Meet Kelsey, our newest Voice/Piano instructor!
Kelsey Wallner is a Downbeat award-winning vocalist, educator, and bandleader based in Denver, Colorado. Starting with R&B and soul music, Kelsey began her performance career at the age of 14. Studying the lineage of the music she most loved led her to jazz vocalists Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae who would become her primary influences.
Kelsey earned a Master’s Degree in 2023 in Jazz Studies with an emphasis in Vocal Performance at the University of Northern Colorado. During her time at UNC she taught studio voice lessons and directed vocal ensembles. Her pedagogical approaches include Body Mapping and Laban Movement Analysis, and she is able to instruct students in improvisation, songwriting, ear training, arranging and audition preparation. She plays piano as a secondary instrument.
Kelsey is also a multi-faceted performer – she has worked as a guide singer for the Carmen McCrae tribute album Carmen Sings Carmen!, featuring Carmen Bradford and the Compass Jazz Orchestra. She has been a lead vocalist with funk, bluegrass and rock bands, and performs with her own jazz quartet, trio and duo throughout the front range
