High School

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!

I am a cellist and a cello teacher, performing frequently with the Oakland Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet, the New Century Chamber Orchestra, in San Francisco productions of Broadway musicals, and on tour with singer/songwriter Van Morrison.