Teachers

Clarice Auluck-Wilson, Center Director and Teacher, has a Ph.D. in Community Development from the University of Minnesota and sees Music Together as a perfect vehicle for building strong families and communities. She thoroughly enjoys the opportunity to sing and dance with others during Music Together classes and boasts a very high “S.Q.” or “Silliness Quotient” (a very important attribute for a Music Together teacher).

Clarice lived in India for several years while doing research for her Ph.D. There, she met her husband who is a homeopath, and they have a 16-year old daughter, Kevalin, with whom Clarice takes ballet and yoga classes and they also train together with kettle bells (nothing musical here--these are weights with an interesting name).

Clarice has been teaching violin in her own studio, Stillwater Suzuki Strings, for many years. She stepped back into the world of community theater last fall, playing the role of Sister Amnesia in the Stillwater Community Theater’s production of the comedy “Nunsense.” This proved to be a great place for Clarice to exercise her SQ. The five-member cast of “Nunsense” such fun during the production that they still sing together on a regular basis. Clarice has earned a “Level One Certification” from Music Together.

Linda Brasaemle has a passion for family, music and fitness. While she takes all three very seriously, her 11 and 14-year old daughters describe her as “just plain silly”, and the joy her silliness generates in class is infectious. Families who have taken classes with Linda have described their time with her as “pure delight”.

Linda played in bands, orchestras and jazz groups throughout her high school and college years and discovered the joy of singing later when she began participating in vocal ensembles. Linda has a BA in Fitness and is a Red Cross instructor, working for the YMCA. She has also pursued further education through Music Together and attained both “Level 1 Certification” and “Level 2 Certification”, becoming one of a very select group of highly trained Music Together teachers honored for excellence in articulation of program philosophy, assessment of children's music development and teaching mastery.

Linda has also been selected by the national-level Music Together organization to be one of it's representatives at national-level early childhood and music education conferences.

Paula Emmons: I have been surrounded by music for long as I can remember. My great grandparents both played the piano and we had Sunday sing alongs where the whole family joined in. In high school, I sang in the choir and in the musicals The Music Man, Oklahoma and The Boy Friend. I was also in the marching band and played the tuba. Yes, I played the big sixty-five pound tuba and marched at the same time!!! I even sang to my husband, Brett, at our wedding sixteen years ago, so you get the picture: music is a big part of who I am.

I love working with young children and was an assistant teacher for Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) in the Minneapolis school system for fourteen years. I spent much of that time working with teen parents and their little ones, teaching the basics of good parenting.

During this same time, I continued to teach various craft classes for the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Department, something I’ve done since I was fifteen! When my son, Easton, was born nine years ago, I developed a series of early childhood music classes for the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Department and I’ve been teaching music classes for this age group for parks and rec. ever since.

I am delighted to be able to teach Music Together, combining my love of music and young children and their families with a curriculum that is backed by twenty years of solid research. An added bonus is that Music Together is a load of fun to teach! I look forward to meeting you and hope that we will be able to make music together.

Tibbe Luell has had over 20 years of dance training and has taught dance for the past 17 years. She is the owner of Valley Dance and Fitness, the studio where Music Together classes are held in Stillwater and in Osceola. Drawn by the irresistible music and the wonderful energy of our participants that she witnessed during the first session of Music Together at her Stillwater studio, Tibbe decided to take the Music Together teacher training herself. She has been enjoying the music and the families ever since. She sees Music Together as a great beginning in the arts, an excellent foundation for future training in dance, instrumental and vocal music, and all other creative endeavors. Tibbe has earned a “Level One Certification” from Music Together.

Tera Sayers: Hello! I currently reside in Woodbury with my husband, my two wonderful children, and one beautiful, psychotic dog rescued from the humane society. (If anyone would like to have a dog, up-to-date shots and some free food, let me know!)

