Katherine Baird, Director
A passionate advocate for choir training and Kodály education, she has spearheaded integrating Kodály musicianship education into the Preparatory Music string classes, as well as implemented successful Kodály-based early childhood and adult education programs (Sing, Play, Move and Connect the Dots Adult Musicianship, respectively). Katherine also created a parent education program for new Suzuki families, incorporated new musical programming into the school’s concert season, and launched an annual series of community-building musical events for the school.
Originally from Colorado, Katherine has a Master of Music in Kodály Education. She has been a cello instructor and freelance musician in the Bay Area for over twenty-five years, and prior to moving to Oakland in 2004, taught early childhood music and public school music in San Francisco.
She is a board member of the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir and serves as an advisory board member of the Holy Names University Kodály Center, and previously served as President of the Suzuki Association of Northern California.
1Piano
Marc Bolander
Marc Bolander has been a Preparatory Music faculty member for over thirty years. He teaches both Suzuki and Traditional methods for piano, to students aged five to eighty years old. His students have appeared at various recitals, music festivals and concerto competitions. Marc is also a well-known instrumental accompanist.
Jeanne Honore, MM
Jeanne Honore started teaching piano in the Holy Names Preparatory Music Department over thirty years ago after finishing her Masters in the Kodály Concept of Music Education and a teaching credential at Holy Names University. She earned a Bachelor of Music from Manhattan School of Music. While maintaining her private piano teaching, she has taught Kodály in many Bay Area schools and currently teaches grades K-8 at School of the Madeleine in Berkeley.
Moira Little
Like many of our HNU Prep Music teachers, Moira has enjoyed nearly a 40-year association with the Department. She has found that as the West Coast center of music education, HNU has the most to offer students, teachers and dedicated music educators to develop great versatility. After earning her B.A. in Music Education, Moira became a Special Education teacher for County schools while becoming fully certificated in the Suzuki method. Moira enjoys teaching the oboe from beginning through the college level, as well as piano and recorder at Preparatory Music at HNU. In addition to private lessons, she has taught reed making, theory and ensemble. Moira is also a K-3 vocal music instructor in public schools where she has created a vocal music program based in Kodaly and combining the principles of the Suzuki philosophy. Moira has performed on her oboe and English horn in venues including Davies Symphony Hall; the Taj Mahal; Donald Pippin’s Pocket Opera; and in recording sessions with the rock ensemble “Darker my Love”! Specializing in Baroque performance practices she plays with a variety of Early Music ensembles around the bay.
Amy Chen-Huey Martin
Amy graduated from the National Taiwan Academy of Arts, received a Bachelor of Music from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and a Master of Music from the Holy Names University in Oakland, California respectively, in Piano Performance. Her teachers were Walter Hautzig and Bernhard Abramowitsch.
Amy has been a faculty member of the Preparatory Music Department, Holy Names University since 1984. Amy teaches Certificate of Merit program, first established by the Music Teachers’ Association of California State Board of Directors in 1934. Certificate of Merit is a systematic and comprehensive music curriculum to develop performance skills, technique, ear training and sight-reading skills, and understanding of music theory.
Amy served on the Music Teachers’ Association of California State Board of Directors from 2007-2015, moving up from Director, Treasurer, 1st Vice-President, and President. Under Amy’s leadership, MTAC registered Certificate of Merit with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 2014, effectively protected the intellectual property of the MTAC.
Amy’s students participate in the annual Certificate of Merit evaluations and Piano Guild auditions. Amy is a Life Member of the MTAC, CM Evaluator, Piano Guild judge and Chairperson for the Bay Area – Oakland Center for the National Guild of Piano Teachers.
Chelsea Randall
Chelsea Randall began her music studies at age 5 as a student in the Preparatory Music Department at Holy Names University, and she was trained primarily by the Suzuki Method. She later attended Crowden School of Music, and Holy Names University. She is currently studying music at California State University East Bay, completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Piano Performance, and a Teaching Credential in Music Education. Chelsea is a frequent performer, having played at many venues including Yoshi’s, the San Francisco Jazz Center, and the Reno Jazz Festival. Chelsea is passionate about teaching, especially using the Suzuki method. She has completed Every Child Can ® and Suzuki Book 1 teacher-training with renowned Suzuki teacher-trainer Caroline Fraser. Due to her familiarity with the method as a former student, and her current training as a Suzuki teacher, Chelsea is a firm believer that every child can learn how to play an instrument with the proper instruction and guidance.
