Shen-Ling Chuang Piano Teacher	One aspect you'll notice immediately after meeting Shen-Ling is her sparkling eyes when she talks about teaching. It's the delight of her heart to inspire her students' love for music, and her students enjoy her creative teaching methods and good sense of humor. She has been teaching piano since 1981and holds a Masters Degree in Piano Pedagogy, the study of teaching piano, from Butler University at Indiana where she won several educational awards for her creative approach to teaching from the youngest child to college level students. While living in Indiana she also participated in the Indiana Music Teachers Association, serving as a judge for the piano adjudication of students who hoped to attain certification for their musical accomplishments. For over ten years, Shen-Ling was involved in designing and organizing courses to stimulate students to study the development of music for Families with Children from China Association. And she also implemented teaching methods for the Youth Music Group Camp of Butler University. While these diverse experiences have helped form her teaching style and philosophy, Shen-Ling believes it will continue to evolve as she experiences new students and teaching situations. She is always actively searching for innovative ideas, technologies, and methods, which have the potential to improve her skills as an educator and further develop her teaching methods to interest, motivate, and excite students. Shen-Ling is married, has two adult children and speaks both Mandarin and English. Shen-Ling teaches private piano at The Music School.
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Chantelle Urbina Adventures, Kaleidoscope, Singing Children, Entertainers	Chantelle Urbina started her musical education with violin lessons at the age of five, and eventually added lessons in piano, flute, cello, and voice. She began work at The Music School as a teaching assistant at the age of fourteen and never left! Chantelle began teaching summer classes at The Music School between college sessions. She went to the Conservatory of Music at University of the Pacific, and received a Bachelor’s of Music in Education, vocal concentration. Chantelle was the Assistant Director of The Music School for seven years, working full-time in administration and teaching. She has taught classes in every age range, from twelve months through high school students. Chantelle’s recent occupations include working with Jill Denny and her MVHS choirs, as well as being the Concert Manager for the Santa Clara Chorale. She is devoted to her husband Anthony and her son, Nakoa.
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Lisa Evans Woodwinds Teacher	Lisa Evans began teaching at the Music School in 1993. She earned her Bachelor of Music in clarinet performance and her Professional Clear Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from San Jose State University. Lisa is the clarinetist for Paul Price’s Society Orchestra which performs for vintage dances held by the Varsity Dance Club at the Masonic Lodge in Palo Alto. She plays woodwinds and sings for Encores on Wheels and the Continental Harmony Singers. Several of Lisa’s students have gone on to study music in college and play in local youth symphonies.
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Margaret Collar Flute Teacher	Margaret Collar received her degree in Music Education and Flute Performance from California State University Fullerton. She has taught group keyboard, preschool music, flute and piano at many local schools. Performances include Fullerton Civic Light Opera and Orange County repertory Theater. Margaret has taught for many years at The Music School. Her experience includes preschool classes and flute lessons. She currently teaches private flute and flute majors from our Kaleidoscope classes. Her students are known to receive high scores and honors at youth competitions and performances. Doris Harry frequently describes Margaret as “The teacher I would love to clone.” Her two children, Rober and Lauren are enthusiastic students and excellent musicians.
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Kirk Tamura Piano Teacher and Pathways Instructor Kirk started taking classical piano lessons in his youth: in high school, he started playing in the jazz band and has continued playing in jazz bands, combos and trios since then. His parents are music lovers and encouraged Kirk and his sister to play piano and other instruments.	Kirk's love for jazz comes from his parents' love of Broadway musicals, jazz singers and the jazz big bands. Kirk's love for music eventually led him to earn a BA in music from San Jose State. Currently, Kirk teaches private piano lessons and the Tuesday Pathways class at the Music School: outside of the school, he can be heard leading his trio at the Los Altos Grill on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-9: he also appears at "A Perfect Finish" in downtown San Jose once a month with his trio. Being exposed to the wonderful teachers and working with students has helped him to grow as a musician and as a teacher: these are lifelong lessons that he hopes to pass onto his students and fellow musicians. In approaching music in the jazz trio context, Kirk strives to create the sound of the big band: the Count Basie Orchestra is one of the many jazz bands that has influenced and shaped his piano style.
