Piano and Accordion Teachers
Accordion Teachers
Harpsichord Teachers
Piano Teachers
Accordion Teachers
PETER DIBONO (2004), accordion. JD, San Francisco Law School. Professional musician and teacher. Studied with Ernst Gloe at San Francisco Conservatory of Music and San Francisco State University; City College San Francisco. First call accordionist. Guest soloist: San Jose Symphony, San Francsico Symphony, Marin Symphony, and local musical theater. Active professional playing schedule. Retired San Francisco Police Inspector.
Mission District Branch
MIGUEL GOVEA (2006), Mission District Young Musicians Program, trumpet, button accordion, and vocals. Miguel Govea teaches trumpet and diatonic button accordion to English speakers and Spanish speakers of all ages. He also instructs beginners in piano accordion and trombone. He tries to convey a sense of the joy in making music, in continuously learning, and in playing with others. He has helped direct and arrange for the Mission District Young Musicians Program since its inception in 2007. He has co-directed the acclaimed youth band Futuro Picante since 2004. He has arranged for, performed and recorded with his own bands (Los Compas, La Familia Peña-Govea), and various other groups in San Francisco since 1982. Also speaks Spanish.
Español: Miguel Govea enseña trompeta, acordeón diatónico de botones, y trombón a los estudiantes de todas edades. Sobre todo quiere expresar la alegría en la creación de la música, en el aprender continuamente y en el acto de tocar con otras personas.
Mission District Branch
Harpsichord Teachers
SHIRLEY WONG-FRENTZEL (1972), Chinese instruments, harpsichord, recorder, Collegium Musicum, Eastern Music. BA with honors, Composition, Mills College, studied with Darius Milhaud, Leon Kirchner and Morton Subotnick; MM with highest honors, Harpsichord, New England Conservatory. Member, Pi Kappa Lambda honor society. Formed Darius Milhaud Ensemble locally with Philharmonia Baroque soloists. Former faculty, Mills College, UCSD, and SFSU. Co-manager of Flowing Stream Ensemble and member of Phoenix Spring Ensemble. Also speaks Cantonese.
Mission District Branch
Piano Teachers
CHRISTIAN BONVIN (2009), piano. MM, North Carolina School of the Arts; Diplome de Piano, Societe Suisse de pedagogie musicale. Studied with Clifton Matthews, Dr. Betty Mallard and Madeline Bruser, author of the book “The Art of Practicing”. Performed at Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and Bechstein Piano Center in New York City. Also speaks French.
Mission and Richmond District Branches
JACQUELINE CHEW (1982), piano. BM, San Francisco Conservatory of Music; MM, SUNY-Binghamton. Studied with Leonard Shure, Paul Hersh and Walter Ponce. Coached with Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen and Roger Muraro in Paris. Recorded Olivier Messiaen’s “Vingt Regards sur l-Enfant-Jesus” and John Jacob Niles’ “Sweet Irrational Worship: The Niles-Merton Songs” (MSR Classics), available on cdbaby.com. Pianist with The Women’s Philharmonic (1990-2004). Solo performances in North America, Europe and South America. Teaching style incorporates “Practice Techniques” learned in recent study with Burton Kaplan (Manhattan School of Music). Also teaches at UC-Berkeley and San Francisco Conservatory Adult Extension. Jacqueline is a Camaldolese Benedictine Oblate and a member of Dancers Circle (liturgical dance). For video on Messiaen’s influence on Jacqueline’s life, see “30 Good Minutes”, click on “Short Videos” and search for Jacqueline Chew.
Richmond District Branch
LAUREN CONY (1995), piano; B.A. in Piano Performance, Skidmore College; M.M. San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Her principal teachers include Sharon Mann, Paul Hersh, Pola Baytelman, and Laurette Goldberg on harpsichord. In addition to teaching at CMC, she also teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and maintains a busy private studio. Ms. Cony has a wide range of performing experience, both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. She is an alumna of the Bowdoin Summer Chamber Music Festival, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and Oberlin in Casalmaggiore, Italy. In the Bay Area, she has appeared in recitals at Old St. Mary’s and St. Patrick’s Church on the Noontime Series, Berkeley’s Hillside Concerts, and the CMC’s Shenson Faculty Concert series. She also frequently collaborates with 4-hand partner Jennifer Peringer in piano duet recitals, and has performed with distinguished artists such as soprano Lucine Amara and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman. In June of 2006, she performed Mozart’s Concerto K. 467 at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center with the CMC orchestra, as a winner of the Center’s faculty piano concerto competition. www.LaurenCony.com
Mission District Branch
RANDY CRAIG (1987), piano. BA, Theater Arts, Pomona College. Former faculty, Contra Costa College. Founding member, Pickle Family Circus and SF Make-a-Circus. Actor and composer, SF Mime Troupe. Composer-in-residence, SF Arts Education Project, for about 12 years. Co-winner, two OBIE Awards and one Bay Area Critics’ Circle Award for best original score. Freelance composer and performer in local clubs and theaters.