Born into a family of musicians, I crawled, walked, slept, and ate music. My day care days were spent with a phenomenal musician who taught all lessons through music. My day care group toured the cities performing for festivals, ball games, nursing homes and other venues, but my favorite opportunity was soloing on a children's record my teacher wrote and recorded. So, I know the value of early childhood music education from personal experience.

Growing up, I studied piano for 15 years, clarinet for 10 and took dance lessons for 13 years. Music and dance have always had a strong presence in my life. Throughout my high school years, I was involved in community orchestra, band, choir, dance, and theater as well as participating in school theater, madrigal singers, band, choir, orchestra, All-State Band, All-State Choir, Dixieland, jazz, and our family band.

All of this wonderful experience led me to study music at St. Olaf College on a clarinet performance scholarship. I'm not one to be all study and no play, so my budding clarinet career was cut short with one broom-ball stick to the mouth. (Ouch!) That emergency room visit resulted in an abrupt change of plans and my graduation from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in speech and communications with a minor in mass communications from the School of Journalism.

After graduation, I found a job niche that I loved in pharmaceutical sales. Once I had my first son, I became a stay-at-home mom. I learned about Music Together by signing up for a sample class in Woodbury with my eldest son. I saw the immediate reaction to the class and the interest in going back. We signed up for the next session and have been taking classes ever since. Both of my sons absolutely love the experience Music Together has provided, and have benefited greatly from it. I am thrilled to be able to teach in this wonderful program.

Tera has earned a “Level One Certification” from Music Together.

Paula Wilson: Paula Paula Wilson was born into a musical family. As part of the Klemp Family Singers, she began singing and performing with her seven siblings and her parents when she was just five years old. She and her family recorded three record albums, performing throughout the Twin Cities and touring each summer in a Partridge Family-style bus. Then, she began studying the flute and piano in grade school, two instruments she has played ever since.

When Paula’s daughter, Audrey, was born, Paula wanted to give her the same wonderful beginning in music and knew she’d found just the right program when she discovered Music Together. Paula now brings both Audrey and her son, Fletcher, to Music Together classes.

Paula is a graduate of Augsburg College with a double major in Theater and Broadcast Communications and she continues her acting career by doing television commercials locally. In her most recent TV commercial, Paula is part of a choir that is precariously perched in a tiny boat, singing hallelujah when a fish bites!

Paula is eager to share Music Together with others, to help them discover the spontaneity and joy of making music in a circle of family and friends. Paula earned her “Level One Certification” this summer, receiving high praise for her teaching from Dr. Lili Levinowitz, one of the creators of Music Together.

Autumn Irlbeck: Hello, I’m Autumn. I grew up in Pensacola, Florida, so I am a long way from home here in Minnesota, but I love it here. I am one of six children. Three of my siblings and I are adopted and we have a wonderfully diverse family. I have always loved music as well as children, so I am thrilled to be able to combine my two loves by teaching Music Together!

I am married and we are expecting our first little miracle in February. We are so excited! I am currently a full-time nanny for a great family in Blaine that has three beautiful children. I've taken them to Music Together classes for several sessions now. That's how I was first introduced to the program and I am so glad that I found it! I have been involved with child care since I was twelve years old, baby sitting, working in day care centers and being a nanny. Children can teach you so much, can't they? I look forward to learning from all the new little ones I’ll the privilege to teach in Music Together--and all of you adults who are a little bit ahead of me parenting-wise can give me advice!

I LOVE MUSIC. I play the piano and the guitar and am a singer/song writer. I have been writing songs since I was a teen and have had the privilege of playing at various youth and church events as well as at a number of coffee houses. I sang in the choir all four years of high school and in my senior year, I worked daily with a kindergarten class and composed songs that they performed.

My long-term career goal is to be a music therapist and I’ve been working on my degree. I am looking forward to meeting you and to enjoying music with you and your children.

