I am the past president of Contra Costa County, Performing Arts Society (Contra Costa) and the Berkeley Piano Club. As a member of Alameda County, I currently serve as a director, on the Maria Homen Memorial Library Committee and on the Investment Committee.
I perform on a regular basis as part of the Oak Hill Trio with Alice Lasky, vioin and Lin Barron, cello. I have also concertized for many years with Nancy Rude as a duo-pianist.
Charlene enjoys teaching motivated students of all ages & abilities. Although specializing in early keyboards, she has kept an active private piano studio in the Bay Area & she has developed an Music History course that is integrated into the Berkeley Crowden School curriculum.
I am strict, but gentle. Everybody's abilities are different, hand size, coordination, speed of learning, memory, etc...I work with adult beginners as well as with children and I do my best to adjust to a student's particular personality and aptitude. I favor quality over quantity and I recognize that in an effort to attain a goal, each student will work at their own pace. As long as the desire to improve and to learn are present, I believe one can make progress with proper teaching. I have sent several students to the Certificate of Merit program, always with success.
I studied classical piano since the age of 4, and chose to expand my knowledge by working towards a Music Minor in piano performance in college. My decision to pursue teaching came years later, after a Master's degree and career in Marine Ecology proved unfruitful, and I haven't looked back. Teaching has deepened my understanding and appreciation of the art of playing the piano immeasurably, and I love working with my students one-on-one, whatever the age, level, or background may be.
I have specialized in the art of teaching for over 40 years, offering individual lessons to children and adults at all levels. I use my extensive teaching skills to inspire students to play to the best of their abilities, allowing the artists within to emerge and grow. Lessons and workshops are held in my warm, inviting El Cerrito studio, where students thrive under my personal interest and tutelage. I am considered an expert in teaching music-reading skills, and have lectured and given master classes at the World Piano Pedagogy Conferences.
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.
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.
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.