Community Highlights: Meet Karis Ens of Karis Ens Piano Studio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karis Ens.

Hi Karis, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was home-schooled until I went to college. In 2016 I graduated from Friends University in Wichita, KS, with a Bachelor of Arts in Music in Piano Performance and Music Composition 2016. After graduating, I worked as a Nutrition Aide at Via Christi Village (2016-2017) and later as a para at Maize Elementary (2017-2020). During those years, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I had no idea. I started to teach piano lessons in 2016. I began to teach classical guitar in 2018. I realized I did not want to work a job to pay the bills and eat. I tried to work a job because it was something I wanted to do. In 2019 I listened to NF’s newest hit, “When I Grow Up,” and decided I wanted to be self-employed that day. So, since that day, I began to work hard. I printed flyers and walked neighborhoods every free evening and weekend I had. I promoted myself on sites like FaceBook, Lessons.com, and ThumbTack. Besides trying to become self-employed through teaching piano and classical guitar, I did alterations and other sewing projects for people as a source of income. In 2020 the Covid thing broke out the week of Spring Break in March. They told me not to return to the school I was working at as a para but working a few hours from home online. Soon after Covid hit, I began getting new piano and guitar students left and right.

Parents wanted their kids out and learning, and I got their business which caused my business to grow. I decided in late July of 2020 to quit my para job and officially be self-employed. I soon added violin as another instrument to teach alongside piano and classical guitar. I am also a published author. I self-published my first book, “God is Real (So is the Devil),” in 2016. It’s my testimonial book about how I fell away from my Christian beliefs during my college years and returned to my relationship with God. In 2020, I returned to my laptop to write a children’s series entitled “Piano Boy.” As of now, there are three books in the series: “Neighborhood Hero,” “Teacher’s Hero,” and “Sidetrack Mission.” My silly students inspire those stories I see at my home every week. I wrote and illustrated my newest children’s book, “A Girl and Her Cat,” about my beloved childhood cat, Pepper, whom I had for eighteen years. I sell my books through booth events and on Amazon.com by searching “Karis Ens” in the search box. I did not intend to have three businesses (Karis Ens Piano Studio, Sewin’, and Karis Ens).

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
While working at Via Christi Village, I had to work ten-hour days on whatever day they scheduled me. When I decided to start teaching piano lessons, I had to request to have one set day off. I had one student at the time. I’m glad they were understanding and let me have Mondays off to teach.

It wasn’t easy to get more than five students for a while. I remember trying my hardest to get a new student. I walked miles, leaving my fliers on people’s door knobs in surrounding neighborhoods. Just one more student. That was all I wanted. And when I finally got another new student, they would soon decide to quit, or someone else would quit. For a long time, I was hovering at only five students. At that time, I was working as a para. I had my day job with students who would call me names, hit me, and scream in my face from 8:30 am-4:00 pm. I rushed home, ate a bite of something maybe, and started teaching my piano students from 4:30 pm until 7:00 pm or 8:00 pm.

I wanted to grow my business, like always. But one thing I thought was hindering my business was the fact I was still living with my folks. I love my folks, but our schedules sometimes didn’t work too well. My dad understood that I could not afford to live independently due to high rent costs, and most rentals/apartments would not allow musical instruments. He decided it was time for him and my mom (summer of 2019) to move out so I could rent the house from him and continue my endeavors as a piano and classical guitar teacher and do alterations.

As you know, we’re big fans of Karis Ens Piano Studio. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
Karis Ens Piano Studio is my main business. I teach piano, classical guitar, and violin lessons. Students come to me weekly for either 30-minute, 45-minute, or 60-minute lessons. I also have my younger students perform pieces in a Spring Recital and Christmas Recital every year. I also host a monthly group lesson for my younger students on the first Saturday of the month. I teach a class about music history at the group lessons with some listening exercises. Also, students get to play music theory games I have created to help make the music learning fun and enjoyable. I do have a few adult students. Anyone can learn to do anything at any age. Even though the person may not be young, they can still learn. It’s amazing what time and practice can do if a person wants to know. I have performed three personal piano recitals. My first one was back in 2018. I performed Pictures at an Exhibition by Moussorgsky. My second personal recital was in 2021, with a section of pieces from all musical eras. And my most recent one this year (2022) with a section of pieces from all musical eras. The only reason I have done these recitals is for my students. I want them to hear me play so they know where they could be in their musical skills if they put the time and practice in as well as I have. The only reason I can even play a piece is that I practice. The same can be said for anyone.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I was shy, depressed, and lonely. I didn’t have too many friends, but one close friend until sometime after college. I had my cat, Pepper, who made everything okay and better for me because he was beside me.

I enjoyed being outside. I was homeschooled, so I could complete my schoolwork before noon and spend my afternoons and evenings outside playing in my backyard. I had a camera. With it, I took photos of anything and everything that was in the backyard that I thought was pretty, cool, or neat. Pepper was my main subject. He posed for me every afternoon for a photo shoot.

I took piano lessons from my mom when I was four to nine years old and continued taking lessons from a teacher from nine until the present. I took violin lessons when I was nine to thirteen years old. I began classical guitar lessons while I was in college and until the present.

My mom showed me some beginner steps to sewing. I began to sew things up all the time. I used to go to the fabric store on Friday evenings and buy (with my folk’s money) whatever fabric I wanted. The following Saturday, I spent it cutting, pinning, sewing, ripping, and fitting on my new dress. I completed the dress and wore it the next day to church. I did that quite often. I rarely used a store-bought pattern. I usually created my patterns. I still do create designs for the clothes that I wear.

I did not want to read or write. I did not learn how to read or write until I was seven or nine. Words didn’t make sense to me. It wasn’t easy. But it got easier. I remember being so proud of myself for reading “The Secret Garden” all by myself within one month when I was a teenager. I made my mom so upset back then when she was trying to teach me how to read, but I bet she’s proud of me now because I read over 60 books last year.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: facebook.com/KarisEnsPianoStudiofacebook.com/SewinKE facebook.com/KarisEnsWrites
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4aginDSbu_NcIWxvF-Pd31d1UYrMFxUN