Karen Eno: Karen Eno lives in Hudson, WI, with her wonderful husband and her beloved cocker spaniel, Lucy. Karen has been singing through life as a child, teacher, mother and grandmother. Her ongoing love of music has found her participating in many choirs, musicals and community theaters and her friendly, welcoming style will make it a pleasure to come to class and have fun learning and growing with music.

Karen brings to Music Together a wealth of experience working with young children and families. As a parent educator for Minnesota’s Early Childhood Family Education program (E.C.F.E.) for twelve years, Karen worked with hundreds of families, helping them to develop strong parent/child relationships with a focus on positive parenting skills. Understanding the importance of music in a child's overall development is what has drawn Karen to Music Together.

Music is a gift that Karen loves sharing with others, especially children. She has expressed this joy of music and song with others by directing a number of children's choirs and musicals. Seeing the excitement on the faces of young children demonstrating their musical accomplishments and watching their confidence and self esteem grow through music is her greatest joy.

Karen has a B.S. degree in Child Development and Family Life from U.W. Stout.

Erin Lane: Erin fell in love with Music Together while attending class with her three-year-old cousin, Elizabeth. Erin found herself looking forward to class each week because she and Elizabeth had so much fun together. She also realized that her relationship with Elizabeth had deepened considerably because of their shared connection to the music. So, she began to think seriously about becoming a Music Together teacher herself so that she could share the benefits she’d received from the program with others. An added benefit was that she found that the Music Together teacher training gave her skills that fit beautifully with her work toward her Master’s Degree in Music Therapy which she is currently pursuing at the University of Minnesota.

Erin recently moved back from New York City and she is very happy to be back in the midwest and near family again. She originally moved to the east to attend the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. where she received her Bachelor of Music degree with an emphasis on Music Theater. Soon after graduating, Erin moved to New York City to pursue her Broadway dream. She performed in many plays, musicals and concerts while in New York and much of her work was in children’s theater productions. In her classes, you are sure to enjoy her dramatic flair, her beautiful voice and her obvious love of children.

Marie Spehar: Marie Spehar was initially drawn to Music Together by her conversations with her good friend, Autumn, who also teaches for Music Together in the Valley. Curious about Autumn’s work, Marie attended one of her classes and that cinched it. Halfway through the class, Marie decided to train to become a teacher, realizing that it would allow her to work with her two great loves: music and children.

Marie studied drama and music in college and appeared in many productions. She also sang in the Notre Dame Women’s Gregorian Chant Choir. These days, her musical pursuits have taken a different turn. She really enjoys singing at open mic nights, so you never know when you might see her on stage, crooning a Nora Jones tune. Marie has a beautifully multi-textured voice that makes you want to just sit back and listen. She is also an accomplished pianist, having taken ten years of Suzuki piano lessons while growing up.

Marie’s goal is to become an early childhood Montessori teacher and she loves that fact that Music Together fits so beautifully with the Montessori philosophy.

Jessica Lee: Jessica Lee has been the director of her own Music Together center for ten years. Like Linda, she has the highest level of certification offered by the national Music Together organization and is, indeed, a master teacher. Her work doing music therapy with special needs children in Coon Rapids brings her to this area once a week, so she has offered to teach Thursday morning Music Together classes for Music Together in the Valley while she’s there. We are so lucky to have her on our staff!

Jessica has just finished her Music Therapy degree from the University of Minnesota. Her training in this program gave her the opportunity to work with many diverse populations from hard of hearing children to hospice patients. She has previously lead music classes at numerous preschools in the area ranging from Montessori schools to classrooms with special needs children.

As a mother of three, Jessica knows first hand about the joys and challenges of parenthood. Her energetic, accepting style of teaching is sure to make you and your children feel welcome in her classroom. She says she feels fortunate to have found Music Together and that she truly looks forward to teaching each and every day.




