creative mission

“I had the great pleasure of collaborating with Kateri on a songwriting workshop for adult beginning guitarists. As a songwriter and teaching artist, Kateri did a fantastic job at co-facilitating the workshop. She first performed an original song as an example, then led the group through various exercises to spark lyrical and musical ideas. With Kateri’s guidance and encouragement, the group was able to co-write a song in under an hour.
The song itself, a prayer for strength and kindness, was incredibly beautiful and powerful, bringing many of us to tears. Working with Kateri was an absolute joy. I can’t recommend her teaching artist services enough!”

“Kateri makes you feel like anything is possible. She breaks down the process of songwriting into something super manageable and approachable at all levels. I had previously never written a song before and believed that was something I’d never be able to do. Kateri helped me develop a set of songwriting skills that I’ve now used to write multiple songs. Her education style is uplifting and concise and I can’t recommend her enough!”

“Working with Kateri to build an arts integrated unit fitting with the current curriculum allowed myself as a teacher, and also my students to explore and demonstrate learning...throughout the year. It was very gratifying and meaningful to be able to create a final project (re-creating a song with our own lyrics) serving as memorable piece of evidence of student growth and understanding. Through songwriting and singing, students were immersed in a tangible, fun, and creative learning experience.”

“Kateri Lirio is a highly gifted arts educator. She meets a child exactly where they are with deep love, respect and an abundance of fun. It is truly remarkable how she connects to the light and talent in her students to draw out their best, creating passionate young musicians that find joy and freedom in music as well as confidence in their own abilities. Kateri is phenomenal!”

“Kateri has been teaching our son ukelele for a year and a half. We are so happy with the lessons! Kateri is a wonderful teacher who is extremely technically knowledgeable. She makes the lessons fun without making them seem tedious. She immediately connected with our son and encourages him without pushing him past his ability. We also appreciate that she is patient with him and really makes an effort to get to know him on a personal level. She is a natural-born teacher! ”

“Kateri was wonderful. She really took her time explaining things and had a lot of patience with me. Looking forward to our next sessions.”