Enrico Arcaro-Guitar & Piano

Enrico’s musical ventures began as a teenager in the hardcore/Punk scene in New York City. After years spent composing for his bands, he obtained his Bachelors of Science in Music from the City University of New York, studying guitar, piano and composition. He graduated with honors, receiving the Ted McIrvine Memorial Award for Academic Excellence and the CSI Foundation Prize for Outstanding Music by Students. Continuing his education at NYU Steinhardt, Enrico obtained a Master of Music in Music Theory & Composition. There, he won NYU’s Takemitsu Project composition contest for his work Fifth Dimension which was then premiered at Merkin Hall. He went on to teach as an Adjunct Lecturer for the City University of New York, teaching Music Theory, Musicianship, Counterpoint and History, while maintaining a studio of private students in guitar, composition, and piano. As a teacher, Enrico aims to relay the wisdom gained from his diverse musical and artistic experiences. Through cultivating technique, theory, individual inspirations, and nurturing each student’s unique musical voice, he strives to instill awareness of music’s communicative power, urging his students to use their musicianship as a vehicle of self-expression.

Alvaro Carmena-Black-Brass & Piano

Alvaro Carmena-Black is a Spanish-American trumpet player who began playing trumpet at the age of seven. Since then, he has been focusing on growing his skills as both a performer and a teacher. Since moving to the United States, Alvaro has been exposed to many different teaching methods and musical styles, from the classical William Adam method to Jazz improvisation. In May 2022, Alvaro graduated from Berklee College of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Brass Performance Studies, studying. While at Berklee, Alvaro studied with great performers and educators such as Jarritt Sheel, Marcus Rojas, Angel Subero and Marquis Hill. As a music educator, Alvaro hopes to pass on his knowledge and experience to his students so they can continue to grow along their musical journey. In addition to private music lessons, Alvaro teaches an early childhood music program at a Spanish immersion school in Los Angeles. Cumulatively between private and group classes, Alvaro plans to continue to grow as a music teacher to impact students in the LA area.

Victor Carracedo-Drums

Victor A Carracedo studied at L'AULA de Jazz de Barcelona under the mentorship of Quim Sole, graduating with honors in 2011. While at L'AULA, he was awarded a scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston where he moved in 2011. At Berklee, he garnered great experience as a studio drummer, recording over 40 sessions a year. In 2012, Victor graduated with a Master of Music degree. As an instructor, Victor gives his students the tools they need to create and perform in many styles such as jazz, latin, rock, reggae, etc. Victor's ultimate goal is to share his knowledge about drums with students and see them grow as musicians.

Linden Chang-Guitar

Linden Chang has been active an active guitar teacher around East of San Gabriel Valley for over 15 years.  In addition to teaching privately, Linden holds the position as guitar instructor for group classes in partnership with L.A County enrichment programs. Linden has studied various types of guitar styles from LA area colleges that include Classical, Pop, Rock, R&B, Funk and Soul.  He also attended several Cal Poly Arts workshops and master classes in San Luis Obispo, such as with Ana Vidovic, David Leisner, and Adam Del Monte. In 2013, he was featured in the showcase of guitar videos from GSI (Guitar Salon International) under the guidance of professor Scott Morris (CSUDH). More recently, Linden has spent more time developing his pop and rock music proficiency with the completion of Professional Rock Guitar Certificate from Berklee College of Music. Through this program, Linden found a deep resonance with Funk and R&B styles of music. In his approach, Linden likes to devote special attention to beginners. With his passion toward music education, Linden brings passion and patience that aids students of all ages and levels to progress at a rate that is suitable to their proficiency.

Matthew Cook-Voice & Piano

Matthew Cook is a singer, pianist, and organist, originally from the DC area. He earned his BA in Music from Pomona College and is about to complete his Master of Music in Vocal Arts at the University of Southern California. As a singer, Matthew has extensive experience performing in choirs as well as in opera and musical theatre productions. Recent credits include the Steward in Flight with USC Opera, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, and Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music, both with Opera in the Ozarks. As a pianist and organist, Matthew regularly substitutes in churches across Southern California. Matthew hopes to instill a love of music in his students and inspire them to pursue the arts in their lives.

