Singer, flutist, conductor and producer Martha Rodríguez-Salazar has been bringing Latin American folk, classical and contemporary music to the Bay Area for more than 20 years.
For her outstanding leadership in promoting and developing Mexican music and culture in the Bay Area Martha was recognized as a "Luminary" in 2011 by the Mexican Consulate in SF and as "Excelencia Latina" by LAM and Mundo Fox in 2013.
I have been teaching in public and private schools and in private studio for the past 20 years. I worked as the woodwind coach and guest conductor with the Peninsula Youth Orchestra from 2004-2010, am a guest conductor at the Cazadero Music Camp, and have worked at many other music programs and festivals as conductor and educator. I am the Music Director of the Oakland Municipal Band and direct the Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble at Aragon High School in San Mateo.
When I was a student, I worked with many great French flutists, not only Jean-Pierre Rampal at the Paris Conservatory. I studied with Michel Debost (Principal Flute at the Orchestre de Paris), Alain Marion (P. F. at l'Orchestre national), Gaston Crunelle (P. F. at l'Opera Comique), and Marcel Moyse (P. F. of l'Opera de Paris). I teach the French School of Flute Playing as I learned it from these masters. For exercises, I use the studies by Taffanel and Gaubert.
Dedicated to my private students ranging in age from 8 to 85 years old, they include flute students aspiring to be professional performers and adult or young players enthusiastically loving every new song they learn. I equally enjoy working with reed players honking out their first notes, piano players discovering new patterns, and elementary students excited to practice pieces for their school band.
ONDINE YOUNG (violin/viola) is currently teaching at Crowden/CCMC, St. David's, Tehiyah, and other local schools, and has recently been choir director, chamber-music coach and musicianship instructor at the Crowden School of Music and a conductor for the San Francisco Boys' Chorus. Previously, she headed the choral program at the University of San Diego. Ondine completed a doctoral degree at the University of Southern California, studying Choral Conducting and Early Music Performance.
I have played and taught clarinet in the Bay Area since 1974. I actively perform in chamber concerts and recitals. I teach piano at Ohlone College. I enjoy working with students. I have no method, but I try to determine the talents and needs of each individual and to address them.
I have played and recorded with Jefferson Starship, Sly and the Family Stone, Mickey Hart, Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, The Grateful Dead, and many others. I am currently playing bass in the Mill Valley Philharmonic, and playing sax and bass free lance. I am also a composer and arranger.
Sarah Holzman performs regularly in chamber music recitals and with symphony and opera orchestras around the Bay Area and beyond. She is a regular substitute with the Berkeley, Silicon Valley, California, Stockton, Marin, Santa Cruz, and Napa Symphonies, among others. Sarah's interest in new music has also brought her to Other Minds, Stanford's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, UC Berkeley and Public Radio's Echoes. Sarah attended the Oberlin and San Francisco Conservatories; her primary teachers were Michel Debost and Tim Day.
I love teaching and exploring how each individual student learns best. I think that the learning process is fascinating regardless of the level of the student. I will push you if that is what you want, but for those who have no thoughts of a career in music, I can keep it fun and an enjoyable hobby. I am proud of the fact that I have students who have stayed with me over the course of decades.
I switched from Trumpet to Saxophone major in college and went from not knowing how to put a sax together to playing professionally in St. Louis in 5 years. So, I really focus on the students goals and try to make it happen sooner rather than later. I also bring the real world of gigging and playing in public to my students. They learn how to play the tools to perform at a high level but I also show how to prepare for and get gigs. I teach Soprano, Alto and Tenor saxophones both classically and jazz instruction.