With a full time performing career spanning two decades and experience as a Teaching Artist with San Francisco Opera and as a Voice Instructor at New England Conservatory, I come with a box of tools to help develop and highlight your strengths and to identify and correct vocal challenges. I also offer coaching in acting / character development as well as piano and general musicianship.

Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music, Jacobs Scholar
Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance - 2007-2011

I've been singing, performing, songwriting, and studying voice for 17 years. I have an Associate of Arts degree in Music & Voice/Vocal Performance, and have studied at Musician's Institute and Berklee College of Music. I work with a wide range of vocal styles, with an emphasis on rock, Americana, blues, soul, country, folk, and pop, and I also play percussion and Autoharp. Currently a gigging musician and songwriter in SF, I am in the trenches alongside many of my students, which gives me a unique perspective and empathy for the many stages of personal and career development as a musician. I have a lot of first-hand experience with the music business and what it means to manage a band and a DIY-career as an up-and-coming artist. I specialize in dealing with performance anxiety, and helping students strengthen and develop their own voice and sound by taking a creative and flexible approach to my lessons. I'm not a one-size-fits-all teacher, and I don't believe in making students...

Hey there! My name is AJ and music is my life. Whether its composing, performing, studying, teaching or just listening, I aim to fill my days with music. Nothing makes me happier than sharing my love of music with others, especially when it means helping someone discover music making for themselves. To me, music is a source of endless joy, excitement and fun and I seek to show that to all of my students.

Background - I studied jazz, classical and electronic music at UC Santa Cruz. Received a B.A. in music in 2006. I've been a professional music teacher for 10+ years, including teaching at various Bay Area music schools and acting as band director for youth rock bands. I have also been actively playing in various bands in the Bay Area for the past 10+ years.

HI! I graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Music, Science and Technology and then worked as an Audio Engineer at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford, where I recorded and produced a number of Grammy-nominated albums. I worked with amazing students and faculty, helping them utilize digital audio hardware and software for composition and research purposes.

I have been called a natural-born teacher and have taught music to everyone from elementary school students to college graduate students. I began giving guitar lessons in high school and helped put myself through college by giving guitar lessons while I was a student at Stanford.

I love teaching music and have recently taught Guitar, Digital Audio, Music Theory and Musical Acoustics at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, CA and Cogswell Polytechnical College in Sunnyvale, CA. I am currently teaching at the SAE Institute in San Francisco.

I have been playing...

My career in music began at an early age (four!) with classical piano lessons until the age of thirteen. After expanding my musical horizons in high school listening to jazz, blues and rock I attended Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA where I studied jazz & music theory with renowned jazz educator Ray Brown and jazz piano with Paul Nagle who has worked with Grammy award winning singer Bobby McFerrin among many others.
I have been performing solo and in groups since the Eighties in a variety of different genres including rock, jazz, blues, r&b, funk, reggae and everything in between! Performing with such artists as Bob Weir (Grateful Dead), Dan Hicks, David Grisman, Tommy Castro, Eric McFadden, Mark Karan & Vinyl I have appeared at most of the major venues in the Bay Area including the Warfield Theatre, the Great American Music Hall, Yoshi's SF, the Regency, Bimbo's & the Sweetwater.
My teaching experience goes back over twenty years and I relocated to Marin County in...

As a teacher my years of experience and study with a wide array of teachers has given me a unique perspective on the process of music making and how everyone can benefit from the act of music making. As a professional musician with a diverse background, I have years of performance and teaching experience to offer my students and to help them overcome any musical difficulties with ease.
Positions in professional orchestras I have held include Principal Bass with the Amedeus Operenensemble in Salzburg, Austria, Assistant Principal Bass with the Northern Symphony Orchestra (MN) and St. Peter's Chamber Orchestra (Redwood City, CA) as well as with the Boise Philharmonic. I am also an avid chamber musician, composer and improvisor, a founding member of the San Francisco Bass Quartet and the Argentine Tango group Tangonero. I have also worked as a session player at San Francisco's Hyde Street Studios and most recently collaborated with Third Eye Blind and Jherek Bischoff.
I...

I've been teaching now for 10 years and I have never had more fun with it. I love sharing the things I've learned from all of my various experiences whether it be from my classical guitar background or from one of my various rock bands.
I am a working musician and I still learn new things every time I go out to play. It could be classical music at weddings, Jazz at clubs, or Rock and Roll at rowdy venues. There's a lesson to be learned from each. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced musician the sharing of experiences to benefit another is what it's all about.

Who Am I?

I am a fabulous teacher. Really! A couple of my students have written about me in the comments section.

As a member of NATS (National Organization of Teachers of Singing), I hold my teaching skills to a high standard. No matter what kind music you like to sing, I can help you become more comfortable and have lots of fun! Maybe you want to experiment with pop, jazz or rock? Maybe you like current Broadway hits? Come visit me. Lets play with your favorites, and enjoy! My primary focus is classical, which is the foundation for all healthy singing.

Beginning Theory and Composition? I can get you started. Need to shore up your sight reading & sight singing? I can give you the tools you need.

I just directed a comic opera, The Old Maid & the Thief at my university. It's in English, so have no fear. Here is the YT link: http://youtu.be/tml9W5DJ4eM

I teach in San Francisco, and in Belmont, CA.

I love singing. It fills my life with transcendent joy as nothing...

I have a BM in Music History from Northwestern University School of Music, and an MA in Musicology from Columbia University. I have years of experience performing in orchestras and chamber groups with piano, harpsichord, recorder, and violin; performing in choruses; accompanying theater performances with piano and violin; and studying ballet in New York with the Eglevsky School of Ballet, the Martha Graham School, and at Steps. I love teaching. I have children of my own and I love working with kids. Other interests: science, research, science writing, and swimming.

I have been playing guitar since I was 10 and loving music my whole life. I have been in numerous rock bands, high-school jazz band, classical guitar duos, trios, chamber ensembles, and even played mandolin in a bluegrass band. I received my Bachelor of Music at Guilford College as a student of Kami Rowan. During my third year of study there, I was nominated for the Guilford College Art Award as the outstanding student and performer in the music department. In February of 2010, I had the honor of being a member of the guitar orchestra during a performance of Shingo Fuji’s Concierto de los Angeles, alongside soloist, Grammy winner, William Kanengiser. I recently completed my Master of Music degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music where I studied with Jason Vieaux. There I was awarded the Rosalia Ablan Memorial Prize for my accomplishments on the guitar. In addition to guitar performance, I have studied music theory, jazz theory, and pedagogy extensively. I am a native of San...

I am a passionate musician, and drums are my dialect. I have been performing for 12 years, and teaching for 7.

I came to San Francisco to study at San Francisco State University under Andrew Speight, Michael Zisman and Akira Tana. During the 4 years before I received my BA in Music Performance there, I performed over 300 gigs, shows, and concerts, spent nearly 30 days recording in studios for rock, jazz, and latin groups, became the drumline instructor of Archbishop Riordan High School, and joined the notable Fil Lorenz Orchestra - a highly professional group that takes all shapes from a jazz quartet to a full sized big band ensemble.

I've come to love teaching as well as performing probably because they both, in some way, convey the knowledge, philosophies, and skills I've gained throughout the years in either entertaining or educational contexts.