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Faith Bamford French Horn Teacher and Band Director	Faith received her Bachelor of Science (BS) in Music Education from the State University of New York College at Fredonia and her Clear California Teaching Credential through San Jose State. She completed further graduate study at Ithaca College, Ithaca NY. In addition to offering private lessons through her own studio, she has taught elementary and middle school instrumental music and band in Arlington Central School District, Poughkeepsie NY, Cupertino Union School District, Sunnyvale School District, and the Alum Rock Unified Elementary School District. She has been a member of The Music School Faculty since 1982 and is currently providing instrumental music lessons and directing the band at Resurrection Catholic School in Sunnyvale. She is a member of Sigma Alpha Iota (SAI), the Music Educators National Conference (MENC), and the California Music Educators Association (CMEA).
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Susan Ogren Early Childhood and Piano Teacher	A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Susan studied piano at The MacPhail School of Music in Minneapolis. Susan has always loved music: playing piano and guitar, singing in groups small and large, and composing. She has worked with autistic students teaching both music and art, and has also produced numerous musicals at local children's theaters. Susan continues to teach pre-school and Adventures classes, as well as private piano lessons for beginners to intermediate students.
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Mike Bastian Percussion and Early Childhood Teacher	Mike gets an early start with rhythm and instruments in early childhood classes…and continue the beat in private percussion lessons. Mike is an accomplished musician with performance experience in both jazz and classical music. He teaches private and small group drum lessons, Music for Young Children, Music Box, Pathways, and Young Musicians here at The Music School. Mike performs with his Pentimento Jazz group, and is featured on drums and vocals. Check out his web site for performance dates.
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Carla Carpentier Flute teacher	Carla has been a tremendous asset to The Music School Faculty. Her students enjoy her enthusiasm, good musicianship, and focus on contemporary music. Carla received her music education at San Francisco State University. She has taught general music and early childhood music in addition to group and private flute lessons. Look for her at the California Academy of Sciences where she is a docent. She is truly a Renaissance personality, and we are happy to have her as part of our faculty. Carla will have openings on Tuesday in January. 2011, and would welcome new students.
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Doris Harry Director of The Music School	Doris has been a teacher and director of The Music School since its beginnings in 1977. Doris' Bachelor and Masters of Music were earned at The College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati in Ohio. She has additional hours in the M.B.A./Arts Administration program at Golden Gate University. Doris has taught students from preschool through the university level. She has made two educational music television series and multiple recordings for children. Her published works focus on music curriculum and songs for children. She directed children's choirs for many years and still does workshops across the country.
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Anna Turkova Piano Faculty	Anna Turkova came to The Music School from Riga, Latvia. She graduated from the Odessa Conservatory of Music, and ha a master’s degree in art. She worked in Riga-Latvia as a piano teacher and Concermaster at Elgava’s Music College. Anna’s piano students demonstrate her skillful teaching by placing well in piano competitions, and they perform beautifully on our recitals. Anna teaches here at The Music School on Saturdays only, as she also works full time in San Francisco.
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James Vaughn Communications Consultant	James has been associated with The Music School since 1997 when he originated the first website for the School. He was formerly the Operations Manager for the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View during its transition into new facilities. James studied piano and organ through secondary school, and he has directed church choirs and played English handbells in the Sunnyvale area. His wife, Joyce, was a piano accompanist for The Music School for many years. He is very pleased to be associated with the School again and he looks forward to a continuing relationship with Doris, her staff, and all of the faculty members.