Mission District Branch
PAULA DREYER (2001), piano, Piano for Kids. BM, Performance and Music Education, McGill University; MM, Chamber Music Performance, SFSU. Performs as a soloist, accompanist, and chamber musician in the US and Canada. Winner of the Montreal Classical Music Festival and the SFSU Concerto Competition. Recently completed a book of original compositions for beginning pianists. Currently teaches private piano, accompanies and performs. pauladreyer.com
Mission District Branch
CHEYENNE JOHN-HENDERSON (2011), piano. Cheyenne is a pianist and composer who moved to the Bay Area after studying jazz piano at UCLA. He earned his master’s degree in music composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Dan Becker. He plays weekly at Zuni Café in San Francisco and plays frequently at various other venues around the Bay Area. With over 15 years of teaching experience, his approach combines an emphasis on strong technique and musical literacy that includes improvisation, practical harmony, and connecting the piano to music students hear in the contemporary musical landscape. Much of Cheyenne’s music can be found at www.cheyennejohnhenderson.com.
Richmond District Branch
JONO KORNFELD (2000), theory, composition, jazz piano, ear training, sight singing, theory/musicianship group classes. MA in Composition and post-graduate music study, SFSU; BA, English, University of Rochester, NY. Composition/theory studies with Ronald Caltabiano, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Richard Festinger at SFSU, and with Michael Czajkowski at the 2001 Aspen Music Festival. Jazz and classical piano studies with Adam Domash. Author, Music Theory and Notation for Intelligent Beginners. On the faculty at SFSU and also teaches privately. www.jkornfeld.net
Mission and Richmond District Branches
EVGENIA LESHCHISHINA (2002), piano. Evgenia received her Bachelor’s of Music degree in Piano and a Master’s of Music degree in Solo Piano Performance and Instruction/Accompanying from the Vilnius Academy of Music in Lithuania. She studied with Stasys Vainiunas and has taught piano for over twenty-five years. Evgenia utilizes classical Russian methodology as her principal teaching technique. As an Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music member, she prepares students for annual exams.
Also speaks Russian, Lithuanian and Spanish.
Mission and Richmond District Branches
ULYSSES LOKEN (2010), piano. Ulysses Loken performs and teaches piano and organ in and around San Francisco. He received a MM in classical piano
performance from San Francisco State University, studying with Roger Woodward. Although performing mostly classical repertoire, with an emphasis on modern and French composers, he also performs and teaches jazz, rock and other genres of music. He has taught at San Francisco State University, and currently teaches at at Academy of Art University, and SOTA.
Mission District Branch
ALLISON LOVEJOY (1993), piano. BM and further studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London and University of the Pacific; MM, Performance, SF Conservatory of Music. Teachers: Daniell Revenaugh, Mack McCray, Frank Wiens, Christopher Elton, György Sandor. Faculty, Academy of Art University. Performs extensively as a soloist and chamber musician, and with her vintage cabaret. Also plays accordion.
Mission District Branch
KATY LUO (2011), piano. BM, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, MM, DMA, SUNY-Stony Brook. Principle teachers: Jacqueline Chew, Haewon Song, Gilbert Kalish. Originally from the Bay Area, and recently returned from New York City, Katy enjoys teaching students of all ages, and speaks both English and Mandarin Chinese. An alumna of YMP at UC Berkeley, her passion for community-based organizations have led to her previous employments at the Boy Choir of Harlem, and the Bloomingdale School of Music as Resident Teaching Artist and Director of A4TY: Student New Music Project–a program she founded to introduce children to composition and premiering works written by living composers. While living in New York City, Katy was known for innovative theme-based concerts, and is both at home with works by classical masters as well as contemporary composers. Past collaborations have included the New York City Ballet, Osso String Quartet, and the Boys Choir of Harlem. A Haydn aficionado, Katy is currently self-directing a film-project of the complete book of Haydn’s Piano Sonatas. Each film will be of a live-performance of a Sonata in a non-conventional performance space. Visit Katy Luo’s website. Mission District Branch
DANIEL MAGAZIN (1997), piano. BM, Piano Performance, SFSU. Teaches privately throughout the Bay Area. Principal teachers include William Corbett-Jones and Herman Vanderkamp. Fifteen years experience teaching privately, twenty-eight years performance experience in various idioms including bands, accompanist, classical soloist, ensemble and chamber orchestra
Richmond District Branch
SHIRLEY MARSHALL (1948), piano. Shirley Marshall received her Bachelor’s degree in Music and Education from San Francisco State University. She studied piano with Charlotte Essmann, Agnes Williams, and Carolyn Searles Witt; as well as with Hazel Marshall at CMC (no relation). Shirley also studied organ with Raymond L. White and has been an organist and choir director in San Francisco churches. Shirley is currently a pianist for various organizations and accompanist for several musical groups, including the Golden Gate Trio.