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Alexandra Engen-Flute

Alexandra Tseng Engen is a classically trained flutist & composer from South Pasadena, California.  Alexandra a BA for Flute Performance from the University of California, Davis. She performed extensively as the Phyllis and Thomas Farver endowed piccolo chair of UC Davis Symphony Orchestra (UCDSO). She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Davis with a double emphases in Flute Performance and Honors Composition in 2011. Alexandra went on to obtain her Master of Music (M.M.) degree in Flute Performance from New York University: Steinhardt in 2014. There, she studied under world-renowned flutist Robert Dick. After graduating in 2014, Alexandra contributed to the Youth Music Festival where NYU alumni and current students wrote compositions for local New York City youth, allowing children to experience new music and collaborate with living composers. Alexandra is a flexible and supportive instructor that likes to make music a fun experience for her students.

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Kris Feldman-Flute, Piano, Voice

Kris Feldman has been a private teacher of voice, flute, and piano for over 25 years. She is also the music teacher and children’s choir director for Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary School in Pasadena and a member of the worship team at Newhall First Presbyterian Church. Kris has her Bachelor of Music in Jazz studies with Flute Concentration from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where she studied with David N. Baker of the Smithsonian Jazz Society; Dominic Spera, Jazz Studies; Harry Houdeshel, Flute; and Eileen Farrell, Voice. The unique environment of IU allowed Kris to explore songwriting, arranging, piano, and electronic music, while maintaining traditional classical training. As a result of this diversity, Kris went on to explore the Chicago music scene, performing jazz, blues, pop, rock, and progressive sounds, as well as embarking on a career as a recording artist and vocal arranger. She also sang several commercial jingles for radio and television before moving to the LA area to raise her family and continue her performing and teaching career.

Tom Fong-Guitar, Bass Guitar, Piano, Ukulele

Tom Fong is a versatile guitarist based in Los Angeles. He is proficient in a wide range of genres, including classical, pop, rock, and jazz. Tom started learning the piano and the guitar at the age of 7 and 12. He holds grade 8 classical guitar and piano certificates from The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Tom obtained his Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance and Minor in Audio Production from Musicians Institute. While there, he was awarded the International Musicians Merit Scholarship. After graduating, Tom worked there as a teaching assistant before pursuing his Master’s Degree at the University of Southern California. At USC, he studied with maestros such as Frank Potenza, Paul Jackson Jr., Bruce Forman, and Adam Del Monte. In 2022, Tom graduated from the Studio/Jazz Guitar Performance program and got invited as a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society. Besides teaching, Tom is currently a music library composer for TV and film, and has served as a session guitarist and music director for numerous artists from Hong Kong and Taiwan when they tour in the U.S.

Jullanar Gamboa-Guitar, Bass Guitar, Piano, Ukulele

Jullanar Gamboa is a jazz vocalist in Los Angeles. She attended Berklee College of Music where she received her B.A. in Vocal Performance back in spring of 2017. Since then, she’s worked as a freelance voice teacher and performed at various venues around town that include Pasadena’s Jones Coffee Roasters. In addition to performing, Jullanar had the opportunity to co-write and sing on the revised soundtrack for the Damien Chazelle film Whiplash. As a vocal instructor, she believes in a technical approach to teaching voice, combining vocal technique exercises with the ability to encourage, empower, and help her students attain the confidence they need to be great vocalists. She brings empathy and support to her practice and believes that anyone who wants to sing can do so!

Dr. Cameron Ghahremani-Brass & Piano

Dr. Cameron Ghahremani holds a Doctoral of Musical Arts from the University of Miami, a Master's in Orchestral Trumpet Performance from McGill University, and a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music. While a member of the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, Cameron shared the stage with world-class guest artists such as Maria Schneider, Dawn Upshaw, Rafael Padron, and Ben Folds. While at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, Cameron was awarded a teaching assistantship, conducted private lessons, and coached the Frost Trumpet Ensemble who were awarded Second Place at the National Trumpet Competition in 2015. Since his arrival in Los Angeles, Cameron has performed with the San Diego Symphony, Musical Theatre West, Cupcake Theatre, the Golden State Pops Orchestra and the contemporary chamber orchestra, Kaleidoscope. Dr. Ghahremani began his musical studies first on the piano and received instruction for 13 years. He was also trained in keyboard proficiency, musicianship, and theory at the Eastman School of Music. He is an active trumpet and piano instructor for all ages and levels.

Jason Golday-Guitar, Bass Guitar, Ukulele

Jason studied Jazz and Classical Guitar at Indiana University in Bloomington, receiving his BM in Performance. He received his MFA in Jazz Guitar Performance from California Institute of the Arts. Jason has over fifteen years of public and private teaching experience including middle school, high school and conservatories. Jason is involved in several Los Angeles music projects and frequently performs in diverse venues such as The Echo and Satellite to The Santa Barbara Museum of Contemporary Art and The Hammer Museum. Along with performing, Jason composes music for commercials, short films and silent films.

