Faculty Members

Dr. Alex Kahn

Chamber Strings

Alex Kahn

Dr. Kahn comes to Sonoma County from Gettysburg College, where he was Associate Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Activities at the Sunderman Conservatory of Music. Previous university-level orchestras with whom Alexander has worked include the UC Berkeley Chamber Orchestra (Founder and Music Director) and the UC Berkeley Symphony (Assistant Conductor).

In addition to being Director of Orchestral Activities at Sonoma State Univeristy, Dr. Kahn has worked with professional orchestras across the United States and throughout Europe. He is the Founder and Music Director of the Metta Ensemble, a professional chamber orchestra based in Gettysburg, PA. He has also served as Cover Conductor for the Baltimore Symphony and as a Staff Conductor for the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC. Recent guest conducting engagements have included the HUB Opera Ensemble, the Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra in Bulgaria, the Latoshinsky Orchestra in Kiev, Ukraine, and the Salzburg Soloists of Salzburg, Austria. Between 2007 and 2008, Dr. Kahn served as Assistant Conductor of the Bamberg Symphony in Bamberg, Germany. While in Bamberg he was also Music Director of the Bamberg Collegium Musicum and Guest Conductor of the Bamberg Universität Orchester.

Dr. Kahn earned a PhD in Music History from UC Berkeley and remains active as a scholar. His dissertation entitled “Double Lives: Exile Composers in Los Angeles” focused on the community of European exiles who fled to Los Angeles during the Third Reich. He has lectured and published on this topic and other issues related to World-War II-era music history, and has also published on a variety of topics including film music and the history of amateur music-making in America.

Dr. Kahn’s love of music was inherited from his father, Eugene Kahn, a conductor and educator on Long Island. His primary conducting studies were at UC Berkeley with David Milnes and at the Peabody Institute with Marin Alsop, Gustav Meier and Markand Thakar. He has also participated in workshops with teachers including Larry Rachleff, Kenneth Kiesler, Daniel Lewis and Peter Gülke.  

When not conducting, Dr. Kahn enjoys cooking, hiking, reading, and travelling, and spending time with his wonderful wife and daughter.

Jeannette Isenberg

Violin Workshops, Intermezzo String Orchestra

Ms. Isenberg holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and divides her time between teaching and performance. She has diverse musical talents: she plays violin with the Santa Rosa Symphony, classical chamber ensembles, jazz combos and country swing bands.

Mateo Dillaway

Percussion Ensemble and Rhythm Workshops

We are happy to have Mateo Dillaway return to teach Rhythm Workshops at Summer Music Academy!

Carolyn Balfe

Violin Workshops and Choir

We are excited for Carolyn Balfe to be joining the Summer Music Academy faculty for 2017!

Daniel Gianola-Norris

Brass Workshop, Music FUNdamentals

Mr. Gianola-Norris has a Master's degree in music from the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He regularly performs with the Santa Rosa Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Napa Valley Symphony, Santa Cruz County Symphony and the Midsummer Mozart Festival. Daniel is an instructor at "Music to My Ears," a music education center located in Cotati.

Quinn Dizon

Composition and Conducting

Mr. Dizon is a composer, conductor and clarinetist from Santa Rosa, CA. He holds a Bachelors in Music Theory and Composition from the College of Wooster, and both a Masters of Music in Composition and a Masters of Music in Conducting from the University of Louisville. Mr. Dizon has worked professionally as a conductor and music educator and has completed several composition commissions for a wide range of ensembles and occasions. He currently lives outside Washington, D.C., where he is pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Composition at the University of Maryland College Park. 
 

Ivy Zenobi

Violin Workshops

Ms. Zenobi received her Bachelor in Music from the University of Colorado at Boulder in violin performance and a Masters in viola performance from the University of Toronto, Canada. She has performed in the Aspen Music Festival and School & the Banff Center for the Arts. Ivy performs regularly with Santa Rosa Symphony as well as other Bay Area Orchestras and rock bands on both violin and viola. Ms. Zenobi became Suzuki Certified under the tutelage of Dr. William Starr and most recently was chosen to attend the Starling-Delay Violin Symposium held at The Juilliard School. Ivy has a private studio of over 35 students and teaches a strings ensemble (String Beans) at Sonoma Academy.
 

Karen Zimmerman

Cello/Bass Workshops, Bass Intensive & Prelude String Orchestra

Ms. Zimmernam holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music from the Juilliard School. While in New York, Karen played with the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera along with appearing with various chamber ensembles throughout the city. She now plays with the Santa Rosa Symphony along with other local orchestras, has an active teaching schedule and is the Librarian for the Santa Rosa Symphony.

Dr. Mark Anderman

Composition and Conducting

Dr. Mark Anderman is Chair of the Music Department at Santa Rosa Junior College. He holds a Doctorate in Music Education from Boston University as well as degrees from San Francisco State University and CSU Long Beach. An accomplished guitarist, Mark’s extensive performing career in and around Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area includes classical chamber music, jazz, gospel, rock, and musical theater. As a composer/arranger, his works have been widely performed, including several premiered by the jazz ensembles at SRJC. His approach to teaching theory and composition emphasizes mastery of the fundamentals and a holistic view of analysis that embraces all musical styles.
 

