A musician specializing in helping people who want to absorb musicality into their lives … not just take lessons!
Rhonda At a Glance
- Plays several instruments and sings
- Teaches by ear and written music
- Custom arranges music for any musical background and talent (or lack thereof)
- Strong stage presence to make rehearsals fun and confidence-building and performances engaging and enthusiastic
- Patient, kind, inclusive, and a teacher/coach by nature
- A “bridge” to help people from all walks of life fine, explore, experience, enjoy, and celebrate their commonalities – of which music is her all-time favorite
About Rhonda J. Morrison
Rhonda J. Morrison grew up in a Christian musical family whose favorite pastime was picking up an instrument to join in singing and playing by ear at church and family gatherings. Her musical talents were dedicated to God at a very early age and she began playing in church at 6 years old. Through the gift of hearing music, coupled with her formal music education, Rhonda enjoys a ministry as well as a vocation in music. She has co-founded Amadeus Piano Festival, Tulsa
Community Consort and Ahwatukee Community Chorus. She has also participated in various roles in Fort Wayne Children’s Choir, Ron Burton Training Village, and Ahwatukee Children’s Theater. She also serves as President of Starfishers, INC. a non- profit charitable organization.
Rhonda holds a Bachelors of Music in Piano Performance and a Masters Degree in Music Theory from the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Presently, Rhonda owns Ahwatukee Music which is the umbrella under which “Color Your World with Music” operates. She has published her method of teaching in a book and on line correspondence program entitled IMPROVISATION: You Can Play by Ear. She hosts virtual and in person music labs weekly (children, tweens, teens, and adults) as well as vocal, keyboard, percussion, ukulele, bass & guitar, coaching for performance groups, and private coaching.
She has written and teaches a Praise and Worship Seminar and has worked with many churches, building, refurbishing and fine-tuning their music programs. Currently she serves many churches in the Valley, leading and participating in Praise and Worship. Rhonda and her brother, Randell, along with their band, have recorded several projects which include original songs as well as cover songs . They offer vocalists and full band, traveling through many styles of music, including southern gospel, traditional, and contemporary.
About Ahwatukee Music
Ahwatukee Music has evolved over the last several decades!
Rhonda’s first “music studio” was in the formal living room of her home. She was just 15 years old – however, many were drawn to her style of playing piano and her innate talent of teaching what she knew. At that point, it was only by ear and quite limited in any “accepted” musical verbiage … and yet adults, children, and her peers came for lessons!
Over the years, several teaching studios afforded her an opportunity. At the University of Tulsa, she was given the piano lab, where 20 students could sit at their individual pianos with headphones. At Saied Music Store, they invited her to teach adults in their SHOWROOM, sitting at pianos and organs for sale.
While perusing her Bachelor’s degree, Rhonda opened M & M’s Music in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Janel Whitby, owner/instructor of Janel Whitby School of Music, began contracting Rhonda for special needs students because of her unique blend of teaching creatively by ear as well as reading music.
M & M’s Music grew, not only in clients but also in offering a variety of other instruments, including organ, accordion, and singing. As it grew, partner and group sessions began! Between her Bachelor’s and graduate work, Rhonda decided to codify all of the “custom handouts” she had created into a reference teaching program (book and recordings) titled Improvisation; You can Play by Ear. She professionally recorded the teaching sessions and began her correspondence course while continuing to teach at the studio.
After earning her Masters in Music, she relocated to Indiana, where she established Renaissance Music – the same format as M & M’s Music, but a new beginning in a new place. Having a much larger studio and having acquired more training, there was plenty of space for children’s classes, entitled “Music Makin’,” where they learned musical concepts in fun and creative activities including keyboards, rhythm instruments and a floor mat keyboard (like Tom Hanks in “BIG”). Her music mentor, Twila, started coaching her in Delcroze and Eurhythmics. It became obvious that Rhonda had a love for special needs students, as well as an unusual connection with anyone on the autism spectrum. This certainly opened up more opportunity for the studio to grow in a very unique way!
In 2006, Rhonda moved to Arizona. Ahwatukee, the little unincorporated village just at the base of South Mountain in Phoenix, AZ, became her new home and thus the new name of her music studio: Ahwatukee Music, “Color Your World with Music”. Ahwatukee is an old Indian word translating to, “Warm People, Bright Future.”
Since then, Rhonda has continued the same teaching and coaching style, adding ukulele, drums, bass, guitar, violin, marimba and other mallet instruments, and singing. The correspondence course is now available in digital format, and ALL instruments are coached in person at the studio as well as on virtual platforms! She studies Creative Motion, Dalchroze, and Eurhythmics, and participates in continuing education conferences each summer. He mentor Twila now lives in Jacksonville, Florida, and Rhonda trains with her at the Jacksonville School of Autism.