Ms. Neilson is a musician who stays active in both the performance and teaching arena. She holds a Master's of Arts degree in education with an emphasis in curriculum & instruction, a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in music education, as well as a clear teaching credential from California State University, Northridge. On the performance spectrum Ms. Neilson has played spectacular venues with Grammy Award winning artists. Some venues and artists include, Dolby Theater, The Forum, Sony Pictures Studios, Ford Amphitheater, The Gibson Amphitheater, House of Blues, Valley Performing Arts Center, with artists such as Idina Menzel, Intocable, Ramon Ayala, Ana Gabriel, Reik, Jesse and Joy, Yuri, Mariachi Los Camperos, etc. Ms. Neilson performs annually in the Latin American Music Awards live on Telemundo. You can also catch Ms. Neilson performing a couple of episodes on Fox’s TV show, “Glee” in seasons 3 and 4.

 

More than performing nothing compares more to her than helping children reach their potenial through music. Currently she is overjoyed to return to the San Fernando Valley to continue and grow the music program at Holmes Middle School. Her previous teaching experience includes teaching full time at an LAUSD arts focused pilot school in northeast Los Angeles where she taught music at Studio School. Her other teaching passions have included her very own private violin studio based in the San Fernando Valley. One day she plans to make a non-profit organization welcoming even more students in the San Fernando Valley. Before Studio School Ms. Neilson worked with Harmony Project as a teaching artist. She felt it was an honor to work with an organization that provided free music enrichment to low income students. Overall, Ms. Neilson feels most whole and centered when she is in the classroom teaching children to be extraordinary through music. Ms. Neilson is passionate about making every student feel empowered.