Christine Tchii, MM
Christine Tchii is currently a teacher and accompanist at Preparatory Music at Holy Names University, and an accompanist for the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, Head Royce Middle/High School Children’s Choir and Piedmont Middle/High School A Cappella Choirs. Ms. Tchii was born in California and began her piano studies at the age of three under the instruction of her parents, Kent and Mei-Ling Tchii. She attended The Crowden School of Music in Berkeley, Oakland School for the Arts, and graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor’s in Piano Performance. Other teachers have included Roy Bogas , Dr. Sharon Mann, and Mack McCray. Her chamber music studies and master classes have included teachers such as Miles Graber, Michel Taddei, Arkadi Serper and Anne Crowden; and Hans Boepple, Frederic Chiu, Doris Harrel, Theresa Dybvig, John McCarthy and Cheng-Zong Yin, Masaaki Yasuda and Shindo Yuko, respectively. Ms. Tchii has attended numerous Suzuki and music institutes in Colorado, California, Utah and Japan. She attended The Well-Balanced Pianist Program – The Taubman Approach in Colorado (2008). The Taubman Approach focuses on developing physical ease in piano playing.
Kent Tchii, MM
Suzuki Piano Method Teaching Certificate
Three Masters Degrees (Piano Performance, Piano Pedagogy, Piano Pedagogy with Suzuki Method Emphasis), Holy Names University
Director of Preparatory Music from 1998-2007
After teaching at Catholic Hsiao-Min Girls Junior & High School in Tai-Chung, Kent served at ROC Marine Corp, transferring to National Defense Department Symphony Orchestra. He later studied with Horst Leichtfried at Conservatory of Music and Drama Arts in Vienna, Austria. Other teachers include Roy Bogas, Ho-Hui Lin, En Wang, Arlene Woehl and Bobby Wong. Kent and Mei-Ling Tchii run the Tchii’s Piano School of Music in Alameda. A member of the Music Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC) Alameda County Branch since 1991, Kent served on the MTAC State Board of Directors from 2005-2013, was Co-President of the Suzuki Music Association of California – Bay Area Piano Branch, and is currently President, MTAC Alameda County Branch. Kent’s philosophy in teaching focuses on student’s performances of solo and ensemble repertoire. Students explore Suzuki and standard classical repertoire as well as Jazz, Ragtime, Blues, and Pop genres.
Mei-Ling Tchii, MM
Piano Performance major and Vocal minor, National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), Taipei, Taiwan,
M.M. Piano Performance, Holy Names University
M.M. Piano Pedagogy with Suzuki Emphasis, Holy Names University
Teaching Certificate, Suzuki Piano Method
Administrator, Prep Music, 1997-2007
After teaching at Catholic Hsiau-Min Girls’ Junior and Senior High School in Taiwan, Mei-Ling studied briefly in Musashino Academia Musicae in Tokyo, Japan before she moved to Salzburg, Austria, continuing her piano studies with Prof. Igo Koch at Vienna City Conservatory of Music, Austria. Other teachers also include Kanamori Haruna, Ho-Hui Lin, Arlene Woehl and Roy Bogas. Mei-Ling has over a 25 years’ of experience in piano teaching, encompassing beginning to advanced levels of solo piano and ensemble repertoire. She and Kent Tchii run the Tchii’s Piano School of Music in Alameda. Mei-Ling is a member of Music Teachers’ Association of California, Suzuki Association of Americas, and Suzuki Music Association of California, Bay Area Piano Branch. Mei-Ling speaks fluently in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Japanese and English.
Katherine Triest, A.G.S.M.