Mission District Branch
HADLEY McCARROLL (1997) Hadley has over 15 years teaching experience, and enjoys working with students of all ages and levels-her main teaching mantra is to bring students to the next level, whatever that may be, in a high-energy, supportive environment. A well-known performer, pianist Hadley McCarroll is hailed for her “…lively and exhilarating…” pianism (SF Classical Voice). A renowned collaborative and solo artist, Hadley received her BM/MM from University of Texas, Austin. She has worked with opera companies throughout the US, and internationally (AIMS in Graz, Royal Danish Opera), is a founding member of the vocal-instrumental trio The Mirage Ensemble, performing at Northwestern University, and as part of the duo martha & monica, with cellist Monica Scott, Hadley has presented concerts throughout Northern California.
Richmond District Branch
JULIET McCOMAS (1983), piano. BM/MM, Peabody Conservatory. Principal teacher: Konrad Wolff. Also coached with Leon Fleisher, Karl Ulrich Schnabel, Lilian Kallir,and Richard Goode. Performances with Baltimore Symphony, Oakland Chamber Orchestra, SF Chamber Players, Artea Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Northwest.TV appearances: “Peabody Presents” (East Coast), “The Grand Piano” (Bay Area). Former faculty, Peabody Conservatory, Towson State University in Maryland. Currently, Menuhin Scholar Instructor at prestigious Nueva School in Hillsborough. Three-timewinner of Dr, Jess Shenson Faculty Artist Grant (2001, 2003, 2010). Winner CMC Concerto Competition 2002. Producer of Annual Keyboard Marathons since 2004. Accepted to PianoTexas International Academy and Festival – Winner of first concertocompetition and performed with Fort Worth Symphony 2007. Alternate finalist Seattle International Piano Festival 2008. Member, MTAC and CAPMT.
Richmond District Branch
LESLIE McWILLIAMS (1989), piano. BM and MM, University of Michigan. Studied piano with Ava Case and Charles Fishcer and accompanying with Eugen Bossart. Teaching experience gained from Texas Tech University, San Francisco State University, City College of San Francisco and private studios in New York City and San Francisco. Accompanist, vocal studios of Blanche Thebom and Jess Thomas.
Mission District Branch
MUZA MDZINARISHVILI (2001), piano. BM and MM, Solo Piano Performance and Pedagogy, Tbilisi Conservatory of Music, Republic of Georgia; MM, Piano Accompanying – Vocal and Instrumental, SF Conservatory of Music. Studied under Dr. Timothy Bach. Former faculty, Gymnasia for Gifted Children and the Tbilisi Conservatory of Music’s Experimental Music School. Teaching Excellence award recipient. President, East Bay chapter, CAMPT. Maintains private studio. As an Associate Board Member of the Royal School of Music, she prepares students for annual exams. Speaks Georgian and Russian.
Mission and Richmond District Branches
JANIS MERCER (1992), composition, ear training, piano, and theory, and for the Comprehensive Musicianship Program. Her degrees include a BM in Composition at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and an MA in Composition at Mills College. She studied piano with Dady Mehta, Albertine Votapek, Ian Hobson and Bill Sorenson; her composition teachers include Herbert Brün, Salvatore Martirano, David Liptak and Morgan Powell. Ms. Mercer specializes in contemporary performance practice and enjoys working with students who want to play with more freedom and physical ease.
Mission and Richmond District Branches
TATYANA MIKHAYLENKO (1994), piano. Tatyana Mikhaylenko received her Bachelor’s of Music and Master’s of Music degrees in piano from the Odessa Conservatory of Music. There she studied with professors Dikiy, May and Oigenzikht. Tatyana has taught piano in professional music schools for twenty years; was chairperson of piano department of Music School No. 11 in Odessa. Member, Music Teachers Association on California (MTAC).