Teachers
	Our Music Together in the Valley teachers are fun-loving, multitalented individuals who have widely varied backgrounds in music, dance, theater and education. Though they have come to Music Together through different routes, they have all chosen to teach it because they love children and they love to sing. All of the teachers who are listed below have successfully completed the Music Together® Teaching Workshop developed by the Center for Music and Young Children, Princeton, New Jersey. Several have also gone on to complete Music Together’s rigorous certification process.
		Clarice Auluck-Wilson, Center Director and Teacher, has a Ph.D. in Community Development from the University of Minnesota and sees Music Together as a perfect vehicle for building strong families and communities. She thoroughly enjoys the opportunity to sing and dance with others during Music Together classes and boasts a very high “S.Q.” or “Silliness Quotient” (a very important attribute for a Music Together teacher). Clarice lived in India for several years while doing research for her Ph.D. There, she met her husband who is a homeopath, and they have a 16-year old daughter, Kevalin, with whom Clarice takes ballet and yoga classes and they also train together with kettle bells (nothing musical here--these are weights with an interesting name). Clarice has been teaching violin in her own studio, Stillwater Suzuki Strings, for many years. She stepped back into the world of community theater last fall, playing the role of Sister Amnesia in the Stillwater Community Theater’s production of the comedy “Nunsense.” This proved to be a great place for Clarice to exercise her SQ. The five-member cast of “Nunsense” such fun during the production that they still sing together on a regular basis. Clarice has earned a “Level One Certification” from Music Together. Linda Brasaemle has a passion for family, music and fitness. While she takes all three very seriously, her 11 and 14-year old daughters describe her as “just plain silly”, and the joy her silliness generates in class is infectious. Families who have taken classes with Linda have described their time with her as “pure delight”. Linda played in bands, orchestras and jazz groups throughout her high school and college years and discovered the joy of singing later when she began participating in vocal ensembles. Linda has a BA in Fitness and is a Red Cross instructor, working for the YMCA. She has also pursued further education through Music Together and attained both “Level 1 Certification” and “Level 2 Certification”, becoming one of a very select group of highly trained Music Together teachers honored for excellence in articulation of program philosophy, assessment of children's music development and teaching mastery. Linda has also been selected by the national-level Music Together organization to be one of it's representatives at national-level early childhood and music education conferences. Paula Emmons: I have been surrounded by music for long as I can remember. My great grandparents both played the piano and we had Sunday sing alongs where the whole family joined in. In high school, I sang in the choir and in the musicals The Music Man, Oklahoma and The Boy Friend. I was also in the marching band and played the tuba. Yes, I played the big sixty-five pound tuba and marched at the same time!!! I even sang to my husband, Brett, at our wedding sixteen years ago, so you get the picture: music is a big part of who I am. I love working with young children and was an assistant teacher for Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) in the Minneapolis school system for fourteen years. I spent much of that time working with teen parents and their little ones, teaching the basics of good parenting. During this same time, I continued to teach various craft classes for the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Department, something I’ve done since I was fifteen! When my son, Easton, was born nine years ago, I developed a series of early childhood music classes for the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Department and I’ve been teaching music classes for this age group for parks and rec. ever since. I am delighted to be able to teach Music Together, combining my love of music and young children and their families with a curriculum that is backed by twenty years of solid research. An added bonus is that Music Together is a load of fun to teach! I look forward to meeting you and hope that we will be able to make music together. Tibbe Luell has had over 20 years of dance training and has taught dance for the past 17 years. She is the owner of Valley Dance and Fitness, the studio where Music Together classes are held in Stillwater and in Osceola. Drawn by the irresistible music and the wonderful energy of our participants that she witnessed during the first session of Music Together at her Stillwater studio, Tibbe decided to take the Music Together teacher training herself. She has been enjoying the music and the families ever since. She sees Music Together as a great beginning in the arts, an excellent foundation for