Growing up in a musical family, Jenni (Charles) Dunn enjoyed live music in her home daily and picked up the violin at the age of 5.  She sang in choirs, performed in plays and played fiddle in her family band, all before the age of 11!  Prior to studying Jazz History and Violin and Early Childhood Education at UCSC, she played violin in various orchestras and bands throughout her childhood years.  Now being a full time musician (she has toured nationally for the last 10 years) and a music teacher (teaching private lessons and in school for the last 20 years), she understands the importance of integrating music into children’s lives at an early age and how it benefits them socially, emotionally and cognitively. 

Music stimulates both hemispheres of the brain, giving your child a rich and complex experience that they cannot get with any other subject.  It will give your children a unique foundation they need by enhancing verbal memory, spatial reasoning, and literacy skills, giving them that extra advantage to be successful in all other subjects while forming authentic bonds with their classmates. 

Jenni will be teaching the kids how to “find their own voice” and express themselves on any stringed instrument of their choosing should they want to bring that to class.  All of this will be the method used to achieve excellence in the California music standards of creating, performing, responding and connecting with music.  They will be learning how to listen and play and sing with others all while having fun! 

As we work together this semester, please reach out to me and let me know if you have access to any extra instruments.  We are looking for ukuleles, small guitars and djembes (or any hand drums).  If they have a stringed instrument they are working on, I’d love them to bring it to class (music will be on Mondays) and we can incorporate it into our daily “jam!” Thank you so much for your participation.  I am so excited to be making music with your children! 

Musically yours, 
Jenni Charles Dunn
jcharles@ttusd.org