Erin Garcia-Norris

Fundamentals Workshops and Choir

Ms. Norris has a Master's degree in Music Education with a Kodaly emphasis from Holy Names University. She is dedicated to teaching children music. She worked as an elementary school music teacher in Solano County for over a decade and is currently teaching TK-8th grade music in the Petaluma City Schools District. She also teaches Suzuki violin and piano lessons at Music To My Ears in Cotati. Ms. Norris is excited to return to the Santa Rosa Summer Music Academy faculty to teach Music FUNdamentals and choir.

Matt Payne

Theater/Pit Ensemble - Video Game Music

Composer, arraner, multi-instrumentalist and SRS Youth Ensembles Manager Matt Payne will be joining the SMA Faculty in 2017, teaching leading a section on video game music for the Theater/Pit Ensemble.

Andrew Lewis

Film/Pit Ensemble and Rhythm Workshops

Andrew Lewis is a dedicated lifelong musician and educator.
 
He has performed as a Classical Timpanist/Percussionist with Orchestras all over the world, including 20 years with the San Francisco Symphony, and is presently Principal Timpanist with the Santa Rosa Symphony. He is also an accomplished drumset and hand percussion performer in all genres, including Jazz, Rock, and World music.
 
As educator, he has taught at summer camps for kids both here and abroad, and has lectured at high-level music institutions the likes of Juilliard and Peabody. He always teaches privately, and has served as Orchestra and Band instructor in public elementary, middle and high schools.
 
Some other credits include inventing a metronome, and writing a book called "Rhythm- What It Is and How To Improve Your Sense Of It". He has conducted extensively, both as Music Director of the Wood River Community Orchestra, and in Colombia for the national music school BATUTA. He also speaks fluent Spanish.
 
He has travelled the world, studying music on five continents, and is ever dedicated to learning.

Robert Bowman

Woodwind Workshops and Jazz Ensemble

We are delighted to have Robert Bowman with us for another great year of Summer Music Academy Jazz and Woodwinds!
 
 

Pam Otsuka

Violin Workshops

Pam Otsuka graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in violin performance. Upon graduating, she performed in the Hidden Valley Opera Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, performing with Roy Malan. She has performed with Ukiah Symphony as Assistant Concertmaster, Symphony of the Redwoods as Principal Viola and Principal Second Violin, and the Sonoma County Philharmonic as Principal Viola and Acting Concertmaster. She has performed with many theater groups, including Transcendence Theater, Sixth Street Playhouse, Spreckles Theater and Raven Theater in Healdsburg.

She has been teaching  Beginning, Advanced and Junior High Orchestra classes at Rincon Valley Unified School District since 2014. She founded and has conducted the Windsor String Orchestra since 2013. She has been giving private lessons in the Sonoma County area since 2008. She has also taught with the Overture Project in Healdsburg, strings coach for Analy High School in Sebastopol, and strings clinician at the Santa Rosa Junior College.
 
 

Joyce Park

Cello Workshops

Joyce Park was born in Seoul, Korea and moved to Piedmont, CA at the age of 10. She is currently pursuing her Masters Degree in Cello Performance at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She received her Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance and Music Education at California State University, Sacramento where she was a student of Andrew Luchansky. At Sacramento State she was the winner of the 2014 concerto competition and performed as a soloist with the Symphony Orchestra as well as being an apprentice teacher in the String Project. For the past five years, she has been teaching privately in the Sacramento area and is also the private cello instructor at Norcal Music & Arts studio and at New World Music Academy. She is currently the cellist in the Mersonacta Quartet where she performs throughout California. Aside from cello, she is an active pianist and is currently the piano accompanist at the S.A. Church in Sunnyvale.

 
 

Chris Pimental

Guitar Workshops

We are excited to have guitarist Chris Pimental returning to the SMA Faculty, teaching our guitar workshops!

Katie Austin

KinderViolin

Kathleen Austin is currently the choir director at both SunRidge School and Sebastopol Independent Charter School. Kathleen moved to Sebastopol from the East Coast, where she directed the Apprentice Program at the American Boychoir School in New Jersey and instituted vocal and piano programs for young children in Virginia and New York State. Kathleen is a graduate of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey with a B.M. in Music Education. As a teacher, she believes in building a strong foundation in musical skills and musical literacy through songs, games, and joyful music making.

Ashley Holmberg

Recorder and KinderViolin

Alaskan born Violinist Ashley Holmberg brings a fresh perspective to any musical genre. The Musical Maestra began her teaching career as a Violin and Viola Instructor (Ajarn) for Mahidol University, College of Music in Bangkok, Thailand. During her time overseas, Holmberg performed with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra and worked as the Viola clinician for the Southeast Asian Youth Orchestra. After returning to the United States, she was actively involved in the implementation and instruction of the Aspen Music Festivals Beginning Strings program.  In addition to her work as an educator, she has performed globally for the Universidad Camera de Valdivia in Chile providing community outreaching in Southern Patagonia and has sung with the Alaska Festival Singers at the Vatican and St. Marks Basilica. A passionate music specialist and devoted Performing Arts Advocate, Ashley moved to Sonoma County to expand her creative entrepreneurship and focus on supporting local music and arts organizations. In addition to her work with the Santa Rosa Symphony Simply Strings Social Action Orchestra, she currently performs with local Americana dream team CAHOOTS, Folk Rock band Two Lions, Trio Capriccio and the Sonoma County Philharmonic.