Katherine Triest began piano studies at age 5, followed by flute in middle school, subsequently earning an Associate Degree in Flute Performance at the Guildhall School of Music in London, where she studied under William Bennett and participated in master classes with Marcel Moyse and Jean-Pierre Rampal. Upon her return to the Bay Area, she received her B.A. in music at U.C. Berkeley. Katherine developed a full studio of flute students and free-lanced in chamber music and orchestral performances. Finding that she missed the repertoire and all-round musical training of piano study, Katherine returned to teaching and studying piano 20 years ago, and was drawn to the way the Suzuki method fosters young students’ ability in starting by ear. She also appreciates that the Suzuki approach allows her to expect both a beautiful tone and technique and a high degree of musical sophistication and expression even from young students. She has earned her Suzuki Method certification with Caroline Fraser and HNU in Books 1, 2, & 3.
Katherine has also participated in workshops in Alexander Technique, Body Mapping and the Taubman Approach (all to do with body mechanics and ease of movement), and Music Mind Games (music theory/reading). Her teachers have included Abe Sherman, Karl Goldstein and Catherine Kautsky, and she has performed in master classes with Robert Schwartz, Mack McCray, Diane Hidy and Gwendolyn Mok.
Gloria Clare Yim, MM
B.A. in Music University of California at Berkeley
M.M. in Piano Performance Holy Names University
Faculty, Preparatory Music, Holy Names University
Audition Chair, Performer, Etude Club of Berkeley, CA
Member, Suzuki Music Association of California, Bay Area Piano Branch
Board Member, Music Teachers’ Association of California, Alameda Branch
2Violin
James Choi
B.M., Violin – Indiana University Jacob’s School of Music
P.D., Viola – Indiana University Jacob’s School of Music
At the Jacob’s School of Music, James was appointed as one of Mimi Zweig’s assistant teachers. Zweig was Joshua Bell’s teacher, and currently directs the String Academy. While at the Jacob’s School, James was invited by Dr. Brena Brenner, associate faculty at the School of Music, and President of the American String Teachers Association, to be her aide in unveiling a program designed to bring world-class music education to public schools within the vicinity of the School of Music. Having worked with both students of financial means as well as with those who struggle to meet their daily physical needs, James has learned that talent does not discriminate. It has become one of his personal missions to discover talent wherever it can be found and raise the next generation of exceptional musicians. James’ students are frequently awarded highest distinction on the ABRSM Exam on both violin and viola, and many currently hold principal chairs in youth orchestras throughout the Bay Area.
Dorothy Lee
Rebecca Reed-Lunn
P.D., Viola – Indiana University Jacob’s School of Music
A native of Davis, CA, Rebecca Reed-Lunn has 16 years of teaching experience and a Bachelor of Music with High Distinction as well as a Performer Diploma from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Her teachers include Alan de Veritch, Yuval Gotlibovich, and Lynne Richburg, and she studied pedagogy with Mimi Zweig and Brenda Brenner of the Indiana University String Academy. Before moving to the Bay Area her previous teaching positions have included viola professor and pre-college violin and viola instructor at Western Kentucky University and Assistant to the Director and violin and viola instructor at Suzuki Maui. Rebecca combines Suzuki with Paul Rolland methods and believes strongly in the Suzuki principle that every child can learn to play at a high level. She supplements Suzuki repertoire, and assigns post-Suzuki repertoire, according to the student’s technical and expressive needs as well as their musical interests. In addition to the Holy Names Preparatory Music Program, Rebecca also teaches for Music Team San Francisco, an El Sistema-modeled program.
Wendy Reid, MA
Robin Revelli
Shauna Revelli
Rebecca Rogot
Becky Rogot began her musical training at age 6 in Washington DC with William Foster, currently assistant principal violist in the National Symphony Orchestra. She continued her studies with Shinichi Suzuki and Vaclav Adamera as well as Yuka Mori in Matsumoto Japan, earning her Suzuki Method teaching certificate at the Talent Education Institute in both violin and cello. After graduating from Carleton College with her BA in Psychology , Becky extended her cello pedagogical training with teacher training from Barbara Wampner and Tanya Carey completing Suzuki Books 1-10. Her teachers have included Jennifer Culp, the late Peter Shelton, and Amos Yang. Becky plays with the Holy Name’s Orchestra previously under the baton of Dr. Steven Hofer. Becky currently serves on the faculty for Crowden’s Community Music Program, Resurrection Lutheran Church music program and at the Holy Names’ Preparatory Music program, where she teaches both violin and cello to groups and individuals. Her students have performed in chamber groups and orchestras across the Bay Area and beyond and range in age from 3 to 20. Becky is excited to be on the faculty at Preparatory Music where the opportunity to share her music and teaching flourishes with each student.