future training in dance, instrumental and vocal music, and all other creative endeavors. Tibbe has earned a “Level One Certification” from Music Together. Tera Sayers: Hello! I currently reside in Woodbury with my husband, my two wonderful children, and one beautiful, psychotic dog rescued from the humane society. (If anyone would like to have a dog, up-to-date shots and some free food, let me know!) Born into a family of musicians, I crawled, walked, slept, and ate music. My day care days were spent with a phenomenal musician who taught all lessons through music. My day care group toured the cities performing for festivals, ball games, nursing homes and other venues, but my favorite opportunity was soloing on a children's record my teacher wrote and recorded. So, I know the value of early childhood music education from personal experience. Growing up, I studied piano for 15 years, clarinet for 10 and took dance lessons for 13 years. Music and dance have always had a strong presence in my life. Throughout my high school years, I was involved in community orchestra, band, choir, dance, and theater as well as participating in school theater, madrigal singers, band, choir, orchestra, All-State Band, All-State Choir, Dixieland, jazz, and our family band. All of this wonderful experience led me to study music at St. Olaf College on a clarinet performance scholarship. I'm not one to be all study and no play, so my budding clarinet career was cut short with one broom-ball stick to the mouth. (Ouch!) That emergency room visit resulted in an abrupt change of plans and my graduation from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in speech and communications with a minor in mass communications from the School of Journalism. After graduation, I found a job niche that I loved in pharmaceutical sales. Once I had my first son, I became a stay-at-home mom. I learned about Music Together by signing up for a sample class in Woodbury with my eldest son. I saw the immediate reaction to the class and the interest in going back. We signed up for the next session and have been taking classes ever since. Both of my sons absolutely love the experience Music Together has provided, and have benefited greatly from it. I am thrilled to be able to teach in this wonderful program. Tera has earned a “Level One Certification” from Music Together. Paula Wilson: Paula Paula Wilson was born into a musical family. As part of the Klemp Family Singers, she began singing and performing with her seven siblings and her parents when she was just five years old. She and her family recorded three record albums, performing throughout the Twin Cities and touring each summer in a Partridge Family-style bus. Then, she began studying the flute and piano in grade school, two instruments she has played ever since. When Paula’s daughter, Audrey, was born, Paula wanted to give her the same wonderful beginning in music and knew she’d found just the right program when she discovered Music Together. Paula now brings both Audrey and her son, Fletcher, to Music Together classes. Paula is a graduate of Augsburg College with a double major in Theater and Broadcast Communications and she continues her acting career by doing television commercials locally. In her most recent TV commercial, Paula is part of a choir that is precariously perched in a tiny boat, singing hallelujah when a fish bites! Paula is eager to share Music Together with others, to help them discover the spontaneity and joy of making music in a circle of family and friends. Paula earned her “Level One Certification” this summer, receiving high praise for her teaching from Dr. Lili Levinowitz, one of the creators of Music Together. Autumn Irlbeck: Hello, I’m Autumn. I grew up in Pensacola, Florida, so I am a long way from home here in Minnesota, but I love it here. I am one of six children. Three of my siblings and I are adopted and we have a wonderfully diverse family. I have always loved music as well as children, so I am thrilled to be able to combine my two loves by teaching Music Together! I am married and we are expecting our first little miracle in February. We are so excited! I am currently a full-time nanny for a great family in Blaine that has three beautiful children. I've taken them to Music Together classes for several sessions now. That's how I was first introduced to the program and I am so glad that I found it! I have been involved with child care since I was twelve years old, baby sitting, working in day care centers and being a nanny. Children can teach you so much, can't they? I look forward to learning from all the new little ones I’ll the privilege to teach in Music Together--and all of you adults who are a little bit ahead of me parenting-wise can give me advice! I LOVE MUSIC. I play the piano and the guitar and am a singer/song writer. I have been writing songs since I was a teen and have had the privilege of playing at various youth and church events as well as at a number of coffee houses. I sang in the choir all four years of high school and in my senior year, I worked daily with a kindergarten class and composed songs that they