Striking a Chord with Musicians and Students

Since opening her studio in east Flagstaff, McDonald is fine tuning her spacious studio to teach lessons in piano, voice, ukulele, guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, flute, clarinet, trumpet and percussion. 

“My previous location consisted of two small studios next to each other. Now I have three employees and rent space to six other music instructors all under one roof, which gives the teachers better collaboration with each other,” she said.

“I started playing piano last year and what I like about Ms. Clara is that she helps us a lot and is always willing to answer questions. I also like the music we play, especially the fast music like the WWII Boogie,” said 13-year-old Braden McGuire, who takes lessons along with his sister, Adalynn, and brother, Blake.

Their mom, Janolin McGuire, said this was her children’s first experience with piano lessons. “This is their second full year of classes, and they are loving it. I’ve seen such a huge improvement in that time. To watch them grow in confidence and piano skills has been great. Clara is a lot of fun and she keeps it super engaging. She also teaches the history of the composers.”

McDonald’s interest in the piano began when she was 4 years old. “My mom was taking lessons and I just loved listening to her play. She taught me for a few years, then realized I would outgrow her, so I started taking lessons from her friend who was an instructor.”

Born in Orange County, California, McDonald moved to Papua New Guinea when she was young, with her missionary parents. “There was a heavy emphasis on music there. Almost every missionary kid was in a band, choir or both. I also played in the pit orchestra for musicals.”

As a teen, McDonald moved back to California for a couple of years and then returned to Papua New Guinea for her senior year in high school. “I only spent five years in there, but it felt like I grew up there. I remember early on that I wanted to teach music, to give kids the opportunity to have the musical experiences that I had.” McDonald also plays the flute.

With a degree in music from Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, McDonald’s first visit to Flagstaff was on a motorcycle ride with her husband, Mark. “We lived in San Carlos, Mexico, for a couple years and when we returned to the United States we couldn’t decide where we wanted to live. We took a motorcycle trip and visited Flagstaff and thought it was really pretty. So, we returned in our motorhome for a few months and decided to stay.”

In total, McDonald has taught music for 28 years. “I love that I created a job and a company that allows me to homeschool my two children. That’s so important to me.”

Her classes include Sound Beginnings, a “Mommy and Me”-style for babies up to 4 years old. Let’s Play Music is a progressive three-year curriculum for 5- and 6-year-olds. Presto is an accelerated musicianship and piano class for students from 7 to 12.

“Teaching is not always butterflies and flowers and it is hard work. Sometimes there are a lot of struggles along the way. It’s not always easy to communicate the ideas and get the students to understand. But when they get it, it’s so exciting and makes me feel so valuable,” said McDonald.

Georgia Sears has been teaching piano with McDonald since 2021. “When my family was moving to Flagstaff, it was my fortune to find Clara’s studio. We are all individual businesses renting space from her; however, we have the benefits of having camaraderie with other teachers and our students have the opportunity to hear and sometimes play with the students of other teachers.”

  Away from the piano, McDonald loves to work out either by running, mountain biking with the family or walking their two dogs. “We live in a place where we have access to the woods just across the street.”  

In 2023, McDonald was the recipient of the “Let’s Play Music Aspire Award.” FBN

By V. Ronnie Tierney, FBN

For more information about Infusing Music Studios, visit www.infusingmusicstudios.com  

Photo by V. Ronnie Tierney: Clara McDonald has created space at Infusing Music Studios for other musicians to teach and collaborate with each other.