Celia Vollov
Celia Vollov began teaching the Suzuki Talent Education Method while receiving her B.A. in music from Holy Names University and has continued teaching violin. Although her training is on-going, she received most it by attending classes with Sr. Therese Cecile, John Kendall and William Starr. After receiving a California Credential, she began teaching elementary school. Presently, she teaches language arts in middle school. In addition to teaching, Celia was the President of the Suzuki Association of Northern California for 3 years and the director of the Advanced Suzuki Institute at Stanford for 27 years. Teaching both privately and in the classroom gives her a broad range of experiences and many wonderful children and families to be a part of her life.
3Viola
James Choi
B.M., Violin – Indiana University Jacob’s School of Music
P.D., Viola – Indiana University Jacob’s School of Music
At the Jacob’s School of Music, James was appointed as one of Mimi Zweig’s assistant teachers. Zweig was Joshua Bell’s teacher, and currently directs the String Academy. While at the Jacob’s School, James was invited by Dr. Brena Brenner, associate faculty at the School of Music, and President of the American String Teachers Association, to be her aide in unveiling a program designed to bring world-class music education to public schools within the vicinity of the School of Music. Having worked with both students of financial means as well as with those who struggle to meet their daily physical needs, James has learned that talent does not discriminate. It has become one of his personal missions to discover talent wherever it can be found and raise the next generation of exceptional musicians. James’ students are frequently awarded highest distinction on the ABRSM Exam on both violin and viola, and many currently hold principal chairs in youth orchestras throughout the Bay Area.
Dorothy Lee
Julie Michael
Rebecca Reed-Lunn
P.D., Viola – Indiana University Jacob’s School of Music
A native of Davis, CA, Rebecca Reed-Lunn has 16 years of teaching experience and a Bachelor of Music with High Distinction as well as a Performer Diploma from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Her teachers include Alan de Veritch, Yuval Gotlibovich, and Lynne Richburg, and she studied pedagogy with Mimi Zweig and Brenda Brenner of the Indiana University String Academy. Before moving to the Bay Area her previous teaching positions have included viola professor and pre-college violin and viola instructor at Western Kentucky University and Assistant to the Director and violin and viola instructor at Suzuki Maui. Rebecca combines Suzuki with Paul Rolland methods and believes strongly in the Suzuki principle that every child can learn to play at a high level. She supplements Suzuki repertoire, and assigns post-Suzuki repertoire, according to the student’s technical and expressive needs as well as their musical interests. In addition to the Holy Names Preparatory Music Program, Rebecca also teaches for Music Team San Francisco, an El Sistema-modeled program.
4Cello
Katherine Baird, Director
She is certified in Orff-Schulwerk training from Mills College (under the tutelage of Doug Goodkin, James Harding and Sofia Lopez-Ibor) and also Levels 1-10 of Suzuki Cello Teacher-Training.
Katherine oversees the Preparatory Music program serves over 300 families with private instrumental lessons, group classes, orchestras, chamber music, an early childhood/pre-instrumental program, and adult musicianship.
Poppea Dorsam
Carlyn Kessler
Carlyn Kessler earned her degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she received her Master of Music in Cello Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy as a student of Sharon Robinson and her Bachelor of Music as a student of Melissa Kraut. She is certified to teach Suzuki cello from Books 1-10. Recently relocated to San Francisco from Cleveland, OH, Carlyn previously served on the faculty of The College of Wooster and the Music Settlement, where she was the Department Head of Strings. In Ohio, she served as principal cellist of the Suburban Symphony and as member of CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra and Cleveland Opera Theater.
