heartstrings. Her goal is to model the joy of music and keep children hooked on becoming lifelong music makers!