performed. My long-term career goal is to be a music therapist and I’ve been working on my degree. I am looking forward to meeting you and to enjoying music with you and your children. Karen Eno: Karen Eno lives in Hudson, WI, with her wonderful husband and her beloved cocker spaniel, Lucy. Karen has been singing through life as a child, teacher, mother and grandmother. Her ongoing love of music has found her participating in many choirs, musicals and community theaters and her friendly, welcoming style will make it a pleasure to come to class and have fun learning and growing with music. Karen brings to Music Together a wealth of experience working with young children and families. As a parent educator for Minnesota’s Early Childhood Family Education program (E.C.F.E.) for twelve years, Karen worked with hundreds of families, helping them to develop strong parent/child relationships with a focus on positive parenting skills. Understanding the importance of music in a child's overall development is what has drawn Karen to Music Together. Music is a gift that Karen loves sharing with others, especially children. She has expressed this joy of music and song with others by directing a number of children's choirs and musicals. Seeing the excitement on the faces of young children demonstrating their musical accomplishments and watching their confidence and self esteem grow through music is her greatest joy. Karen has a B.S. degree in Child Development and Family Life from U.W. Stout. Erin Lane: Erin fell in love with Music Together while attending class with her three-year-old cousin, Elizabeth. Erin found herself looking forward to class each week because she and Elizabeth had so much fun together. She also realized that her relationship with Elizabeth had deepened considerably because of their shared connection to the music. So, she began to think seriously about becoming a Music Together teacher herself so that she could share the benefits she’d received from the program with others. An added benefit was that she found that the Music Together teacher training gave her skills that fit beautifully with her work toward her Master’s Degree in Music Therapy which she is currently pursuing at the University of Minnesota. Erin recently moved back from New York City and she is very happy to be back in the midwest and near family again. She originally moved to the east to attend the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. where she received her Bachelor of Music degree with an emphasis on Music Theater. Soon after graduating, Erin moved to New York City to pursue her Broadway dream. She performed in many plays, musicals and concerts while in New York and much of her work was in children’s theater productions. In her classes, you are sure to enjoy her dramatic flair, her beautiful voice and her obvious love of children. Marie Spehar: Marie Spehar was initially drawn to Music Together by her conversations with her good friend, Autumn, who also teaches for Music Together in the Valley. Curious about Autumn’s work, Marie attended one of her classes and that cinched it. Halfway through the class, Marie decided to train to become a teacher, realizing that it would allow her to work with her two great loves: music and children. Marie studied drama and music in college and appeared in many productions. She also sang in the Notre Dame Women’s Gregorian Chant Choir. These days, her musical pursuits have taken a different turn. She really enjoys singing at open mic nights, so you never know when you might see her on stage, crooning a Nora Jones tune. Marie has a beautifully multi-textured voice that makes you want to just sit back and listen. She is also an accomplished pianist, having taken ten years of Suzuki piano lessons while growing up. Marie’s goal is to become an early childhood Montessori teacher and she loves that fact that Music Together fits so beautifully with the Montessori philosophy. Jessica Lee: Jessica Lee has been the director of her own Music Together center for ten years. Like Linda, she has the highest level of certification offered by the national Music Together organization and is, indeed, a master teacher. Her work doing music therapy with special needs children in Coon Rapids brings her to this area once a week, so she has offered to teach Thursday morning Music Together classes for Music Together in the Valley while she’s there. We are so lucky to have her on our staff! Jessica has just finished her Music Therapy degree from the University of Minnesota. Her training in this program gave her the opportunity to work with many diverse populations from hard of hearing children to hospice patients. She has previously lead music classes at numerous preschools in the area ranging from Montessori schools to classrooms with special needs children. As a mother of three, Jessica knows first hand about the joys and challenges of parenthood. Her energetic, accepting style of teaching is sure to make you and your children feel welcome in her classroom. She says she feels fortunate to have found Music Together and that she truly looks forward to teaching each and every day.