Missy Barker,  Instructor

Missy has been making music ever since she can remember.

As a small child, Missy loved to sing. She would sit on a swing and sing; she would sing while doing chores; she would sing at the dinner table. In fact, her singing was so ever-present, her parents had to make a “no singing at the table” rule to appease her siblings who sometimes wanted a little peace and quiet.

Missy started playing piano at age 6 and hasn't stopped since. She began playing and singing in church at age 12 and picked up guitar in her high-school years with which she played traditional old-time music with a bluegrass band. High school choir quickly became her favorite class in her teenage years.

Missy also spent a lot of time making music with her family, in the form of car sing-alongs, living-room jam sessions, special music for church, and impromptu kitchen dance sessions with her brother.

Missy began teaching piano at age 14 when the parents of the kids she was babysitting began asking for lessons for their kids. Although she enjoyed her high school piano-teaching job, she realized she needed more education. Missy attended Portland State University to study pedagogy with Mary Kogen.

After graduating with a BA in Music, she began volunteering part-time in the nursery at a drug and alcohol treatment center, where she was able to see the amazing effects music can have on children – even those as young as newborns! She became certified as a Kindermusik teacher in order to learn more about how to incorporate music into the lives of very young children.

For the past 12 years Missy was located in Portland, Oregon, where she was an instructor and director of Green Grass Music, a small music school offering private piano lessons, pre-piano classes, and Kindermusik classes. Recently Missy has relocated to central Oregon, and is excited to be teaching classes in Prineville.

Besides teaching and making music, Missy enjoys reading, traveling, and helping her husband with his new business, Solstice Brewing Company.  She also cherishes the time she spends with her husband, Joseph, and her two sons, Birch and Riddley.