About Toni Austin-Allen

Toni Austin-Allen has her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance with Dr. Jack Guerry from Louisiana State University and pursued Master level studies in Piano Pedagogy under the tutelage of Dr. Amanda Vick-Lethco at University of Texas in Austin. She has taught piano since 1982 to all students of all ages in Los Angeles, Santa Fe, and the Dallas area. Toni has been involved in a leadership capacity in both city and statewide piano associations and has been asked to adjudicate festivals and competitions throughout her many years of teaching.

Toni is a certified HealthRHYTHMS facilitator (an empowerment program to guide people toward more open communication through drumming) and is a professional mindful and recreational drum circle facilitator. She is a member of the Drum Circle Facilitator’s Guild. Toni teaches private beginning hand drum lessons to build confidence to those who want to play in drum groups, small and large, and bring rhythmic and cultural awareness to her students. She coordinates group drumming experiences with the goal of bringing joy and presence to each event. Toni has brought drum circles to a variety of venues including libraries, meditation centers, yoga studios, recovery centers, community gatherings, galleries and much more.

Toni brings her passions of piano, drumming, poetry and the visual and mindful arts into multi-disciplinary programs and projects. She creates musical performances incorporating meditation, art and the spoken word. Her most recent publication, Quiet Loving, Quiet Knowing”, is a collaborative and experiential book and recording (both digital and on disc) showcasing her poetry, original compositions, piano performances and her daughter, Christine Allen’s, visual art.

Toni loves hiking and is a life-long learner. She lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.