Teachers

ABOUT ME
Born in 1950, I am a lifelong musician; still busy learning, playing music with others, and working as Executive Director of this school to broaden and deepen our service to the people of Marin County. I earned my B.A. degree at Columbia University. I had a long career in music-related magazine and book publishing and the company I founded in 1986, Stringletter Media, is still going strong.

MUSICAL TRAINING
I studied French horn in the Yonkers, New York, public schools; guitar and banjo at several community arts schools in Manhattan; and cello privately with Kermit Moore, Colin Hampton, and Elisabeth Reed.

MUSICAL EXPERIENCE
I have performed in the College of Marin Symphony Orchestra, The Liddypudlians (Marin’s collective channel to the music of The Beatles), and The Slope, a San Anselmo neighborhood band.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT TEACHING
Teaching keeps me in the thick of all things musical, introduces me to wonderful people, lets me geek out on technique, and affirms my faith in the power of music to recreate the past, live in the present, and imagine the future.

STYLES TAUGHT
Jazz, gypsy jazz, rock, funk, blues, reggae, and free improv.

MUSICAL TRAINING
After high school I moved to Cambodia to study music for 8 months. The experience changed my life, opening my eyes to the vastness of the musical language. I studied jazz composition and performance at Berklee College of Music in Boston and the basics of Hindustani music at Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael. More than any formal training, I have learned the music I know how to play from my friends and colleagues. Writing and arranging songs with band mates, prepping for gigs, and playing them, has made up the bulk of musical knowledge. And listening, of course.

PERFORMING EXPERIENCE
I have played in dozens of bands, and as a solo artist, since I was 14 years old, primarily on guitar, and some on bass and other instruments. I love working in recording studios and arranging as well.

I have performed with Beso Negro, PSDSP, Squimi Squendrix, Beam, The Stages of Sleep, The Khmer Fusion Project, MILM, The Soulfire Project, Insoms, Great Blue Heron and many others.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT TEACHING
I love the continual process of discovery that makes music new and fascinating for both the student and myself. I love learning what I know and also what I don’t by trying to impart that to another person. I love sharing music I love with students, showing them how it works and getting their perspective, and I love creating something new with students. My favorite vehicle for teaching is co-composition; writing material with the student that feels relevant to their musical goals.

Music is magic. For real.

STYLES TAUGHT
Popular music, beginning classical

MUSICAL TRAINING
I began private piano study at age 6, had both individual and ensemble voice training, took guitar lessons from high school through adulthood, and attended songwriting workshops along with other professional training.

MUSICAL EXPERIENCE
I am a current member of Midnight North, a nationally touring five-piece band, where I am a lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition, I play and record with a variety of award winning artists locally, and formerly toured nationally with Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT TEACHING
I love to help students develop a love of learning and curiosity about music.  I believe every person has the ability to enjoy and play music, no matter what their musical background. It is rewarding to help people discover how they can access music to provide enjoyment and work toward their musical goals.

ABOUT ME
I was a public school teacher for over a decade before making a career in music. I am a certified yoga teacher and practice yoga regularly. I love animals, gardening, swimming, hiking & cooking!

LEARN MORE
elliottpeck.com

midnightnorth.com

STYLES TAUGHT
Rock, pop, blues, folk

MUSICAL TRAINING
I had private instruction in clarinet starting in 5th grade and played in the middle school orchestra. I started on guitar at age 12 and am mainly self-taught. I really learned how to play guitar by playing in bands starting in high school. Upon moving to Boston after graduating from Penn State in 1991, I learned the basics of jazz on my own.

MUSICAL ACTIVITIES
I have been performing since I was 12 years old. I am a founding member of New Monsoon, the rock, jam and world-influenced Bay Area band. New Monsoon has been together since 1997 and has toured nationally for over 10 years, performing at major festivals including Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Bonarroo, and Austin City Limits and notable venues including Red Rocks and Fillmore West. I was a regular performer at Terrapin Crossroads and currently often perform as a guest with local acts.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT TEACHING
I enjoy teaching students of various ages, skill sets, and interests. I love seeing the work I do with my students week in and week out not only improves their skills, but gives them joy and a feeling of accomplishment. No two students are alike so I try to provide each student with a personal experience. I love making long-lasting relationships with my students and am fortunate to have students who have been taking lessons with me for over 10 years.

