Little Opera is a comprehensive nine-month after-school program that challenges the assumption that opera is not for everyone. We bring together elementary aged students in grades 1-6 and professional Bay Area artists to create, rehearse, and perform an original opera.
Choristers are a small group of boys age 8 to 13 selected by audition. Choristers receive intensive, personalized vocal instruction with an emphasis on individual responsibility, leadership, camaraderie, and the joy of making music.
For boys interested in singing with our group who may not be ready for the Choristers program, we offer a preparatory class focused on ensemble singing and fundamentals of musicianship, vocal technique, and theory.
Michael Goldberg has extensive experience teaching both classical and jazz guitar. He currently teaches at U.C. Berkeley and U.C. Davis, and maintains a private teaching practice in Berkeley. Mr. Goldberg has recorded on the Arabesque and Kameleon labels. He has toured throughout the United States as part of the Alma Duo, an ensemble of violin/viola and guitar, and is also a member of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, a group devoted to contemporary music performance. Mr.
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