About Musical Fitness

EXPERIENCE

The creator of Musical Fitness is Laura McAllaster Ruediger and she is pianist, composer, teacher, marathon runner, tennis player, former personal trainer and group exercise instructor. She has over 20 years of experience teaching private piano lessons and classes to all ages and levels. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Texas Tech University and dual Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Southern Methodist University. 

While in the graduate program at SMU, Laura studied piano with Alfred Mouledous and studied pedagogy with Dr. Samuel Holland, David Karp and other faculty members at SMU. Her past piano faculty positions include Master Teacher at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, piano teacher at Dallas/Music, Class Piano Coordinator and Community Education teacher at SMU.

Laura is a Certified Music Together instructor and has taught Music Together classes at SMU and Music Together of Dallas and was Music Together Director for Sunflower Music in Wichita, Kansas and McKinney, TX. She began teaching private piano students in 1997 and has operated studios in Derby, KS, Dallas and Plano, TX and McKinney, TX. Laura volunteered as the theory test writer for Texas Music Teacher’s Association and has been an adjudicator for numerous piano festivals and competitions. As of the fall of 2020, Ms. McAllaster has joined the piano faculty of Centre for Musical Minds! If you live in the north Dallas area and are looking for a teacher then visit http://www.centreformusicalminds.org. for your choice of in person lessons or virtual lessons. 

Having 2 children of her own in piano and violin lessons has enlightened Laura as to what home practice really is for elementary and middle school students. Her teaching style has dramatically changed as she has learned how to make home practice and lessons even more fun by letting her own kids make their own musical discoveries with very gentle guidance from mom.