ABOUT ME
I would like my students to know I will try and provide the tools and support to facilitate their needs and interests in guitar and music.

PERSONAL WEBSITE
jeffmiller.net

Joe Marquez has been teaching guitar for 20 years, specializing in rock, pop, and country. “I like to make lessons fun first, and I enjoy helping beginners gain the skills and confidence they need to experience the thrill of performing and composition.” 

As an artist Joe has placed songs with major label recording artists Cher and Wasp, earning gold and platinum records. His credits also include winning the John Lennon song writing contest for “Hang up Your Halo Tonight.”  

Joe studied piano, voice, and music theory at the College of Marin.

He also studied and worked as a recording engineer at Prairie Sun Recording in Cotati, where he recorded, mixed, and played banjo on the 1992 Grammy winning Tom Waits album “Bone Machine.” He has engineered projects for Greg Allman, The Doobie Brothers, Dick Dale, Guy Clark, Ted Nugent, and the Melvins among others. 

He specializes in teaching beginning and intermediate guitar and welcomes players of all ages. He is a father of two and shares his love of music with his family. 

When his daughter Madeline was 3 years old they recorded their first song together called “Bluebird of Happiness.”       

Joe also screens songs for the West Coast Songwriters Association and produces music for TV commercials and film.

STYLES TAUGHT
Classical, jazz

John Mackay wrote his first song at 3 years old, and began piano studies at age 6. He began his professional career at age 18, playing the Hammond B-3 organ in a number of venues, including television and radio. He studied composition and arranging throughout the 70’s with various well-known teachers in Toronto, where he grew up, but fundamentally considers himself a self-taught musician, through years of listening and playing experience.

As a composer John is active in a number of different fields, including jazz, contemporary classical, theatre, pop and electronic music. He is presently working on a new musical theatre piece with well-known Canadian artist/writer Oliver Girling, based on the James Joyce novel, ‘Finnegan’s Wake’. And alongside that project he has created a 7 movement piece (short movements) around the famous Molly Bloom soliloquy at the end of James Joyce’s Ulysses. Visit John’s website to hear some of his music.

Lyzy Lusterman grew up in San Anselmo. She went to Wade Thomas, White Hill, and Archie Williams, taking piano lessons and playing in bands all the while – both for school and for fun. She has a BA from Bennington College, with a focus in music history.

After living on the East Coast and in the East Bay, she is thrilled to be back in her hometown. Lyzy teaches piano lessons and fosters an encouraging environment for beginning (and returning) students to develop a strong foundation and love of music

STYLES I TEACH
Classical, ragtime, boogie-woogie, blues, rock, praise music, lead sheets, musicals.

MUSICAL TRAINING
I started playing piano at age 5 and continued my education in piano performance at Cal Poly.

MUSICAL EXPERIENCE
I’ve served as music director/pianist at the Great American Melodrama and Vaudeville Theater and pianist at Pacific Coast Performing Arts (PCPA). I have been a winner of the Monday Club and Allied Arts competitions. I composed a musical, The Barbary Coast, and I am a published arranger.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT TEACHING
I love to see my students accomplish their musical goals, whatever they may be.  I love to teach music theory as well. Playing piano, I believe is the best foundation for learning to play any other instrument.

I like to keep the lessons fun and tailored to the student. I also incorporate learning scales and theory as the student progresses.

FUN FACTS
I can play upside down and I like to play Christmas carols on water glasses with spoons, lol. Feel free to bring your dog to your lesson! I love dogs!

STYLES TAUGHT
Classical

Violist Meg Eldridge grew up in Marin County, and is an active orchestral and chamber musician, and string teacher.

Meg studied at the University of Michigan, the Manhattan School of Music, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She performs with the Marin Symphony, the Santa Rosa Symphony, Carmel Bach Festival, and Philharmonia Healdsburg. She also plays violin with the Archangeli Baroque Strings, Marin Baroque of the Marin String Quartet, which gives concerts throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Meg plays on a viola that was made by Bronek Cison in Chicago in 2007, as well as on a French viola made in Mirecourt in the late 1800’s. She also teaches violin and viola at the Marin Waldorf School and at the Branson School.

