Adult

Born, raised and trained in NYC, I continued my piano studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music after having graduated the NYC HS of Performing Arts and obtaining a Master's at NYU. I teach students in my El Cerrito, CA studio, of all levels, and of various ages, and emphasize the singing tone dimension of piano playing, sculpting phrases, relaxing the muscles and keeping a flexible wrist. I include theory in lessons and believe in the importance of learning scales, arpeggios in all keys as they follow the Circle of Fifths.

I truly love teaching. I enjoy watching my students develop into music lovers and achieve competency on their instruments.

My strengths are an abundance of patience, and an ability to work with all learning styles. As such, while I teach students of all ages I am particularly well suited to teaching the very young beginner. I use many of the techniques that I learned in my Suzuki teacher training while incorporating notation reading that I consider to be important. Piano lends itself so well to notation reading that I do not use the Suzuki method.

Poppea Dorsam received the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from Boston University where she studied with Michael Reynolds and George Neikurg and was a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society. Undergraduate studies were completed at Oberlin Conservatory under Andor Toth Jr.

Music has always been a big part of my life with both teaching and performing. I enjoy conveying my musical knowledge to those that are eager to learn, for self-enrichment or with a professional goal in mind.

Dietrich Erbelding first concertized with the Heidelberg Symphony at age seven. He toured Europe and the Middle East as a concert pianist and accompanist for five years.

I enjoy teaching students of all ages and ability levels, provided that they are highly motivated to make progress. I have had success with starting kids out on bassoon, teaching on the high school and college levels, and I am in demand by professionals for pre-audition coaching. I have given master classes throughout the world.

My teaching is a rigorous mix of objective (technical), and subjective (musical). I have put much thought into how to express sometimes illusive ideas in specific terms.

India Cooke, violinist, composer and educator, plays a wide range of music from classical to jazz. India has performed in San Francisco Bay Area symphony and opera orchestras, chamber ensembles, and Broadway shows. As one of California's most respected contract artists, she has performed as featured soloist with Joe Williams and the Louie Bellson Orchestra, and has played with Sarah Vaughn, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra and many others. Her continuing jazz and improvisation experiences include performances with Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, Pauline Oliveros and many others.

Tyler Lewis, Violinist, received his B.A. from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music while under the instruction of Bettina Mussumeli. Previous instructors include Nathan Rubin, Concert Master of Oakland East Bay Symphony, and Eric Hansen, professor at Cal State Hayward. Specializing in Baroque and Modern music, Tyler has appeared in groups such as Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, Santa Rosa Symphony, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, and has performed at Festival De Sole in the Napa Valley and St. Paul's International Chamber Music Festival.

I've been teaching in the Bay Area since 1972 and maintain a studio in North Berkeley close to the North Berkeley BART station. My class includes school-age children at all levels and committed adults, both avocational and professional. I hold monthly performance workshops for my school-age students and bimonthly gatherings for my adults. I am familiar with the Taubman technical approach and the Suzuki method and repertoire, although I am not a Suzuki teacher per se. My approach with young children is both rigorous and fun.

I have been living in the Bay Area since 2000. I perform with local opera companies, chamber orchestras, and festivals, and collaborate with Bay Area composers in premiering new works.

As a member of the Pacific Mozart Ensemble, I have collaborated with music legends Meredith Monk, Dave Brubeck, and Bobby McFerrin, and am a founding member of Opera Frontier, an innovative song and dance troupe that pushes the boundaries and challenges the stereo-types of opera.