Adult

Bios of our teachers www.stepupmusicvallejo.com

I am a Marin County native currently residing in Santa Rosa. A 2002 semi-finalist of the Pacific Piano Competition for California Community College Pianists and a recipient of the Carolyn D. Witt Memorial Music Department Scholarship, I transferred to Sonoma State University where I studied general music and gave a senior piano recital in 2006.

MARK TUNING is Music Director of Voices of Musica Sacra and at Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church. He served as Assistant Director for the San Francisco City Chorus for seven years and on the music faculty of the Conservatory of Vocal and Instrumental Arts, a public K-8 charter school in Oakland. He sings tenor with Les Hommes, a men’s ensemble consisting of choral professionals.

Full bio and statement available at Community School of Music and Arts (www.arts4all.org). I have taught piano, accompanying, chamber music, theory, history, and been active as recitalist, chamber musician and conductor for 45 years. I supervised the development of all curriculum at CSMA from 1985-2010. I teach beginning through professional levels, using ABRSM syllabus as an excellent guide to standards and milestones.

I sing like I mean it every day of my life. I want to teach that ability to everyone who wants it. I teach primarily in a classical method, but with a style tailored for each student. The art of singing is intangible because it is reliant on the individual. What works for one student will not necessarily work for the next, so I teach to the needs, abilities, and desires of each person. I have been teaching privately since 2000 in the Humboldt region and in the Bay Area since 2005. I am currently accepting new students, and look forward to hearing from you!

I am a cellist and a cello teacher, performing frequently with the Oakland Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet, the New Century Chamber Orchestra, in San Francisco productions of Broadway musicals, and on tour with singer/songwriter Van Morrison.

Using a curriculum ranging from the baroque/early classical era and fiddle tunes for beginners to a more advanced and diverse repertoire for intermediate and advanced students, I aim to give each student a solid foundation on the violin or viola. This prepares my students to be able to read music and to play by ear and take the violin in whatever direction they choose later on. Using a combination of scales, exercises, rhythm games, I teach my students how to be comfortable and facile on their instruments and to be over all well rounded musicians.

I am a freelance violist and experienced teacher in the bay area. I offer lessons at my home in Alameda and in Mountain View. I am principal violist for the Susanville Symphony and I often play with many groups in the bay area- including Berkeley, Monterey, Sacramento, Modesto and Merced Symphonies.
I received my BM from the San Francisco Conservatory, working with Jodi Levitz and my MM from the University of Nevada-Reno as a graduate teaching assistant to Stephanie Sant'Ambrogio.

Acclaimed by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as "a commanding solo player, the most
supportive of accompanists, and a leader in chamber music," pianist Jeffrey Sykes has
performed across four continents and collaborates regularly with leading instrumentalists
and singers. Last fall he gave a recital on Chicago’s prestigious Dame Myra Hess concert
series, and he recently returned from a tour of France that culminated in performances of
French solo and chamber music at the Musée des Impressionismes in Giverny, home of
Claude Monet.

A Bay Area native, Nicola Gruen performed for several years as a violinist in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and freelanced with the Halle Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony and English National Ballet. She is recorded on numerous film soundtracks, including "Moulin Rouge," and she played regularly in the award winning musical "Martin Guerre." An alumna of The Crowden School, Nicola's mentors have been Anne Crowden, Colin Hampton, Virginia Baker and Emanuel Hurwitz.