Also speaks Russian.
Richmond District Branch
JENNIFER PERINGER (2000), piano. Jennifer Peringer earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of London, and both a Master of Music degree and a Music Teaching Credential from San Francisco State University. Her musical horizons are broad; she has played keyboards, congas, tablas, saxophone, and accordion with salsa, latin jazz, Indian music, folk and pop bands. Her work as a classical pianist involves solo performances, vocal and theatrical accompaniment, and collaboration with various chamber music ensembles, including her trio The Bernal Hill Players. She has been teaching at CMC since 2000, where she currently offers classes in piano (primarily Classical and Latin Jazz), ear training, beginning Latin Jazz ensembles, and a variety of classical Chamber Music ensembles. She individualizes curriculums to meet her students’ needs, and uses a wide variety of teaching strategies, including hands-on games, physical technical exercises, learning by ear, learning to read music, intellectual analysis, and intuitive improvisation. Also speaks Spanish.
Mission District Branch
MARTHA RODRIGUEZ-SALAZAR (2000), ear training, flute, piano, recorder, sight singing, voice, Flute Choir, Latin Music Vocal Workshop, Camp CMC, Mission District Young Musicians Program Project Coordinator. Martha was born and raised in Mexico City, coming to the United States in 1998 to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Music at Mills College in Oakland. As both flutist and mezzosoprano, Ms. Rodriguez has toured extensively in the United States, Mexico and Europe, with Classical, Baroque and folk ensembles and orchestras, winning awards in many of the countries where she has performed. In 1995 she began her conducting career, directing various ensembles, ranging from chamber music to flute and vocal choirs to operas. Ms. Rodriguez’s diverse teaching activities at CMC include flute, voice, piano, sight-reading, Latin Vocal Workshop, MDYMP, and Summer Camp. She has become a cultural leader of the Bay Area Latino community, directing and producing the annual Mexican Christmas show La Posarela at CMC, as well as curator and musical advisor at the annual Día de los Muertos Family Concert at the San Francisco Symphony. Also speaks Spanish.
Mission District Branch
MATYLDA ROTKIEWICZ (2008), piano. Undergraduate Degree, Conservatoire National de Versailles; Graduate Degree, Conservatoire Niedermeyer, Paris; Graduate Performance Diploma, The Boston Conservatory. Winner of the Boston Conservatory Honors Competition; Third Prize at the Artist International Music & Dance Association’s Annual International Competition in Toronto, Canada; Special Prize for the best performance of contemporary music and Second Prize at the Milosz Magin International Piano Competition, Paris, France. Studies with Jonathan Bass, Milosz Magin, Marie-Claire Laroche. Former faculty, Acadomia School, Paris; New England Piano Academy, Framingham, MA; Dana Hall Music School, Wellesley, MA; Brookline Music School, MA. Member of MTAC. Also speaks French and Polish.
Mission and Richmond District Branches
BETTY SHAW (1989), piano. Studied with Don Ellis, Mark Levine, Susan Muscarella, Joe Henderson and Smiley Winters. Over 20 years professional performance experience.
Mission District Branch
SIGRID L. SHEIE (2009), piano. Sigrid Sheie has been teaching and performing in the Bay Area since 2003. She earned her masters degree in piano performance from Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont, CA in 2009. In addition to teaching at the CMC, Sigrid is an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco where she teaches piano and accompanies various choirs, voice and instrumental students.
Mission District Branch
MIMIE SILVA (1969), piano. BA, San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Studied with Lillian Hodghead. Taught piano and theory at San Francisco Conservatory of Music and St. Monica’s School. Numerous local performances. Certified teacher, National Keyboard Arts Association. Also speaks French.
Mission District Branch
SARAH STILES (2009), piano. Sarah Stiles believes students are unique individuals, each with their own learning style and inherent potentiality. She has worked with ages 6-70. Her teaching approach provides structured lessons with fun, encouraging interaction, fosters development of fundamental skills, like reading, technique, and scales, and encourages expression and meaning through interpretation, imagination, and creativity. Sarah began piano lessons at age six. Training led to involvement in ongoing recitals, CM, and winning competitions organized by the MTAC. She earned District and State Membership through the National Guild of Piano Auditions. Sarah composed on the side while studying piano and earning a B.A. in music at U.C. Berkeley. Still a pianist, her focus switched to composition, and earned an M.M. in Composition from the San Francisco Conservatory, 2008. Performances of Stiles’ oeuvre include premieres with many ensembles and organizations in the Bay Area. www.SarahStiles.com
Mission and Richmond District Branch
HILARY THOMPSON (1997), piano.