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Pat Isham String Faculty	Pat Isham has a music degree from Pomona College, a master's degree from Columbia University and has studied at the Dalcroze School of Music, as well as at Freiburg Hochschule fur Musik in Germany. Pat has played in numerous string ensembles including the San Jose Symphony, Mission Chamber Orchestra and Master Symphonica. In addition to The Music School, her teaching experience includes Harpur College in New York, San Jose City College and Metropolitan Adult Education. Pat has been teaching private lessons in violin for more than fifty years.
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Anne Peterson Piano Faculty	Anne Wallace Peterson can be found in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World, and Who's Who of American Women ... She attended MacPhail School of Music (for piano and voice), Minneapolis, MN, where she went on to minor in Music at the U of MN, where Rho chapter of Phi Beta (Music/Drama/Dance Fraternity) had gone, from MacPhail. From there, she went on to an MA in Music at Lone Mountain College, SF, CA. She specialized in harpsichord repertoire and 18th-Century women composers and discovered the death date for Elizabeth Gambarini while doing research in London. Groves' Dictionary of Music & Musicians now carries that date. At The Music School, she has taught Music Box, Musical Treats, Kaideoscope, and worked on the musical, Day at the Beach, before specializing in private piano lessons. Twice, she has taught summer harpsichord workshops .She especially enjoys adult students, but that is a recent discovery ... all ages are welcome!
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Mila Ovsankin Piano Faculty	Mila Ovsankin teaches private piano and early childhood classes at The Music School. She was raised in a musical family in Moscow, Russia, where her grandfather was a professional violinist at the age of 17 and her father was a performing musician, teacher and Mila’s piano teacher. Ms Ovsankin is a multi-linquist, graduated in music education at the Moscow Music College and has taught music to children for 20 years in 3 different countries.
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Robin Costa Voice Teacher	Soprano, Robin Costa, has been singing and teaching private voice lessons, group classes, and choir throughout the Bay Area since completing her masters degree in 2005. She has sung as a member of the Opera San José chorus from the fall of 2004 through the beginning of the 2009-2010 season. During OSJ’s 2010-2011 season, she has performed various roles in the Hansel and Gretel outreach program, bringing opera to schools throughout the bay area. She also had the opportunity to sing in the San Francisco Festival Chorale for the 2009 Grand Teton Music Festival, under the baton of Donald Runnicles. In addition, Ms. Costa maintains an active role on the concert stage, having performed Nadia Boulanger’s Les Heures Claires for the CSUEB Musica Delle Donne series and the soprano solos in the Messiah for the Ohlone Chamber Orchestra. Roles performed include: Gretel in Hansel and Gretel for Townsend Opera, The Sandman and Dewfairy in Hansel and Gretel with OSJ, Susanna Walcott in OSJ’s production of The Crucible, the Josephine cover in HMS Pinafore with Lamplighters Music Theatre, and several roles in Goat Hall’s production of Dioclesian in 2009. Other roles portrayed are Mariane in Tartuffe, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte. In 2005, miss Costa had the honor of singing as one of seven finalists in the Stewart Brady Competition and was given encouragement by Carol Castel of the New York Opera Studio. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Master of Arts degree in music from San José State University. Currently, Robin Costa sings with a volunteer group of musicians, which brings music to senior centers and is working on a solo recital. She is also attending San Francisco State University, pursuing her master’s degree in speech-language pathology to further expand her knowledge of the voice. Ms. Costa has been teaching at The Music School since January of 2006. Robin teaches voice students at the Music School.
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Yu-Fang Chang Cello Teacher	The Music School is very pleased to announce that Dr. Yu-Fang Chang has joined the string faculty and will be teaching private and small group cello lessons. Dr.Chang received her Doctor of Musical Arts from Boston University and has extensive performing and teaching experience. For more information or to register for cello with Dr. Chang, please call 408-739-9248 or visit www.themusicschool.org.