Carlyn has performed extensively both internationally and locally. An avid chamber musician, Carlyn has performed in a weeklong residency with the Chamber Music Society of Detroit’s Discovery Series, in venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and the Chautauqua Institution, and in numerous alternative settings including popular jazz clubs and art spaces. She has performed at several summer music festivals including the Banff Chamber Music Residency, Chamber Music at Domaine Forget, Toronto Summer Music Festival and the London Master Classes.
Rebecca Rogot
Becky Rogot began her musical training at age 6 in Washington DC with William Foster, currently assistant principal violist in the National Symphony Orchestra. She continued her studies with Shinichi Suzuki and Vaclav Adamera as well as Yuka Mori in Matsumoto Japan, earning her Suzuki Method teaching certificate at the Talent Education Institute in both violin and cello. After graduating from Carleton College with her BA in Psychology , Becky extended her cello pedagogical training with teacher training from Barbara Wampner and Tanya Carey completing Suzuki Books 1-10. Her teachers have included Jennifer Culp, the late Peter Shelton, and Amos Yang. Becky plays with the Holy Name’s Orchestra previously under the baton of Dr. Steven Hofer. Becky currently serves on the faculty for Crowden’s Community Music Program, Resurrection Lutheran Church music program and at the Holy Names’ Preparatory Music program, where she teaches both violin and cello to groups and individuals. Her students have performed in chamber groups and orchestras across the Bay Area and beyond and range in age from 3 to 20. Becky is excited to be on the faculty at Preparatory Music where the opportunity to share her music and teaching flourishes with each student.
5Guitar
Javier Trujillo, MM Classical Guitar
He studied classical guitar at the Conservatory of Music in Lima-Peru and received a full scholarship to pursue his Master’s Degree in Ethnomusicology from the University of California at Berkeley. He acquired his training in the Suzuki Guitar Method by Frank Longay at the Longay Conservatory of Guitar, where he later taught ensemble. He has participated in master classes with Roland Dyens, Paulo Bellinati, Alieksey Vianna, Celso Machado, Marco Pereira, Marco Silva, Felipe Pumarada and David Pinto.
Javier has performed all over South America, and has traveled extensively to conduct research on the Andean guitar and for his master’s thesis on the sikuris and pan flutes from around the world. In the Bay Area, he has performed in venues including The Palace of Fine Arts, Brava Theater, Zellerbach Hall, The Berkeley Jazzschool (now the California Jazz Conservatory), and he has also been invited to play with the San Francisco Mandolin Orchestra and the Mandolino Graziosi Chamber Music Ensemble.
6Harp
Jessica Schaeffer
7Flute
Cathy Devos, Mus Ed, MM
8Oboe
Moira Little
Like many of our HNU Prep Music teachers, Moira has enjoyed nearly a 40-year association with the Department. She has found that as the West Coast center of music education, HNU has the most to offer students, teachers and dedicated music educators to develop great versatility. After earning her B.A. in Music Education, Moira became a Special Education teacher for County schools while becoming fully certificated in the Suzuki method. Moira enjoys teaching the oboe from beginning through the college level, as well as piano and recorder at Preparatory Music at HNU. In addition to private lessons, she has taught reed making, theory and ensemble. Moira is also a K-3 vocal music instructor in public schools where she has created a vocal music program based in Kodaly and combining the principles of the Suzuki philosophy. Moira has performed on her oboe and English horn in venues including Davies Symphony Hall; the Taj Mahal; Donald Pippin’s Pocket Opera; and in recording sessions with the rock ensemble “Darker my Love”! Specializing in Baroque performance practices she plays with a variety of Early Music ensembles around the bay.
9Drums
Otto Huber
Bachelor of Music, Percussion Performance – Northern Illinois University.
Otto has been teaching and performing in the Bay Area for over 15 years. His performance experience covers a broad range of styles that include Jazz, Theater, Gospel, R&B and Caribbean. Mr. Huber currently teaches drums at the HNU Preparatory Music Program as well as his private studio in Alameda.
