I have played and recorded with Jefferson Starship, Sly and the Family Stone, Mickey Hart, Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, The Grateful Dead, and many others. I am currently playing bass in the Mill Valley Philharmonic, and playing sax and bass free lance. I am also a composer and arranger.
Practical piano instruction geared to students musical tastes and interests. Very flexible teacher: in terms of what is taught (student's desired focus of skills) and timing (lessons to suit students practicing availability). Have taken adult students from not knowing how to read music to being able to play simple 2-handed pop pieces in 9 months (including understanding scales and chords/harmony). Only asked for 5 minutes/day ;-).
I'm a singer, and I know how it feels to be a voice student. Singing can seem so random and hard to grasp; one day everything's easy and great, and the next day nothing works. We are the instrument, and we have to build the instrument at the same time that we play it, but like golf, the harder we try, the worse it gets. Finding the balance between technical skill, energy, emotion, expression, focus and confidence is what's it's all about. I teach technique, with strong but flexible support, optimum resonance and beauty, and clear diction free of tongue and jaw tension.
Sarah Holzman performs regularly in chamber music recitals and with symphony and opera orchestras around the Bay Area and beyond. She is a regular substitute with the Berkeley, Silicon Valley, California, Stockton, Marin, Santa Cruz, and Napa Symphonies, among others. Sarah's interest in new music has also brought her to Other Minds, Stanford's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, UC Berkeley and Public Radio's Echoes. Sarah attended the Oberlin and San Francisco Conservatories; her primary teachers were Michel Debost and Tim Day.
I am interested in the structure of music and the intentions of composers and in finding ways to communicate to listeners an understanding of those elements. Practice is a means to strengthen the connection between mind and body through self-awareness. Performance is a gateway to the minds of great composers through their creations. If such things interest you, let's get to work!
A native of Atlanta, GA, Robert began studying cello at age 12.
Graduate of Rice University and San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
He has studied and performed at festivals such as Tanglewood, Spoleto,
Verbier, the Accademia Chigiana, and the Sandor Vegh Academy in Prague.
Robert won first prize in the Rome Festival Competition and has
received grants from the Maggini and Virtu Foundations. Locally, he
has performed with American Bach Soloists, New Century Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque,
and the San Francisco Symphony.
I love teaching and exploring how each individual student learns best. I think that the learning process is fascinating regardless of the level of the student. I will push you if that is what you want, but for those who have no thoughts of a career in music, I can keep it fun and an enjoyable hobby. I am proud of the fact that I have students who have stayed with me over the course of decades.
Frank Longay, classical guitarist and educator, is a founding member and chairman of both the Guitar Committee of the International Suzuki Association and the Guitar Committee for the Suzuki Association of the Americas. He has studied with Rey de la Torre and George Sakellariou.
I've lived in the East Bay since 2002 with my wife and two children. Since then I've kept a very intimate studio of cellists aged 7-65. Due to my travel schedule, I've been only able to work with a small number of students. I hope to expand the studio this year in order to stay home with my family!
Uniquely trained in education as well as music; able to utilize additional training to help with overcoming stagefright and other challenges.