Ines Raese

I was born and raised in Erkner, a small town in the federal state Brandenburg of Germany close to the capital Berlin. Our city hall was the former summer villa of the famous piano builder Carl Bechstein, and I breathed in this musical atmosphere taking violin, piano, composition, and classical voice classes from an early age. I studied Musicology, Educational Sciences (Erziehungswissenschaft) and Opera Voice in Berlin and specialized in Olivier Messiaen and Pierre Boulez (French composers) in Musicology to combine my passion for the beautiful French language with music. I am very excited to teach 6th graders in French at GIS to give this passion for the French language and culture to my students. I worked for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra archiving their scores, for a French cooking atelier in Berlin to translate recipes and cooking classes from French to German, and I have more than 17 years of teaching experience in voice, piano, music theory, violin, and composition. 

I taught in the beautiful cities of Berlin, Helsinki and Espoo, Finland, and last but not least, in the beautiful Portland metro area. Some of my students went on to pursue musical careers as opera singers, composers, and pianists, but the most rewarding and important thing for me as a teacher is to give my students the opportunity to express themselves creatively, and immerse themselves into another culture through music. It is such a joy to teach children, to see the joy in their eyes learning a new song, to experience music and the stories behind a song with all of their senses and through their body. I am very excited to share beautiful German children's songs with the GIS community. My friends and teachers were always joking that I am the queen of German children's songs. Give me a word, I can sing a song about it.

In my free time I love to hike with my husband in the beautiful state of Oregon, to travel the world to experience new cultures through language, music, art, and cuisine. There also has to be music-making on a day off, preferably with students, musician friends, and new acquaintances.