I have been involved in music education and have worked with musicians at all levels for over 30 years.  My specialty is working with young children, as young as four years old, thanks to a curriculum called The Musicolor Method®.

My students develop their abilities, identity, and self-confidence in a patient and caring manner.  I work with students using proven curriculum, including The Musicolor Method®, developing their technique, literacy, and expression in music along with important life skills.

My music education started at California Baptist College.  While there I had the opportunity to study trumpet under renown teachers Dr. Lawrence Johansson, Dr. James Stamp, and Claude Gordon. I then transferred to Northern State University in Aberdeen and graduated with a degree in Music Education. I taught music in the Pierre School District for 19 years. After retiring from teaching in the public schools, I began teaching private lessons. I opened Pierre Music in 2011.

My name is Anja Aplan. I have been involved with and playing music since I was 3 ½ years old and had piano lessons for 12 years. Over the years I learned to play additional instruments and I enjoy playing with the Capital City Band.

I have been working with students of all ages and levels at Pierre Music since 2019. The lessons are designed specifically for each student incorporating games and activities into the lessons to help my students with note recognition, music theory, lead-sheet reading, transpositions, and improvisations so they can discover their creativity and find their own artistic voice.

Carrie Baldwin is a piano teacher and vocal coach who has played piano since three years of age, and studied vocal performance at the University of Houston.  She is a former Houston Symphonic Choral vocalist, mother of three, who loves to share her love of music with others of all ages.

Jennifer Lavinger was surrounded by music her entire childhood. From listening to her Dad play clarinet to an aunt that played a toe tapping polka on her accordion, it was a staple of her environment. 

She started piano lessons as a second grader and,  after putting up the best fight trying to convince her parents to let her quit, she gave in and focused her energy on getting through her required practice time. Pretty quickly, she was hooked, and piano has been a major part of her life ever since. She has played mostly for fun and family, but recently started to help out by playing accompaniment at church. She also plays clarinet in the Capitol City Band each summer.

Jennifer is a patient teacher, encouraging growth and development through experience, engagement, and fun. She adjusts her teaching method to the student to ensure they don't get frustrated or overwhelmed. 

Jennifer has a degree in psychology from Dakota Wesleyan University and took some course work in elementary education and music education. Her full-time gig is working for the State of South Dakota. She is married to husband, Dave, of 16 years. They have a daughter, Ava, who plays trumpet (and hockey), a dog, Tank, who gets jealous of her piano time, and two cats, Rhino and Cleo, who pretend not to listen whenever music is played around the house. 

Hollie Grabitske holds a Master’s degree in Piano Performance from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While in college, Hollie’s coursework included piano pedagogy, music theory, and music history. As a graduate assistant she taught piano and a music appreciation course, and as an undergraduate student she wrote an honors thesis titled, “The Small Hand: Preventing Injury through Technique and Score Modification.”

Over the years Hollie has given piano lessons to adults and children in various settings including university-sponsored programs, a fine arts center, schools, and her home. She tends to use traditional teaching methods but is open to experimenting and trying new approaches to engage students and support their growth.

In addition to teaching, Hollie serves as the Program and Communication Coordinator for Riverbank Music Academy. If you would like more information about our lesson program, contact Hollie at admin@pierremusic.org or hit the Enroll button.

In 2022, Hollie moved to Pierre with her husband and three children. She plays the organ and piano for worship services at her church. She enjoys collaborating with other musicians, especially the youth in her congregation.

Stephen Rockwell was born a musical prodigy. He is a composer and songwriter. He has been teaching musical instruments for 45 years. His world of music has expanded over the past 66 years of playing on the circuit in the musical industry. As a recording engineer and sound tech, he has sent many abroad finding their path in the music world. His passion is to pull music out of every unique human being. Music is an eternal entity that exists in every person. It speaks to the very heart and soul of each individual. The earth itself is a sound of music.

God has given Stephen the gift of teaching. Over 40 years ago he created a curriculum that is very visual and uses the number system. He also integrates playing by ear related to the relative pitch of the instrument. These methods of teaching have allowed his students to progress rather rapidly to get to the point of playing and singing songs.

He takes no credit for the God given gift that he has, but to only share his passion so others can capture this musical entity that affects each individuals own world of life. Music lasts a lifetime.

I started playing guitar at age 16 in the 1970's. I have never taken guitar lessons, but I spent a lot of time learning what I could from chord books and by playing with other guitarists. I learned a bit from my father who played 6-string and bass guitar. I joined the U.S. Navy after graduating high school and was stationed on the U.S.S. Seattle out of Norfolk, Virginia. I would get together with other guitar players on board ship and we would often play for hours almost every evening while out at sea. I eventually got to a point where I could hear a song and be able to play it in a short period of time.

I have been in a few bands over the years which helped me get better at playing guitar. Being able to blend in with other musicians in a band is an important element to making a song sound as good as possible. When I want to learn a new song, I don't try to sound exactly like the recording. I simply try to fit it into my own style of playing until I get to a point where I feel it's the best I can make it. It's important to work at a song until you make it your own. I really enjoy making new arrangements of songs.

I don't read sheet music and I don't expect I ever will. Hearing a song and being able to play it in a matter of minutes is a talent that has taken years of practice. Since I only play music by ear, I never play the same song the same way every time. Nobody notices that but me for the most part. I am still learning new things all the time. That's a great thing about music, there’s always more to learn. It takes time, desire and effort to get better at anything. Playing an instrument is no different.

Kimberly Smith began studying the violin as a fourth grader in Brookings, SD in 1995 and has been in love with its sound ever since. Although her day job as the Librarian for the South Dakota State Historical Society is what brought her to Pierre, she is glad to also share her love of music with the community.

Kimberly instructs both children and adults and welcomes students that have previous musical experience as well as true beginners. She will teach by example and encourage continual growth in students. Kimberly is also available to provide live music for events, such as weddings.

I have been playing the banjo since 2002, and I have been teaching lessons since 2006. I am originally from the town of Redding in Northern California. I became interested in Bluegrass music when I was about 14 years old, after first hearing it in an infomercial for a collection of Bluegrass songs on TV. I was immediately attracted to it and I grew to love the banjo. I eventually learned to play the guitar, mandolin, and fiddle, and I have won a few awards for the banjo and the fiddle in local contests in California. For about 5 years I played the banjo in a Bluegrass called “Wild Bill and the Mudwhompers,” that played in various venues around the Redding, CA area.

In 2016 I moved to Pierre for work as a locomotive engineer on the Rapid City Pierre & Eastern Railroad. In 2018 I started teaching lessons at Pierre Music, doing lessons every other week as my schedule allows. Some of my favorite bands I listen to are Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, Bill Monroe & the Bluegrass Boys, and the Stanley Brothers.