Hilary Thompson received her Bachelor’s of Arts in Music from the University of California Santa Cruz. She has studied piano with Barbara Hoff and has participated in choirs, youth symphonies, recitals and competitions. With a Cal Grant awarded for academic achievement, Hilary went to UCSC and studied piano with Sylvia Jenkins.
Richmond District Branch
DAVIDE VEROTTA (2002), piano. Davide Verotta was born in a boring Italian town close to Milano and moved to the very much more exciting San Francisco in his late twenties. He studied piano at the Milano Conservatory and piano and composition in California at the San Francisco Conservatory and State University (MA in composition), and at the University of California at Davis. He is an active solo and ensemble piano recitalist, and he is actively involved in the new music performance and composition scene in the San Francisco Bay Area. Recent compositions include works for orchestra, chamber opera, dance, piano solo, and different chamber ensembles. For more information please visit his web site at www.davideverotta.com
Richmond District Branch
ZINA VON BOZZAY(2010), piano. BM Oberlin Conservatory of Music, MA Mills College (Composition). Composer, singer, pianist, music researcher, educator. Experience in early music (choral), classical music (solo, chamber, orchestral), contemporary music (classical contemporary, avante-garde, improvisation), folk musics of Eastern Europe and Latin America (particularly Hungarian folk singing, as well as Bulgarian, Turkish, Greek, Argentinian, Cuban, Mexican). Teaches at several music schools in San Francisco. Also speaks Spanish and Hungarian.
Mission District Branch
ERIK IAN WALKER (1998), composition, ear training, piano. BM, Composition, SF Conservatory of Music. Erik has been coaching students in the beginnings and finer points of improvisation for 25 years. Learning riffs, building solos, playing through changes, using your intuition. Erik performs with Music for Squares and runs his studio, WackoWorld Music. For sample piano lessons and more information, visit www.wackoworldmusic.com
Mission District Branch
JOSEPH WILLCOCKSON (2004), piano. Joseph graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2001 with a degree in Piano Performance, and has worked in the SF Bay Area ever since. He performs frequently with local ensembles, playing in the jazz, rock, musical theatre, improv, and classical genres. He has taught piano professionally for fifteen years, and is highly skilled in elementary piano instruction, childhood & adult pedagogy, and the instruction of musical theory. He has taught piano at USF and at the SF Waldorf High School.
Mission District Branch
BETTY WONG (1972), Chinese instruments, piano, Chamber Music Ensembles. BA, Mills College; MA, UCSD. Faculty: Mills College and SFSU, 1980. CDs: In Xinjiang Time (nominated for album of the year), Desert Dreams of Light. DVD: Silk Road Experience. Artistic Director: Flowing Stream Ensemble, Phoenix Spring Ensemble. Director, Pursuit of Excellence concert series, since 1990. Commissions: ACT, Oscar-winning filmmakers Light/Saraf, more. Winner, Hollywood Dramalogue award. Board member of the Junior Bach Society. Also speaks Cantonese.
Mission and Richmond District Branches
GRACE MAN-YI YU (1995), piano. Studied at Longy School of Music, Winthrop College School of Music, Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Former assistant professor at Shanghai Conservatory. Teaches privately and performs locally as an accompanist. Board member, Music Teachers’ Association of California Alameda Branch and Certificate of Merit, Chair. Also speaks Mandarin.
Mission District Branch
LILIA ZHELTOVA (2003), piano. Lilia Zheltova received her M.A. in musicology at the St. Petersburg Conservatory (Russia). She taught at the Petrozavodsk Music College, then worked as lead musicologist at the Tashkent Opera House and the Uzbek Philharmonic. Ms. Zheltova has also appeared as an Arts Commentator on TV and Radio Programs. In 1990, Lilia immigrated to the United States. Currently, Ms. Zheltova teaches piano at the Community Music Center, and at her private studio. She also appears as an accompanist for several Bay Area companies, including San Francisco State University, Marin Ballet Company, and American Conservatory Theater. She has performed in India, France, and China with the San Francisco Youth Eurhythmy Troupe. Her teaching method is based on individual approach to every student, incorporating piano technique, music theory, sight reading, and repertoire in every lesson. Ms. Zheltova is a member of MTAC and prepares students for the Certificate of Merit Exam. Also speaks Russian.
Mission and Richmond District Branches
