Meet our talented staff members!
Piano
Sylvia Zhou is a distinguished pianist and piano teacher. She began learning piano at the age of 5 and continued her professional studies at the Tianjin Conservatory of Music Middle School at 12. During this period, Sylvia participated in various concerts and competitions, earning many awards.
She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts and a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Michigan State University, where she studied under Dr. Derek Polischuk. Currently, Sylvia is pursuing a Doctoral degree in Piano Performance at Claremont Graduate University, studying under Dr. Jenny Soonjin Kim.
With rich performance experience, Sylvia has played in various venues across Europe, Asia, and North America. She brings nearly a decade of teaching experience to her students and has participated in numerous pedagogy forums. During her time at Michigan State University, she served as a piano instructor for both secondary piano group classes and private lessons. Beyond the academic environment, Sylvia is skilled in teaching students of all ages and levels, making her a versatile and experienced educator in the field of piano.
Piano
Emily Wu : Dedicated piano instructor with 15 years of teaching experience and a Master’s degree in Music Education. Skilled in preparing students for competitions and assessments, fostering a love for music, and tailoring lessons to individual needs. Active member of MTAC (Music Teachers’ Association of California).
Theresa Moon : Theresa Moon is an accomplished pianist and music educator with a strong background in performance and teaching. She earned her Bachelor of Music Performance in Piano from the University of Central Oklahoma and has completed coursework toward a Master of Arts in Music Performance at the same institution. Her teaching career spans various roles, including her current positions at Music ‘n Smart, where she teaches piano to students of all ages. She also serves as a collaborative pianist for local choirs. Additionally, she has maintained a private piano studio, providing personalized instruction, preparing students for recitals and competitions, and managing all aspects of studio operations. Theresa has extensive experience working with diverse age groups, from young children to senior citizens, and excels in guiding her students toward excellence in piano performance. Her previous roles include serving as a piano instructor in the Music Preparatory Division at Stephen F. Austin State University, where she prepared students for various festivals and events. Beyond her musical expertise, Theresa is fluent in Chinese, Taiwanese, and English, making her a versatile educator and communicator. Her dedication to fostering musical growth is complemented by her strong organizational skills, financial management, and cross-cultural communication abilities.
Guitar and Ukulele
Bachelor of Arts in Commercial Music Performance – Cal Poly Pomona
Pomona Unified School District Music Enrichment Instructor since 2012
12 years of experience in Musical Instruction
Jess Navarette began teaching guitar in 2006 while still a student, and has since flourished into a professional educator – working with music studios, school districts, and giving many private lessons. In 2011 he graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a B.A in Commercial Music Performance, having primary studied on guitar. Jess is a well-rounded instrumentalist, often filling various roles in ensembles such as bass guitar and percussion. Jess has taught students of all ages and levels, including adults, and has prepared countless students for performances and recitals. Jess primarily teaches guitar, ukulele, and drum set, and has many years of classroom teaching experience as well.
Karen Carvalho
Cello
Brazilian cellist from the state of Amazonas, began cello studies at the Liceu of Arts and Crafts Claudio Santoro under the guidance of Belarusian professor Anton Minenkov.
As a guest cellist, she joined the Amazonas chamber orchestra, Amazonas Philharmonic Experimental Orchestra, Los Angeles Sinfonietta. She was performing on important stages in the music scene such as Amazon Theater , Zipper Hall, Royce Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall.
In Los Angeles, he made studio recordings for TV series such as Amazon Prime in the series “Cross” and Netflix with the film “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F”.
She participated in many music festivals as Gramado in Concert (Brazil), Festival de Música do Amazonas (Brazil), Cello Mastery Course (New York), Cellistko Cellist Festival (Puerto Rico), Arianna Chamber Music Festival (Missouri), among others.
Currently she is member of California Artist Symphony and part of the Master Cello Perfomance program from the studio of Dr. Marek Szpakiewicz at Azusa Pacific University.
Piano
Bachelor’s Degree in Music Composition, Massey University, New Zealand
An accomplished pianist, accompanist and highly experienced piano teacher for private and group classes which includes piano performance and music composition for gifted children. She has 30 years of successful teaching experience with children and adults, ages 3 to 70, onsite and online, for examination achievement, recitals and personal learning pleasure. She has taught at Yamaha Music School in Singapore and performed at their teachers concert and selected for “Intensive Up-Grading Seminar” program led by Yamaha Music Foundation, Japan.
Her aim is to help students unlock the meaning and message of any piece of music, approaching each lesson fully committed to spark a student’s imagination and musical understanding. She equips students with the practical skills of lead sheet reading, accompaniment styles, transposition and improvisation so they can take their creativity and love of music in many directions, helping students become problem solvers and independent learners, as they find their own artistic voices. She has received extensive training in children group classes that include solfege singing, rhythmic activities, ear training and keyboard repertoire. She strives to make every lesson fun and inspiring as she strongly believes in building good and positive fundamental learning in every child. She also provides training for group classes teachers.
