Music Studio on Harrison Hill

 Christy Kuiken is a performer and educator in the percussive arts.   A recent addition to the Portland music scene, Christy performs in groups ranging from wind orchestras to rock bands, and composes percussion and folk music in her free time.  She moved to Portland from New York City in 2008, where she had an active career playing with symphony orchestras, hand drumming for modern dance, drumming for bar and wedding bands, and playing piano for choral accompaniment.  Christy has performed with groups throughout the United States including the Conway Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra, So Percussion, New York Symphonic Arts Ensemble, Pilli Bianchi Musica, Cassis and the Sympathies, the UCA Dixieland Band, and The Magic of Orlando Drum and Bugle Corps, and has performed in Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Luxembourg.

Christy has taught students, ages 5 – 60, in both private and group settings.   She taught and conducted a collegiate percussion ensemble and percussion methods course, along with private lessons through The Florida State University, The University of Central Arkansas, and independent studios.   In the Bronx and Queens, she worked with inner-city elementary students to connect rhythm and movement to city life.  Christy also led the Flanagan High School front ensemble through their marching band season.  She currently teaches private percussion lessons and works with after-school music programs in Portland.  She teaches all percussion instruments including orchestral percussion, hand drums, and solo four-mallet marimba.

Christy holds a Master of Music from the University of Central Arkansas where she managed the school of music's recital hall.  She also has a BMA from the University of Oklahoma, where she was a National Merit Scholar.   Her teachers include Dr. Blake Tyson, Dr. Richard Gipson, Dr. Lance Drege, and Dr. John W. Parks IV.  She has also studied solo marimba with Leigh Howard Stevens and She-e Wu.

At the Music Studio on Harrison Hill, Christy teaches orchestral and classical percussion on site and drum set in residences only.