Today we’d like to introduce you to Kiah.
Hi Kiah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve always loved music. I sang in church choir before my grandmother convinced my parents to enroll me into piano lessons. From there, my passion grew. I remained in lessons and became competitive in voice and piano. During my sophomore year in high school, I entered into a city wide talent show and won by performing a jazz voice and piano piece I had written myself. The prize? A 4 hour studio session at Red Couch Studio in Denton Texas. In those 4 hours the producer listened to the music I had written and decided he wanted to create a whole album for me. I ended up getting an entire 6 months in the studio and produced my first album. After working on this project, I realized there was so much more to the music industry. I decided then I would pursue a career in music, but not necessarily in performing, instead in studio management and audio engineering. I went on to study at McNally Smith College of Music where I achieved a bachelors degree with a major in music production and audio engineering and a minor in music business in December of 2014. After graduating, I began to teach music as my primary source of income in 2015. I continued to teach and take on free lance engineer projects in studios around the DFW area. In 2016, I was offered a position with an independent music label in Austin so I relocated and began a career in Austin. I continued to teach on the side while managing the music label. I applied to Lone Star School of Music and the owner decided to hire me as a personal assistant and manager. He offered me a higher wage and more opportunity for advancement than the independent label offered so I began working full time for Lone Star School of Music in 2019. Throughout 2019-2022, I worked closely with the owner to learn the ins and outs of operating a music school. In 2023, we worked out a deal for me to actually purchase the school from the owner. He was ready to retire from this industry and I had saved my funds with the hope to do so. I had also fallen in love with operating the music school. Since then I have taken over full operations of Lone Star School of Music and started my own little family. Currently, we are excitedly preparing for the opening of our second location in Dripping Springs. My journey has certainly been a blessing and I know that I will continue to grow with Lone Star School of Music.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not been a smooth road at all! One of the first obstacles I can think of was facing the COVID shut down. That was interesting but we managed to maintain our school by switching to online lessons. We only lost one week transitioning from in person to online. Another obstacle has been becoming a mother while operating a busy music school. I’m still learning every day from that! Post partem depression is real. It will bleed into your business if not managed and there were some times where I thought I wasn’t capable of this but I pulled through. I know there will be more obstacles too but I’m ready to take them all on!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a performer, engineer, teacher and entrepreneur. Becoming owner of a music school has allowed me to use aspects from all of my skills. My career blends both music and business in a way I could have never imagined when I was younger. I specialize specifically in my ability to teach. I am a dedicated educator and trainer and have found I have a special knack of connecting with students of all ages and from many different backgrounds. This also shows in my ability to train new teachers and musicians in turning their musical abilities into scalable traits. I am most proud of the fact that I overcame a lot of doubt from family, friends and the general public of being a successful black woman in the music industry. What sets me apart is my passion and the fact that music has always been where my heart is and I intend to follow that until my last day.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Community is so important especially in the world we live in now. In every aspect of my life, I try to engage in my community to further spread love and the joy of music. I believe my calling is in music because it is in fact a universal language and connecting with people is really what makes me truly happy.
Pricing:
- 30 minute weekly private lessons in studio $160/month
- 30 minute weekly private lessons at students home $210/month
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lonestarschoolofmusic.com/home
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lone_star_school_of_music/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lonestarschoolofmusic/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiah-brooks-9111a5264
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LonestarschoolofmusicAustinTX
