Our Teachers
Karen Bergquist Lüth, Studio Owner and Director, Teacher of Flute and Kindermusik, former Kindermusik mom
Like many children Karen always loved having a song in her head. This early love of music has sustained her through years of experience working with children and music. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance from Northwestern University, where she studied with Walfrid Kujala of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Thereafter she continued her studies with Samuel Baron of the Julliard School in New York and earned a Master of Arts in Flute Performance from the University of Iowa where she studied baroque and modern flute with Betty Mather. She continued on to do her PhD work in Musicology at Stanford University where she studied baroque flute with Robert Claire, of the acclaimed French baroque orchestra Les Arts Florissants. Karen performs actively in and around Germany in Baroque orchestras and ensembles. Equally at home in historical and modern styles, Karen has premiered numerous new works in close collaboration with composers as part of Ultraschall Festival Berlin, Darmstadt, San Francisco Electronic Music Festival, Stanford’s Center for Research in Music and Acoustics, and the University of Iowa Center for New Music.
As a performer, historian and flute teacher she has helped nurture this inner song in many children and young adults, and has been inspired as they have carried this music with them into their lives. Karen aims to create a musical experience that will engage children and their families in the fun and excitement of exploration in movement and song.
She’s learned from some of the world’s best flutists and is eager to share their inspiration!
Bryan Allen Smith, Kindermusik
Kindermusik educator, Bryan Allen Smith, was born in California, grew up in Iceland, studied Gospel music in Norway, and has lived in many different places in the world. Music and intercultural education are his lifelong passions. He lives in Hamburg where he works as a teacher in a bilingual preschool and enjoys making music an integral part of life and play with his daughter. He is currently pursuing a degree in Global Education online with the University of Iceland. As a curious person who loves to help people of all different backgrounds and abilities thrive and feel included, he is honored and excited about empowering children in a way that allows them to develop their passions and talents, learn important skills for life, and grow confident, compassionate, and resilient.
