Ms. Charlene Zhu graduated from Carnegie Mellon University where she focused not only on the piano performance but also on Dalcroze Eurhythmics, a method that focuses on rhythm, structure, and musical expression through physical movement. Studying under Stephen Neely, a former president of the Dalcroze Society of America, and Professor Hanna Wu Li of Carnegie Mellon University, Ms. Charlene has acquired a teaching style that brings out musicality in students from a very young age. She encourages singing and physical movement to break the barrier of often rigid playing in young students, and also incorporates various genre of music including pops, movie soundtrack, and theater to keep students’ music lessons fun yet progressive. Her goal is to motivate her students to feel the music and express themselves through music. 

In her spare time, Ms. Charlene likes to sing and immerse herself in the world of books and movies, because she believes that the experience of art is omnipresent and multisensory; the words and images transcend their mediums and let the audience to experience the color, the smell, and the texture. Art and literature enrich understanding of music despite the invisibility-- one can feel the composer’s emotions and let imagination go wild. 

Ms. Charlene is also a horoscope enthusiast. She’s always eager to find a fellow horoscope comrade, so do chat her up if you are interested!

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"Ms. Charlene is fabulous, and she’s almost part of Lauren’s family since she’s been teaching Lauren from the very beginning.

Thank you for your dedication to hiring “the BEST”.  My husband and I appreciate it!

Renee S. (Physician Assistant, Board Certified - USC Keck School of Medicine)