Our Instructors

Margee Connolly

Margee started taking piano lessons in January of 1982 at the age of six. She was far from a natural, but with the persistence of a good mother and six different piano teachers, she learned to play the piano. She also learned to play the flute in the Dilworth school band and was busy practicing and going to lessons for two instruments. When she was thirteen, she found a piano teacher who was the perfect combination of firm and fun that truly helped her succeed. Six years in a row, she competed in the Utah Music Federation piano competition. She earned 2 gold cups. Margee loved to accompany her high school choir and play in church settings. She even arranged to have the seventh period of her Senior year at Highland High School be a piano practicing period. Margee started teaching piano lessons in 1994 during her first year at the University of Utah. She instantly enjoyed being with kids and helping them to succeed at the piano. She paid her college tuition by driving from home to home, teaching piano lessons. At one point, she had 38 piano students. She started dating her best friend’s brother and was instantly impressed by his musical talents on the guitar. She became his bands’ biggest fan. They married in 1997. In 1998, Margee graduated from the University of Utah with a B.A. in Elementary Education. She taught for three years at Uintah Elementary School in the Salt Lake City School District. She always thought she would stop teaching piano once she started teaching school but never could let her piano students go. She would teach school by day, teach piano by night. One of the highlights of teaching school was when the PTA purchased a classroom set of piano keyboards and headphones. They let her teach the entire sixth grade to rotate through her classroom for group piano lessons. It was piano mania! The school principal even started taking early morning lessons. Margee has now taught private piano lessons for 18 years to over 100 different students of all ages. She founded Keynotes Piano Studio in December of 2012 with her friend Krista Numbers to create a learning environment where the options are endless. She loves sharing her passion for the piano and finding ways to motivate her students. She is a mother of four children, loves to travel to Mexico, enjoys swimming laps and skiing on both the water and the snow.

Krista Numbers

Krista absolutely loves playing the piano and especially loves teaching others to enjoy playing!  She is passionate about sharing the many benefits associated with learning this beautiful instrument and is absolutely loving seeing the studio come to life!  Krista grew up taking both traditional piano lessons and learning the Suzuki method.  It has been a dream for quite some time to create a learning atmosphere where students learn to read music as well as play by ear.

When Krista isn’t at the studio she is spending time with her husband, Mark, and their four children.  Together they love to hike, bike, ski, and travel.  She is also an avid reader, cook, and overall lover of life!

Ally Jorgensen

Allyson Jorgensen is a student at the University of Utah studying Art. She absolutely loves the piano and has been involved in Federation, AIM, and other theory competitions as a child. She has taken a total of 11 years of piano from Janice Pyper, Pamela Jones, and ended with studying improvisation with Anne – Marie Hildebrandt at the beginning of her college career. She is currently working as a composer for the Children’s Dance Theatre (Tanner Dance). She loves kids and understanding the way kids learn. She is excited to be a part of Keynotes Studio and to be able to use her talents to share her love of music and teach all the important elements of mastering the piano.

Jennie Burt

Jennie Burt has been playing the piano since the age of three.  Growing up with a mom who taught piano, she was born to love music.  Along with the piano, she plays the violin and the harp, which she started at a young age as well.   Taking private lessons in all three instruments she grew an interest in teaching and started teaching piano and harp while in high school to neighborhood kids for training and familiarity for when she would later on make it her career.

After high school, she earned a full-ride scholarship to Utah State for the violin, where she participated in both the Utah State Symphony Orchestra and private lessons.  After graduation she moved back to Salt Lake City where she started her own private music studio, offering piano, violin and harp lessons.  She is thrilled to be part of the Keynotes Studio team and to be able to offer a bit of her knowledge and love for the piano to others.

Besides music, she loves to read, do crafts, run, bike, and swim, listen to music, Pinterest, bake and especially eat the things she bakes.  She currently lives in Cottonwood Heights with her husband Steve, 2 boys, Mitch and Jack, and her dog, Oaklie.

Teddy Elder

Teddy grew up in the Holladay area. She took piano lessons for 16 years and taught during high school. She graduated from the University of Utah in Human Development and Family Studies. She met her husband Scott there. They have recently returned from living in Omaha where Scott attended dental school. They have a 2 year old girl, named Jane. Teddy and Jane love to spend time outdoors. Teddy also enjoys cooking, sewing, running and time on her bike. She even rode her bike across the state of Iowa a few summers ago. Her favorite dessert in the whole world is tart frozen yogurt and favorite meal is Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps at the Cheesecake Factory.

Jill Lash

Jill Lash has loved music her entire life. She has been playing the piano for over 23 years and the organ for 10 years. Jill comes from a long line of musicians, including her father who sang in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and her grandmother who played the organ continuously for over 80 years. Jill took traditional piano lessons for a few years as a child, then again for a year in high school, but she is largely self-taught. Jill loves playing almost any type of music, but her favorites include classical, Christmas, Broadway and show tunes, movie themes, and accompanying choirs or small groups. Jill has taught music in her home for over 2 years and is excited to move into a studio setting.

When Jill isn’t teaching piano, she is often chasing after her adorable 2-year-old daughter. She also works as a labor and delivery nurse, has a published children’s book, and enjoys running, writing, reading, photography, family time, camping, hiking, and anything else in the great outdoors.

Laurel Adams

Laurel Adams has always loved music and began playing the piano at age 6. She has performed in countless recitals, federation competitions, and played in concerto night as a senior in high school. She has taught piano lessons before and loves the teaching environment. Laurel has learned that teaching other people is a great learning experience for the student and the teacher. She has loved putting on her own recitals and watching her students get so excited to perform their pieces in front of an audience.

Laurel has taken traditional piano lessons all her life, and her one regret is that she wished she learned more music theory. She didn’t learn this concept until her senior year of high school. She is ecstatic to teach at Keynotes, where music theory and many other music concepts will be taught.

Ellie Holcomb

Ellie is currently a junior at the University of Utah studying economics. She is thrilled to be teaching at Keynotes Studio. Piano has always been a major part of her life and she is excited to be a part of the Keynotes team. As a strong believer that music has the ability to bring happiness and joy , Ellie hopes to instill this concept to her students and that piano will bring as much happiness to their lives as it has to hers.