I've been taking violin classes with Karen for 2½ years and I can say she is a wonderful, knowledgeable, and very patient teacher. She has the ability to read her students to know just what they need. I love my violin classes. L.S.adult
Karen Kinzie has been a violinist with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra since 1993.
Originally from Chicago, she graduated from Indiana University, where she studied with James Buswell and Nelli Schkolnikova.
Like a lot of my students, I started with the Suzuki method, which gave me a solid foundation. Now I teach it.Before the CSO, she played in the Florida Orchestra, the Florida Philharmonic, and the Grant Park Symphony in Chicago. She and her husband, CSO Principal Percussionist John Kinzie, perform in the Grand Teton Music Festival every summer and play in several CSO small ensembles, including Once Upon a Time, Mathnotes, and Petite Musique. They have four boys: Ryan, Karl, Grant, and Reid.
My mother was a church organist and choir director until she retired at age 85! My dad played the radio and sang in my mom's choir. One Christmas she gave him cello lessons for a year as a gift. After that year, he never bugged me about practicing again.Karen's favorite composers are Brahms and Prokofiev, but she also listens to Coldplay and Sting. In addition to her private violin studio and the symphony, she runs her own business with Mary Kay, where she's a Senior Independent Beauty Consultant.
