Karen Sloneker has worked with students of all ages and ability levels. Ms. Sloneker holds the second trumpet position with the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Orchestras and has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Pittsburgh Brass Quintet, Mendelssohn Chorus, River City Brass Band, and Bach Choir. She played principal trumpet with the Westmoreland and McKeesport Symphonies and freelances in Pittsburgh.
As an instructor, Karen taught at the Rogers CAPA Middle School (now CAPA 6-12) as the adjunct specialist in brass instruments and assisted with the orchestra, sixth-grade piano lab, and world music drumming. At the college level, she taught music performance and music education trumpet majors and a brass methods course to prepare music educators to teach brass instruments in a school setting. She was on the faculty of Seton Hill College (now University) and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Sloneker has many former students who have established careers as performing artists and educators at all levels of study, and she celebrates their successes.
In addition to her work with brass students, Ms. Sloneker is an experienced and successful early childhood music educator, a field of work that informs her understanding of musical development at all stages. She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and has studied music education and early childhood education at Seton Hill College and Eastern Gateway Community College, respectively. Her principal trumpet teachers were Charles Hois, Charles Lirette, and Roger Sherman. As a member of the Pittsburgh Brass Quintet, she worked with the Empire Brass Quintet at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.
Ms. Sloneker works with trumpet students from the first lesson through adults who are looking to increase their skill level or reestablish their love for the instrument. She also enjoys working with beginners through intermediate French horn and trombone students. Lessons can be in-person or virtual.
