Karey Miles is a recent transplant to Arizona, coming to us from Portland, Oregon where she held an established career as a freelance pianist, vocal and piano instructor, and director of a music school. She is currently pursuing a second masters in Collaborative Piano Performance at Arizona State University on a talent scholarship. She holds a Masters of Music in Piano Performance from Portland State University where she was a Graduate Teacher Assistant. She studied with Dr. Chuck Dillard, Lisa Marsh, and Dr. Julia Lee. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Piano with an emphasis on Ethnomusicology and Music History from the University of Oregon where she studied with Dr. Claire Wachter and Dr. Alexandre Dossin.

Karey has a passion for performing and teaching music and has been doing so for over 20 years. While she was the Director of Forte Music School in Oregon, she led a group of top-level teachers in providing lessons for a diverse group of students. Her focus was on developing a curriculum that encourages creativity, inspiration, and wellness in music for students of all ages and abilities and continues to build that in her current teaching studio. Karey is an active member of the local and national Music Teachers Association groups here in Arizona and encourages most of her students to participate in the Arizona Study Program.

Karey has always been drawn to teaching and loves to share the knowledge that has been passed down by her teachers. She is always looking for opportunities to grow and learn from her students as well. She strives to uphold the highest standards in her teaching studio while creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere where her students feel comfortable exploring their creativity with music. While she loves to have fun during lessons, Karey also expects that her students practice consistently and productively so that they bring their best to lessons each week. Though most of Karey’s teaching is in a private-lesson setting, she tries to find and incorporate collaborative music experiences for her students whenever possible.

Karey was most recently involved with the Arizona State University Opera program for their Fall performances. She performs regularly vocalists and instrumentalists on campus and in the community and has previously served as the Junior Choir pianist for the Chandler Children’s Choir. Her other performance experiences include, but are not limited to her previous opportunities with Portland State University School of Music and Theater as a pianist and vocal coach, choral accompanist, and pianist in the PSU Wind Symphony. She has had the opportunity to perform for masterclasses for pianist Dr. David Riley, singer Lawrence Brownley, and violinist Charles Castleman. She has performed with the Portland Columbia Symphony, Queer Opera organization and was Artist in Residence for choirs at Cleveland High School. Karey also served as a vocal coach for the Astoria Music Festival Young Artists Opera program in 2018 where she played for masterclasses for Angela Brown, MaryAnn McCormick, and Richard Zellar. While not teaching or performing, you will find Karey adventuring in the outdoors or cooking delicious food!