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Megan Shieh Percussion Teacher	Megan Shieh is an active freelance percussionist residing in the SF Bay Area, equally devoted to the study, teaching and performance of Western Classical and Afro-Caribbean percussion. She received her M.M. in percussion performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music and her B.A. in Music from UC Davis. Megan performed at PASIC 2009’s Focus Day with the UW-Madison Graduate Percussion Group; she also spent three months at the Toho Gakuen Conservatory of Music in Tokyo as an audit student of marimbist Keiko Abe. Locally, Megan has performed with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Silicon Valley Symphony, Grupo Samba Rio, Maracatu Luta, and SambAsia SF. Megan has experience teaching private and group percussion and piano lessons and has coached percussion ensembles from the elementary to university level. She gives private percussion lessons here at The Music School and welcomes students of all ages.
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Karin Fuji Early Childhood Teacher	Karin started taking piano lessons when she was 5 years old and has been involved with music ever since! In elementary school she began playing the flute and played in numerous school concerts through high school. She also participated in the high school marching band and was the student conductor. Karin loves to sing and has been a member of many choirs. While she was in college, she was a member of an A Cappella group – and became the group’s music director after only one year. While attending high school, Karin started her career as a teaching assistant here at The Music School. Upon her college graduation, Karin was excited to be able to return as a teacher in our Early Childhood program.
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Hien Tran Violin Teacher	Hien graduated in 1962 from the Conservatory of Music in Saigon, Viet Nam. From 1962 until he came to the United States, Hien held many position from teacher to Director at the Conservatory of Music in Saigon and the Conservatory of Music in Hue, Central Viet Nam. After arriving in the United States in 1982, he founded the Saigon Chamber Ensemble in San Jose. Hien has been a violin teacher here at The Music School since 1990. He teaches both private violin lessons and our violin major students enrolled in our Adventures and Kaleidoscope classes.
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Donald Dillard Piano Teacher	DONALD E. DILLARD was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and received his early education in the Philadelphia Public Schools. His early music training included study at the Settlement Music School with concert pianist, Charles Engel. Upon graduation from high school he was awarded a full Philadelphia Board of Education scholarship to West Chester University, West Chester, PA, where he was a piano and voice major. His graduate studies were done at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Princeton, NJ, where he studied organ with Robert Carwithen and Eugene Roan, group vocal techniques with Daniel Pratt and Frauke Hassemann, and advanced conducting with Joseph Flummerfelt. Mr. Dillard has received the Choir Master and Associate certificates from the American Guild of Organists, was voted a member of the Philadelphia Legion of Honor by the Chapel of Four Chaplains, and received the W. Russell Johnson Music Award and an honorary Doctor of Music from the National Association of Negro Musicians for his various contributions to music. He is an active composer of over 100 works for orchestra, chorus, instruments, piano, organ and voice, including three fully scored cantatas and two oratorios for soloists, chorus and orchestra, as well as a concerto for violin and orchestra, three song cycles for solo voice and orchestra, a symphonic poem, and other orchestral works. His music has been performed throughout the United States, South America, Japan, and in Europe. His oratorio, A Church of One Book, was commissioned by the North Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church in America, and was premiered at Elliot Hall of Music, Purdue University in 1984 as a dramatic setting for soloists, chorus and orchestra, with the composer conducting. Other works for chorus have been performed extensively by the West Chester University Concert Choir, Lois Williams, conductor; the Morgan State University Concert Choir, the late Dr. Nathan Carter, director; the Gettysburg Choir and Harrisburg Singers, Kermit Finstad, director; and the Mendelssohn Club Choir of Philadelphia, Alan Harler, director. His piano solo works have been performed internationally by the late concert pianist Richard Fields. Orchestral works have been performed by the Detroit Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Delaware County Symphony and the Orchestra Society of Philadelphia. Mr. Dillard has been a teacher of music on all levels, including positions as Instructor of Music Theory, Aural Activities and Music Appreciation at West Chester University and at the Academy College of the New Church and Secondary Schools, Bryn Athyn, PA, as well as choral director at Villanova University. Mr. Dillard is married to pianist Yoko Nagashima-Dillard.
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