She serves actively as a church pianist and choir director and performs for many events. Her musician quote,
“When you play a piece of music again, play it differently”.
Violin
Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance from the China
Conservatory of Music in Beijing
Master degree of Violin Performance from Cal State LA
Artist Diploma at Azusa Pacific University
Yue won the Excellence Award in the 2012
International Strings Competition in Hong Kong. Since 2016, he has studied with
professor Suli Xue, a violinist of the LA Phil and a violin professor at USC Thornton
School of Music. He earned master degree of violin performance from Cal State LA in
Currently, he is studying for Artist Diploma at Azusa Pacific University. Yue won
the second prize of the 2019 Young Artists Competition in California.
Saxophone – Flute – Clarinet
For the last five years now I have been teaching saxophone, flute and clarinet. My studies are from Citrus College with hopes of continuing my music education degree through higher studies. I have taught students from all ages and have been lucky enough to travel to Europe and go on tour in the states and have done performances with artists such as Wayne Bergeron, Jay Jennings, Bob Sheppard and Veronica Swift.
Piano
Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in piano performance from Federal University of Paraíba
Artist Certificate from Azusa Pacific University
Born in Brazil, Thaissa Santiago began playing the piano at age seven under the guidance of professor Norma Romano and since then, she has been participating in orchestras, music festivals and playing as a chamber musician and accompanist. With local Brazilian youth orchestras she has performed in Argentina, the United States and some Brazilian cities and, for ten years, she was a member of the Municipal Chamber Orchestra of João Pessoa. From 2008 to 2010, she worked as a substitute piano teacher at the Federal University of Paraíba and in 2009 she was approved as a piano teacher at the Music Conservatory of Pernambuco. Thaissa holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in piano performance from Federal University of Paraíba under the orientation of Dr. José Henrique Martins and an Artist Certificate from Azusa Pacific University from the studio of Dr. Joel Clifft. She is currently a student of Dr. Elvin Rodriguez at La Sierra University, where she was one of the winners of the All Stars Concerto Competition in 2019. For three years she served as the accompanist of the Covenant Choir at Grace Church of Glendora and she is currently a piano teacher at the Azusa Conservatory of Music, Music-N-Smart.
Woodwind and Brass
David Flores studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (BM ’05) where he was awarded the Dean’s talent award for exceptional solo performance and the Margaret Jones scholarship for academic excellence. David completed his graduate studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music (MM ’09). Studying closely with the members of the Cleveland orchestra helped David to achieve first prize in the 14th annual Darius Milhaud Performance Competition.
David has held positions with Opera Circle Cleveland, the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra in Ohio, and the Beck Center for the Arts performing on flute, saxophone, and clarinet in pit orchestras.
Music has given David the opportunity to perform in many prestigious concert venues in the United States and Europe. Including the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Severance Hall, the Theater of Champs Elysees in Paris; Saint Francis Basilica in Assisi, Italy; at Saint Angelo Castle in Rome; and at the International Music Festival in Meiringen, Switzerland.
David Flores is a committed proactive music teacher with the appropriate resources and experience required for efficient and effective learning. Mr. Flores currently teaches music theory and instrumental instruction classes in the greater Los Angeles area and distance learning music classes online. David Flores is an active member of the Music Teachers’ Association of California and is certificated by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
GRIBLAS LIZAMA
Griblas, a Brazilian-Chilean cellist, began his cello studies in 2005 at the age of 14 at the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios Cláudio Santoro, in his hometown of Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas. He started taking lessons with the Belarusian professor Anton Minenkov, completing the course in 2013. In the same year, he was accepted after auditioning for the Amazon Philharmonic Orchestra, the principal orchestra of the renowned Teatro Amazonas, home to the famous Amazonas Opera Festival and one of the most active orchestras in Brazil. Griblas was the first unative of Manaus to join the cello section, which until then had been composed exclusively of Russian, Italian, Bulgarian, and Belarusian musicians.
He served as Principal Cellist of the Experimental Orchestra of the Amazonas Philharmonic, Assistant Principal Cellist of the Amazonas Chamber Orchestra, and Cello Tutti in the Amazonas Philharmonic. He has also performed with various other orchestras, including the Mariuccia Iacovino Symphony Orchestra (RJ) and the California Artist Symphony, with numerous performances in Brazil, Argentina, and the United States.
He holds a degree in Music from Claretiano University and completed an Artist Certificate program under the guidance of the renowned cellist Dr. Marek Szpakiewicz at Azusa Pacific University in California.