Osvaldo Gonzalez-Clarinet, Oboe, Saxophone

Osvaldo U. Gonzalez is a music educator in the Greater Los Angeles area teaching clarinet, saxophone, and oboe. He has coached and instructed at Don Bosco Technical Institute, Glendale High School, Saturday Conservatory of Music, Cornerstone Music Conservatory, Can Academy, Arcadia Music, and New Life Vision Church (NLVC). In his private music educator, Osvaldo works with children and adults of all ages and various levels. His main focus when teaching is to create lessons/studies that fit the student’s level, technical ability, and musical interests to inspire them to grow as musicians. A Los Angeles native, Osvaldo received his Bachelor of Music in Music Education at California State University, Los Angeles in 2015 under the guidance of Dr. Emily Moss and his clarinet instructor, Helen Goode-Castro. Currently, he is pursuing his Master of Music at Cal-State LA for Clarinet Performance to continue developing his skills. By accomplishing his own educational aspirations, he plans to pass on his knowledge to his students with the skills he developed from his graduate studies.

Lukas Hutzler-Drums, Guitar, Ukulele, & Music Production

Lukas began playing music at the age of eight, starting with the drums but quickly after picking up the guitar as well. Growing up in Los Angeles made it easy for Lukas to be musically active in bands as he continued to play in the school jazz band and in multiple performing bands around the LA area. From 2017-2021 Lukas attended Bard College in New York's Hudson Valley where he received a degree in Jazz Guitar Performance and Jazz Composition, winning the class of 2021 Jazz Performance Award. For several years Lukas has worked as a music educator to children and adults of a wide variety of skill levels and stylistic interests. Lukas has taught private guitar/ukulele/bass/drum lessons as well as assisting the music program at Walden Elementary School in Pasadena, CA. Lukas aims to help students achieve their musical goals through the encouragement of fun, creativity and dedication as he believes all of these components are what make a great musician.

Lu Jiang-Piano

Lu Jiang earned her Master’s degree in Music Education from Mississippi College and her Bachelor’s degree in Musicology from Southwest University for Nationalities in China. Cosmopolitan, engaging, and patient, Lu teaches piano and music theory. Lu has helped many students to pass the ABRSM examinations in Music Theory and Piano Performance. Lu relies on her international experiences to enhance her teaching methods. She has ten years of experience teaching piano. She believes in working towards specific musical goals and mastering solid technique as the foundation of great musicianship.

Carol Kelleher-Piano

Carol is a classically trained pianist originally from Washington, D.C. who has been playing the piano for 16 years. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. In addition to her experience as a piano teacher she has worked as a music director, accompanist, and pit orchestra pianist. Carol believes that the best teaching environment is one where the student feels both supported and challenged. She believes students should feel excited and enthused about playing the piano, as only then will they be motivated to put in the work necessary to consistently improve..

Ryland Kelly-Piano, Guitar, Drums

Ryland Kelly is a graduate of The Juilliard School where he studied bass, piano and composition with members of the New York Philharmonic and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Nationally, he has performed at such notable venues as The Blue Note, The Highline Ballroom, Sullivan Hall, and The Kennedy Center. Over the past few years Ryland has dedicated even more of his time to teaching Bass, Guitar, Piano, Drums, Rock Band and the music production software Ableton Live. He finds the experience of working with all ages and levels very inspiring and fulfilling. Ryland also finds the process of taking a student from their first lesson to their first concert to be very rewarding.

Juhun (Sam) Kim-Cello

Juhun (Sam) Kim is a passionate and engaging cellist with over 11 years of orchestral experience. Juhun was born in South Korea. He studied Music Education and graduated from Dordt University in Iowa in 2022. As a cello instructor, he has taught in Hyundai Ulsan Youth Orchestra and Northwest Iowa Youth Symphony Orchestra. In his teaching career, Juhun has helped many students of all ages and skill levels improve their cello performance and musicality, from beginners to advanced players. His students have gone on to audition for orchestral positions in both middle school and high school. Juhun has always strived to put the student first while at the same time, upholding a standard befitting the level of music the student is trying to learn. His passion, empathy, and strong cello proficiency make him a great choice as a cello instructor.

