Katrin Arefy is the artistic director and head teacher at the Golden Key Piano School in Berkeley, California. She received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the Gnessin School of Music in Moscow. Katrin also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts in Painting from Azad University in Tehran.
Mr. Preston was recently appointed Associate Concertmaster of the Oakland East Bay Symphony. Before moving to San Francisco last August, he was a violinist with the North Carolina Symphony for seven seasons. While in Raleigh, he was a member of the North Carolina Symphony String Quartet, Mallarme Chamber Players, and the Eastern Festival Chamber Players. Jeremy is a faculty member of the SF Community Music Center and the Eastern Music Festival.
I am now teaching part time at the San Francisco Conservatory and teaching some of the time at my home in North Oakland. You can read about me at http://www.aldenjenks.com/#!aboutaj/c2414 and at this same site you can hear many examples of the music I have composed. I would recommend me if you are looking for a teacher of wide experience who is well schooled in the fundamentals of music. My approach to teaching is determined by the student; but the fundamentals of music are, well, the fundamentals. Accent on "fun".
Ellen Glikbarg Shea, Soprano, returned home to the Bay Area after receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Music from Pitzer College, and her Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Southern California. She has performed roles with West Bay Opera, Pocket Opera, Berkeley Opera, the Lamplighters, Golden Gate Opera and Opera San Jose. She has also performed with San Francisco Opera chorus, the Community Music Center Orchestra, and manages and sings with The Merrie Olde Christmas Carolers, the oldest and largest professional caroling organization in the country.
Bios of our teachers www.stepupmusicvallejo.com
I am a Marin County native currently residing in Santa Rosa. A 2002 semi-finalist of the Pacific Piano Competition for California Community College Pianists and a recipient of the Carolyn D. Witt Memorial Music Department Scholarship, I transferred to Sonoma State University where I studied general music and gave a senior piano recital in 2006.
MARK TUNING is Music Director of Voices of Musica Sacra and at Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church. He served as Assistant Director for the San Francisco City Chorus for seven years and on the music faculty of the Conservatory of Vocal and Instrumental Arts, a public K-8 charter school in Oakland. He sings tenor with Les Hommes, a men’s ensemble consisting of choral professionals.
Full bio and statement available at Community School of Music and Arts (www.arts4all.org). I have taught piano, accompanying, chamber music, theory, history, and been active as recitalist, chamber musician and conductor for 45 years. I supervised the development of all curriculum at CSMA from 1985-2010. I teach beginning through professional levels, using ABRSM syllabus as an excellent guide to standards and milestones.
I sing like I mean it every day of my life. I want to teach that ability to everyone who wants it. I teach primarily in a classical method, but with a style tailored for each student. The art of singing is intangible because it is reliant on the individual. What works for one student will not necessarily work for the next, so I teach to the needs, abilities, and desires of each person. I have been teaching privately since 2000 in the Humboldt region and in the Bay Area since 2005. I am currently accepting new students, and look forward to hearing from you!