Auburn Wren inspires YAMA students through trust, connection, and improvisation. She creates safe spaces where participants shed self-doubt, explore playful prompts, and experiment with instruments. By guiding students from comfort into growth, Auburn turns music-making into a practice of courage, collaboration, and leadership—where every act of creation becomes a lesson in life.

Young learners have an unlimited potential that can only be unlocked through new experiences. It is my responsibility as their teacher to help design an environment where students can feel safe and secure to experiment, make mistakes, and be creative. In order to build the ideal environment, I owe it to my students to show up as a dependable and approachable teacher.

With one semester working together under our belts, each of our YAMA ensembles are excited about what the spring will hold. We’ve revisited our goals from October and have a few new milestones that we will target.