Alicia Kuch-Violin

Alicia Kuch has over 20 years of experience playing the violin and over a decade of orchestral experience. She is Classically trained and has also studied Baroque violin. Alicia graduated from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and received her Bachelor's in Music from the University of California, Berkeley, where she was a member of the Chamber Orchestra and University Baroque Ensemble. In her teachings, Alicia emphasizes developing proper violin technique as well as developing skills in music theory and musicianship, but also hopes to impart the joy that comes from learning and playing the violin by creating a fun learning experience for her students.

Jonathan Lucas-Piano

Jonathan lucas has been playing piano since the age of seven, and teaching for the past six years in eastern Los Angeles. Jonathan is a graduate from the Interlochen Arts Academy and the University of Michigan where he studied jazz and
improvisation. Jonathan studied under the tutelage of Jeff Lavner at the Colburn School of Music in downtown Los Angeles who now serves as the chair of the piano department. Jonathan is an active performer in the Los Angeles area, playing with a variety of artists and songwriters over the last five years as well as touring around the country as a keyboardist and vocalist. Jonathan has an extensive background in classical music theory as well as jazz theory, with extensive experience in ear training and transcription of both jazz and popular music. Jonathan hopes to convey his love of music to his students by helping them experience the joy of the musical language.

Armin Mariano-Violin, Viola, Piano

Armin Mariano began studying violin at age 7 and at 12, he switched to viola because of its warm rich tone. He graduated from Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA), and decided to major in music. He was awarded a scholarship to attend Carnegie Mellon University and earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Viola Performance, and Certificate in Music Education. Armin has been an active performer and teacher since 2009 in Los Angeles and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He teaches both violin/viola and piano to students of all ages. Throughout his studies, Armin has developed a passion for teaching and individualizes lessons for each student based on their different strengths. He focuses on developing basic musical skills using fun and creative ideas.

Justyna Misiewicz-Piano

Justyna Misiewicz began studying classical piano in her home country, Poland. She later learned to play the organ and received a Master’s in Education and Church Music from Opole University. Justyna continued studying music at California State University Los Angeles, earning her second M.A. as well as California teaching credentials in music. Before moving to the L.A. area, she was an organist at a parish church on Catalina Island for five years. She has been teaching piano to young children as well as adults. Justyna is interested in early sacred music, music history, and performance practice. In 2019, she received a Ph.D. in Musicology from Claremont Graduate University. Throughout her doctoral studies, she continued lessons in piano and organ and served as a research assistant. She received the Graduate Dissertation Award from the university as well as a grant to conduct her dissertation research in Krakow, Poland. Justyna loves to share her musical interests with her students and hopes that playing the piano will stay with each student for a lifetime.

Mercedes Quintana-Violin & Viola

Mercedes Quintana holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance from the University of Colorado and a master’s degree from the DePaul University School of Music where she studied with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Mercedes is an active freelancer in the Los Angeles area and regularly performs with local symphonies. As an instructor, Mercedes is certified in the Suzuki Teaching Method but believes in a comprehensive approach to teaching music. She believes that music is fun and creative so the approach to learn it should be also.

Elva Tang-Flute and Piano

Elva is a flutist from Southern California and recent graduate of Michigan State University with a Master’s of Music in Flute Performance. In Michigan, she played with the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra and was an active member of the MSU Symphony Orchestra, Wind Symphony, and chamber ensembles. She also frequently played with the California Solisti Chamber Orchestra and performed in masterclasses for Emmanuel Pahud, Anne Zentner, Jennifer Gunn, and Hannah Hammel. She holds a Bachelor’s of Music from UC Irvine where she studied with Patricia Cloud. Elva has maintained an active private flute studio since 2016 where she prepares her students for state honor band auditions and MTAC Certificate of Merit exams. She works to foster strong flute playing fundamentals in her students and to create a positive space for students to learn and express themselves.

Sam Wardlaw-Drums & Guitar

Sam Wardlaw started taking drum lessons when he was 7 years old. He grew up in a musical family, and even as he kid he knew that music was what he wanted to spend his life doing. He attended a school for performing arts in Western Massachusetts for middle and high school. For college, he attended Berklee College of Music from 2014 to 2017, where he graduated with a BFA in Professional Music with an emphasis on drum performance and music production. He moved to Los Angeles soon after graduating, and has been teaching lessons ever since. He strives to create a learning environment in his lessons that is simultaneously fun and relaxed while also being disciplined. No student learns the same way, and every student as their own strengths and weaknesses, which is why Sam individualizes lessons for every student based on their learning style and abilities. Sam is a passionate, patient, encouraging teacher, who loves imparting his knowledge to the next generation of musicians!