Teaching

Kalia has been a teacher almost as long as she’s been a musician. Sharing knowledge is at the core of who she is, and she can be heard sharing her infectious love of music and culture on podcasts, in classrooms, from stages, and in everyday conversation. East Tennessee State University brought Kalia on as a full-time faculty member in order to grow their Old-Time Music program in 2018. As part of that growth, Kalia helped design a number of new courses focused on old-time music, the first of their kind in higher education. She also teaches Shape Note Singing, seminars on creativity and musicianship, lessons on regional and era-specific old-time styles, and directs stringbands. In 2023, she received the Lecturer Award from the College of Arts and Sciences. With a Master of Arts in Appalachian Studies, she brings an interest in regionality, place identity, and the role of folk knowledge in strengthening communities. She’s available to lead classes and workshops on a range of topics including: bluegrass and old-time fiddle (any level, various regional focuses, East Tennessee tunes, bowing and rhythm, backup, variation, improvisation), Shape Note Singing, harmony singing (close harmony, early country, duet singing), improvisation and variation, chords for fiddlers, theory for traditional musicians, and band coaching. Kalia also works as a consultant for museums, community arts initiatives, and arts education programs. She is also a skilled facilitator with experience in strategic planning and collaborative decision-making processes.

Pricing

60min - $75
45min - $55
30min - $40

Sliding Scale / Scholarships

I offer a limited number of sliding scale lessons. If you’d like to take lessons but find the price prohibitive, please be in touch so we can come up with a plan and fee that will work for you. If you are interested in donating to subsidize the cost of lessons for deserving students of lesser means, let me know. 

Selected Teaching Experience: Camps and Workshops

  • NimbleFingers Bluegrass & Old Time Workshop (Sorrento, BC, Canada)

  • Voice Works Workshops for Singers (Port Townsend, WA)

  • Floyd Old-Time Music Get Together (Floyd, VA)

  • California Bluegrass Association, Bluegrass and Old Time Music Camp (Grass Valley, CA)

  • Blueberry Bluegrass Masterclasses (Alberta, Canada) 2021, 2023

  • Shape Note Singing Workshop, Frontier Culture Museum (Staunton, VA) 2023

  • Shape Note Singing at Fire in the Mountain Festival (Aberystwyth, Wales) 2023

  • Marist College’s “Evolution of Bluegrass” course (Poughkeepsie, NY) 2012

  • Mountain Music School (Big Stone Gap, VA) 2017, 2018

  • Alaska City Folk Arts Camps (Anchorage, AK) 2007-2012

  • Pete Wernick Method Camps (Abingdon, VA and Wilkesboro, NC) 2017-2019

  • Bluegrass Camps for Kids (Anchorage, Seward, Fairbanks, Homer, and Cordova, AK) 2007-2015

  • Pick-Along! Camps at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum (Bristol, VA) 2016-2023

  • Junior Appalachian Musicians summer workshops and after-school programming (Abingdon, VA; Western NC; Johnson City, TN) 2016-2018

  • “Bluegrass in the Schools” programming in public schools (upstate NY) 2012

  • Handmade Music School at the Floyd Country Store (Floyd, VA) 2018-2020