Michael Grossman began teaching violin in 1980 and has been an active symphony violinist, chamber musician, and soloist throughout. He has served as Concertmaster of the Cape Cod Symphony, the Oregon Mozart Players, and the Portland Chamber Orchestra, and as a member of the resident string quartet at Oregon State University.

In 2022, Michael received Marin Symphony’s Teacher of the Year Award. He began coaching chamber music at Marin Community Music School in 2016.

STYLES I TEACH
Classical and Jazz

MUSICAL TRAINING
I was trained at University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music, and  San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT TEACHING
I enjoy sharing my love of music and helping students discover their own creative spirit and voice on the violin.

MUSICAL EXPERIENCE
I have been a member of the California Symphony for over 25 years and I play in the Bear Valley Music Festival in the summers. I was previously a member of Sacramento Symphony, San Jose Symphony, and Victoria Symphony in Victoria, Canada. I also play in a jazz band that accompanies choral singers called The Mayflower.

ABOUT ME
I offer a well-rounded approach to drumming and drum set playing. Students will learn the four fundamental drum strokes and the 26+ standard snare drum rudiments. They will study stick control exercises and learn how to read rhythms fluently. They will also work on drum set coordination and beat building using Clavē, the rhythmic key to most folk and popular music. Students will discuss and learn the rhythmic characteristics of genres like Jazz, Rock, Funk, Afro-Cuban, Blues, 2nd Line, and Reggae, as well as classic songs that have distinctive beats all quality drummers should know.

MUSICAL TRAINING
I began drumming lessons at 11 years old with the Band Director of Harwich Middle School in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Berklee College of Music in 1994 and attended the Jazz Studies program at Rotterdam Conservatory in Holland in 1993. I also studied piano at San Francisco’s Community Music School.

CURRENTLY PERFORMING
I have performed in many different musical settings with a wide variety of musicians and composers over the past 30 years. I’ve recorded for major labels as well as independent releases. I’ve played clubs, theaters, and major festivals such as Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and Outside Lands in San Francisco.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT TEACHING
I enjoy communicating ideas and sharing my experiences with students of all ages and levels of ability. Working with beginners reminds me that the surest way to cultivate and appreciate a meaningful practice is to keep the mindset of a curious beginner. Working with more advanced students challenges me to stay current while finding roots to the tradition of drumming education. I’m at my best as a teacher when I am simultaneously an inspired student.

Fourth-generation San Francisco native and long-time Marin resident Tara Flandreau is a violinist, violist, composer/improviser, and conductor.  She graduated from College of Marin and Dominican College, earning Bachelor and Master of Music degrees, and did doctoral work at Columbia University.  Tara has an extensive career as music educator and performing musician. She was chair of the Music and Performing Arts Departments at the College of Marin for many years, where she taught music theory and composition, ear training, strings, computer music notation software,  chamber music, and conducted the COM Symphony Orchestra.  Currently, Tara teaches string lessons and chamber music classes at MCMS, and plays in the ECHO Chamber Orchestra and the Marin Symphony.

Besides classical repertoire, Tara enjoys playing a wide variety of music, from performing at the Monterey Pops Festival recreation of the entire Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper Album, to a SF concert series celebrating the 100th birthday of composer John Cage.  She has performed and recorded with many improvising orchestras and free-jazz musicians.  Among her compositions is a short opera about SF eccentric Grimes Pozikov, the “Human Jukebox” who performed songs on his trumpet in a phone-booth sized box at Fisherman’s Wharf during the 1960’s – 1980’s..  

Tara has also created an extensive music theory resource website called  www.musictheoryteacher.com which has helped music students from around the world to better understand music theory.

Tommy O’Mahony is a professional musician and educator with 15+ years of experience in playing and teaching. A Marin native and graduate of the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley with a Bachelors Degree in music, Tommy has experience teaching music theory and ear training as well as several instruments. In his instrumental lessons, he can teach specific playing techniques or just help you learn songs – on bass, guitar, piano or ukulele. Tommy welcomes students of all levels and ages.