Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Westbrook.
Hi Anna, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am an interdisciplinary artist (music educator, composer, playwright, music director, and performer) working in the Greater Austin area. I launched my creative practice from 2013 – 2016 with a B.A. in Music Composition from Connecticut College (where I also studied playwriting). In 2016, I moved to Austin, Texas for the creative community. For ten years, I have refined my writing practice, built a music education business, and produced original musical theater pieces. My most high-impact project is the musical Isabel and the Runaway Train. Through grants and awards from The City of Austin (among other sources), I drew 300 people to see Isabel’s 2018 premiere and another 300 to Isabel’s 2022 return production. Along the way, I produced an accompanying cast album, online course, and production footage. In 2022, I received a nomination for Outstanding Dramaturgy in the local B. Iden Payne Awards. In 2023, Be Theatre in San Angelo, Texas licensed Isabel as part of their Between the Lines Outreach Project. I spent 2024 and 2025 quietly writing, teaching, and planning to become a mother, which I became in 2026. I am currently focused on my private music studio and my original folk music. I serve 22 students in the Northwest Austin and Pflugerville areas, helping them find themselves and share who they are through piano and voice lessons. I am also working on a folk music project called Nervous Systems, and am producing a public event in April 2027 called Nervous Systems: Songs and Conversations on Mental Health and Parenthood. The project is supported in part by a Nexus Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has absolutely not been a smooth road. I did not plan to be an artist or to be self-employed, but as I tried out different versions of a career in my 20s, it became the right path for me one step at a time. When I graduated from high school (in 2008), I could not afford to go to college right away and instead took a semester off to work three part-time jobs in my hometown. Then I went to state school for two years. I dropped out because I was an education major and I realized I did not want to be a classroom teacher. I spent two and a half years trying out a bunch of different things and eventually enrolled elsewhere as a music major, because I liked music and I had enough work experience to figure out a career after graduation once I got some sort of diploma. I eventually learned that my original instinct to go into education was right, but that I was also right that a traditional classroom was not the right fit for me. Running my private music studio has been the perfect fit for me. It allows me to be a teacher in a way that feels fulfilling and is connected to my artistic passion. It also gives me enough time to spend on my writing practice and on producing high impact folk music and musical theater events. When I think about obstacles, I think about the moment after I withdrew from my first college experience. I remember looking up at the sky and asking myself, “Did I do the right thing?” And I expected to feel some sort of big emotion; like dread, proving I was wrong, or peace, proving I was right. But instead I just felt overwhelming uncertainty. I honestly still can’t say that leaving school at that time was some sort of cosmic “right” decision, but something needed to change and that is what I chose to change. It worked out. I love where I am in my career now.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My favorite hat to wear is that of composer and songwriter. But I am also really excited about my teaching practice right now. I teach piano, voice, and songwriting in Pflugerville and Northwest Austin. I provide music lessons for students ages 4 – 14. My best fit families are raising future songwriters, prioritizing social – emotional learning, pursuing theater, or all of the above. My songwriting focused families have a child who enjoys making up songs and wants to learn to do that more effectively. We learn the music theory required to read and write our own music, using both chord charts and traditional notation. My social-emotional learning families have one or more SEL goals in mind for their child which they believe music lessons will support; i.e. Building confidence, managing perfectionism, or reducing anxiety. They want to cultivate their child’s musicality as part of their overall wellness journey. My theatre kid families usually have a student who loves being on stage and wants to add some voice and / or abilities to their theatre prep experience. These families are usually investing in some sort of group theatre program but think their student could benefit from individual coaching as they pursue these group goals. I believe music is a powerful avenue for self-expression, empathy-building, and the exploration of many other social – emotional learning (SEL) topics. I love helping my students learn to find their voice and focus on each student as a whole-person during the entirety of our lesson. I believe in personalizing each lesson to meet the unique student’s needs. That is why communication with the parents on their family’s musical goals is crucial to my teaching style. Teaching the WHY behind each song is an incredibly empowering experience. I tell all my families that I “teach like a composer.” What does that mean? It means we’ll pause mid-lesson to question WHY a song sounds the way it sounds. It means we’re going to learn scales and make a lot of chord charts, but all with the WHY in mind: being able to arrange our own versions of current songs or make up our own songs. It means that if your student doesn’t like a certain note in a song, I very well may teach them how to CHANGE it. I am totally open to changing the music, as long as we accurately update the written piece. My students learn how to do this and often find it fun and rebellious to do so. Working with the kids in my studio helps motivate me to pursue my own writing career. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to record and perform some of my original folk music in April 2027 with my upcoming event called Nervous Systems: Songs and Conversations about Mental Health and Parenthood.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I’ll focus on music education for this question. I believe that parent involvement and lesson personalization is going to become more and more expected of private music educators. I think that parents are way more invested in owning WHY they sign their children up for something. I see much less “well I did piano lessons so I guess you should” from parents, and much more “music lessons align with our family values” from parents nowadays. I think this is an excellent trend. I think private music educators would benefit from being very transparent about WHY they love music and teaching and also asking their clients why they are signing their children up rather than just assuming they know.
Pricing:
- 30 – minute lesson: $50
- 45-minute lesson: $75
- 60-minute lesson: $90 (can be split between siblings)
- Travel Fee: $25 – $45 per family
Contact Info:
- Website: https://annawestbrook.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annawestbrookatx
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annawestbrook/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@annawestbrookatx
