About Your Teacher 

 Karla Dunning has been enjoying music since her days of dancing around the living room to music playing on her Fisher Price record player.  Blessed to have parents who nurtured that love of music, Karla was in dance classes from the age of 4 and added piano lessons to the mix before she picked up the clarinet in 6th grade band.  By 8th grade, she had decided this was life and began making plans to become a great band director someday.

  After years of marching and concert band seasons in Sherman, Karla came to Denton to follow her dreams at the University of North Texas.  It was during that first year that she learned about early childhood music education and the impact music can have on EVERY child.  By junior year, Karla's focus shifted to younger musicians.  While at UNT she assistant taught in the Early Childhood Music Program and graduated from UNT with a bachelors degree in Music Education.  She spent several summers earning all three levels of her Kodály certification and recently completed teacher training and certification through Musikgarten.

 Karla was hired in Little Elm ISD as the music teacher at what was then Little Elm Primary School.  As the district and her campus changed, one of her greatest joys was watching the children grow each year, both in height and musicianship!  After 7 years in Little Elm, Karla left public school to teach music to pre-schoolers.  In addition to Joyful Sounds Music Studio, Karla currently teaches with Ms. Jane's MusicPlay in Keller, Westlake and Bartonville.

Karla and her husband Chris live in Denton with their 2 dogs, Sierra and Angelo.  They enjoy active membership at Lifegate Church, where Chris serves on the worship team and Karla leads a lifegroup for ladies making monthly meals for families.