Lisa Yamamoto - Flute and Piano

"For me, it's so exciting when I see students' growth. The "lightbulb" moment that they have, their own excitement in understanding - that's what gets me fired up."

Lisa Yamamoto is an enthusiastic music educator who is passionate about educating students of all ages! Since no two students are the same, she has a flexible teaching style and large repertoire to access which helps her to hone the skills of each student. She loves to help students prepare school repertoire, community and school group auditions, competitions, and studio recitals. All of her lessons are student-centered with their individual goals in mind. She is always eager to help them achieve their goals.

She has been a music educator and performer for more than 35 years.  As a classically trained flutist and pianist, she is a versatile and sought after performer and teacher.  She holds her B.A. and Single Subject K-12 Music Teaching Credential from Cal State, Dominguez Hills and a M.M. degree from Cal State, Fullerton. She has worked in public, private, charter, community college and university settings and has always had a private studio of piano and flute students. Lisa freelances as an orchestral player, chamber musician, church musician, and pit orchestra musician for musicals and operas.  She has held principal seats in a number of community orchestras and her trio has performed in many concerts halls, university and colleges, and theaters in Southern California. Her professional performances have included backing up Andrea Bocelli, Rita Moreno, Dale Christian and Robert Guillaume, Shakar (Persian artist), and recording sessions for short films, The Alan Parsons Project, Chance The Rapper and The Social Experiment, and other projects.  

"I love teaching music!  Not only is music a universal language, but it teaches so many other things.  Languages, artistry, culture, history, mathematics... the list goes on.  And working with students is such a joy!  There's nothing better than making a breakthrough with a student. Seeing their faces light up with understanding... it's the best thing in the world."

Andréa Yamamoto began studying voice at the age of 8 and has since studied with many accomplished teachers.  She has given four solo vocal recitals, the first of which she presented at age 12, and participated in many operas in youth groups, university, and professional companies.  Aside from opera, Andréa has participated in various groups for other styles of music.  These groups include singing with the ABC Unified School District Honor Jazz Band, California State University, Fullerton's Collegium Musicum, the West Covina Chamber Players, Cypress Community College's production of "The Sound of Music", the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, and for the Disney Alumni Club's Celebration of Disneyland's 60th Anniversary. Andréa graduated from the University of Arizona, Tucson with her undergraduate degree in Vocal Performance (Opera Emphasis) and more recently, Rider University with a Master of Vocal Pedagogy degree (Musical Theater Emphasis).

Andréa began teaching at 16 years old.  She has taught students as young as 8 to as old as 60+, with experience levels from absolute beginner to professional singers.  She has been an AP Music Theory coach at Santa Ana High School and vocal coach for the Glee Club at Cerritos High School.

Maralynne Mann, is a freelancing oboist, clarinetist, and instructor in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas. She attended Chapman University for her undergraduate degree and took Master’s coursework at California State University Long Beach. She holds positions with the Dana Point Symphony, Huntington Beach Symphony, Millennial Choirs and Orchestra, Orchestra Collective of Orange County, Whittier Regional Symphony, The La Mirada Symphony and frequents the orchestra pits of local musical theater companies across Southern California. As a chamber musician, Ms. Mann is a former member of the Quintessential Winds Woodwind Quintet. In 2010, they were semifinalists in the Plowman Chamber Music competition. In 2011 Quintessential Winds was named a winner in the Beverly Hills Audition.  

Ms. Mann is also a dedicated music educator with a large studio of private students and is a member of the Music Teachers Association of California. Her students have participated in both the SCSBOA “All-Southern” and CBDA “All-state” honor groups as well as a majority of the local youth orchestras and have placed in concerto competitions such as the American Protégé competition. 

Freddy Magdaleno Gonzalez, Guitar, Ukulele, Bass Guitar

Freddy Magdaleno Gonzalez, is currently finishing his Bachelor's Degree in Guitar Performance from Cal State University, Fullerton. He attended El Camino College where he was an honor student and was on the Dean's List before transferring to CSU Fullerton. He has performed solo recitals at both institutions and has studied with numerous distinguished guitar masters such as; Jon Minei, Matthew Greif, Martha Masters, Bokyung Byun, and Scott Tennant. Freddy will be entering his Master's program at CSU Fullerton in the fall with an emphasis on Music Education. He has been teaching for the past year and is hoping to expand his private studio as he is passionate about teaching. 

Dave Yamamoto, Brass, Music Composition, Music Arranging, Conducting

                                   "Composing is one of the most personal expressions of music. There are few things as satisfying as hearing the things you've listened to rolling around in your head being performed by real musicians."

David Yamamoto has been teaching bands and orchestras for over forty years. He has coached many musical groups of all age levels to excellence, helping them to achieve numerous awards and a high level of performance. His real world experience as a trombonist, tubist, conductor, composer, and arranger gives him a unique perspective into many different facets of the music industry. He has worked for such diverse places as Disneyland, the Carson Symphony, and the Long Beach, Orange, ABC, and Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School Districts. His arrangements and compositions have been played by groups throughout Southern California.

David believes in a total education approach to music. Through his teaching, he integrates social and physical sciences, mathematics, language arts, many of the craft trades, and valuable social morés such as teamwork, pursuit of excellence, appreciation of beauty and the useful channeling of emotion.