Saideh Eftekhari, M.A.
​Founder, violin and piano

Saideh Eftekhari is a multi-instrumentalist (violin, setar, voice), performing and teaching artist based in San Francisco. Her work is inspired by the years she spent studying and living in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. She is trained in classical violin as well as the Persian setar and holds a certification in Sound Healing from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Since first offering lessons many years ago while in high school, Saideh delights in helping her students best express their unique musical voices as they develop their skill and confidence. Her students range in age from 4-18 and many are in local Bay Area youth orchestras and jazz and folkloric ensembles. Saideh has also established after-school group music enrichment programs at the French American International School of San Francisco  and Cielito Lindo Montessori. She is fluent in Farsi, Spanish, French, and English. 
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In addition to teaching, Saideh was awarded a 1Beat Fellowship, where she joined musicians from 17 different countries in both a residency and West Coast tour, creating collaborative, original music as a form of cultural diplomacy and educational outreach. She was also a Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Fellow and a Caldera Artist in Residence. Saideh's greatest joy is helping more children spread the love of music around the world. 

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​Hanwen W.
Advanced Piano

Hanwen began playing piano at the age of eight. She went on to attend a professional music high school and conservatory in China before graduating with a Masters Degree in Piano Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has participated in many international piano competitions and has won prizes at the International Young Pianist Competition in Asia and the 5th International Deutscher Irmer-Klavier Wettbewerb. Hanwen has also performed in many solo recitals in the US, China and Italy. In addition to performance, Hanwen enjoys imparting the beauty of music and piano playing to her students. She believes that experiencing joy when learning to play piano is the key to effective teaching.

Jillian C.​
​Piano, Voice, Ukulele

Jillian is a versatile musician and teacher, specializing in piano, voice, choirs and world music. Her inspiration comes from getting to know her students’ unique personalities and tailoring lessons to fit their diverse learning styles and needs. Jillian’s degree in Music Education from Western Washington University, as well as her 14 years of experience, have equipped her with tools and expertise to create engaging lessons for all kinds of students, including preschool and elementary children, students with special needs, advanced college students, and adult beginners. ​

A world traveler, Jillian began her career teaching music and providing music therapy in Quito, Ecuador for 7 years. She also directed a cappella choirs who traveled internationally and brought music to unconventional venues, including hospitals, children’s homes and rehabilitation centers. Though she is now based in Portland, Oregon, Jillian maintains her Ecuadorian residency and sometimes teaches her online music students from Ecuador! Jillian’s international teaching experience formed in her a deep enthusiasm for music of other cultures. When her students ask to work on world music, Jillian relishes the opportunity to dive into learning the music along with them and is diligent to continue developing her expertise through attending frequent world music workshops. Her students are currently singing music in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Farsi, Hindi, Amharic, Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Russian! Finally, Jillian’s delight is creativity and she brings an open-minded, interactive approach to all of her teaching. She plans opportunities to create music games with her students, helps them write and produce their own music, and incorporates art, movement and literature in her lessons. In music lessons with Jillian, you can expect encouraging guidance, enthusiasm for your specific goals, a commitment to excellence and a healthy dose of creativity and fun!
 

Vanity O.
Early Childhood Group Music, Piano, Musical Theatre,
​Guitar & Voice

​Vanity is a musician, performer, and teaching artist in the Bay Area specializing in musical theatre, guitar, piano and voice. She took every opportunity to infuse life experiences with music, playing the flute and piccolo in wind ensembles, singing in choirs and vocal jazz groups, and delighting in expression through dancing jazz and ballet. For the past five years, she could be seen in community theatre productions around the Bay Area. Singing has always been her favorite musical expression.

Early Childhood Education has been a devoted path for the past ten years, where she shared the love of music and performance with her preschool students. It ultimately led to her current pursuit of a second graduate degree in Music Therapy at University of the Pacific. As a helper in passion, an educator at heart, and a musician in soul, Vanity hopes to inspire growth, learning, as well as provide healing through the power of music. She believes music is a ubiquitously understood language that expresses so much more deeply than words can alone. She is eager to utilize her passion and aspirations for making music to enrich others’ lives as it has enriched her own.

Mark L.
Bass, Guitar, Piano, Ukulele, Production

Mark is a multi-instrumentalist and producer currently based in San Francisco. Born to Haitian parents and raised in South Florida, he was raised in an environment that allowed him to experiment with sounds and rhythms atypical from most households. He recently matriculated from Oberlin College and Conservatory as a Computer Science and Jazz Bass Dual Degree student. He is continuing his musical studies as a graduate student at San Francisco Conservatory of Music for Technology and Applied Composition and hopes to enter the industry to compose music for films and video games. Additionally he is the bassist, vocalist and producer for his band Kèmeztli. 

Music is such an integral part of Mark’s life, and being a multi-instrumentalist has allowed him to find new ways to express himself through different instrumental mediums. During his time in college, he spent two years as a Bonner Scholar volunteering in the Oberlin community at the local elementary school. It was there where he discovered his love for working with youth, and feeling directly connected to inspiring the minds of the next generation. Mark hopes to continue honing his skills and gain more knowledge, especially as a musician who is versed in applying his abilities in a variety of situations outside of traditional musical contexts. 

Neil A.
Trombone, Piano, AP Music Theory

​A versatile musician, Neil has been playing brass instruments for 11 years, including trombone, euphonium, and tuba. Formerly a student of the Juilliard pre-college division, Neil is currently earning a Bachelors of Music in Trombone Performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Additionally, he received high marks in the keyboard skills program at SFCM while deepening his piano practice. Neil also takes advanced level theory courses and frequently tutors his peers at all levels of theory and musicianship. As an educator, Neil is passionate about teaching brass, piano, theory, and musicianship to students of all ages, and has an encouraging yet methodical teaching style.

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