10Voice
Abigail Seeterlin
11Accompanists
Marc Bolander
Marc Bolander has been a Preparatory Music faculty member for over thirty years. He teaches both Suzuki and Traditional methods for piano, to students aged five to eighty years old. His students have appeared at various recitals, music festivals and concerto competitions. Marc is also a well-known instrumental accompanist.
Amy C.H. Martin, MM
Amy graduated from the National Taiwan Academy of Arts, received a Bachelor of Music from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and a Master of Music from the Holy Names University in Oakland, California respectively, in Piano Performance. Her teachers were Walter Hautzig and Bernhard Abramowitsch.
Amy has been a faculty member of the Preparatory Music Department, Holy Names University since 1984. Amy teaches Certificate of Merit program, first established by the Music Teachers’ Association of California State Board of Directors in 1934. Certificate of Merit is a systematic and comprehensive music curriculum to develop performance skills, technique, ear training and sight-reading skills, and understanding of music theory.
Amy served on the Music Teachers’ Association of California State Board of Directors from 2007-2015, moving up from Director, Treasurer, 1st Vice-President, and President. Under Amy’s leadership, MTAC registered Certificate of Meritwith the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 2014, effectively protected the intellectual property of the MTAC.
Amy’s students participate in the annual Certificate of Merit evaluations and Piano Guild auditions. Amy is a Life Member of the MTAC, CM Evaluator, Piano Guild judge and Chairperson for the Bay Area – Oakland Center for the National Guild of Piano Teachers.
Megumi Miyata
Dr. Miyata is a soloist, chamber musician, teacher, and accompanist. She was a full-time music faculty at St. Mark’s School in Dallas, Texas where her students won prizes at Dallas Music Teacher’s Association competitions. At St. Mark’s she organized and performed in an annual chamber music series, as well as a benefit concert.
Dr. Miyata participated in the Summer Festival of Music in Aspen, Colorado, under an accompanying scholarship, where she studied with Gabriel Chodos, and she accompanied string and woodwinds players performing in lessons and Master classes with world-renowned artists. In the Houston International Piano Festival, she played Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata, Op. 106 in a Master Class given by Richard Goode. Currently, Dr. Miyata enjoys both performing in the East Bay as well as her role as chamber music coach at Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco.
Christine Tchii, MM
Christine Tchii is currently a teacher and accompanist at Preparatory Music at Holy Names University, and an accompanist for the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, Head Royce Middle/High School Children’s Choir and Piedmont Middle/High School A Cappella Choirs. Ms. Tchii was born in California and began her piano studies at the age of three under the instruction of her parents, Kent and Mei-Ling Tchii. She attended The Crowden School of Music in Berkeley, Oakland School for the Arts, and graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor’s in Piano Performance. Other teachers have included Roy Bogas , Dr. Sharon Mann, and Mack McCray. Her chamber music studies and master classes have included teachers such as Miles Graber, Michel Taddei, Arkadi Serper and Anne Crowden; and Hans Boepple, Frederic Chiu, Doris Harrel, Theresa Dybvig, John McCarthy and Cheng-Zong Yin, Masaaki Yasuda and Shindo Yuko, respectively. Ms. Tchii has attended numerous Suzuki and music institutes in Colorado, California, Utah and Japan. She attended The Well-Balanced Pianist Program – The Taubman Approach in Colorado (2008). The Taubman Approach focuses on developing physical ease in piano playing.
Michelle Zhang
Michelle Zhang is currently a freshman attending UC Berkeley. She studied the piano under Mei-Ling and Kent Tchii for 12 years. In addition to piano, she also studied violin with Robin Revelli for 12 years. She has participated in and won several Memorial Scholarship Foundations competitions at the Berkeley Piano Club, and has the MTAC Certificate of Merit Convention on multiple occasions. Michelle has been a member of many local youth orchestras such as Berkeley Youth Orchestra, Da Capo Youth orchestra and Youth People’s Symphony Orchestra (YPSO) and has toured with YPSO to Alaska, Central Europe, and the East Coast. Michelle has auditioned in many different events at the HNU Preparatory Music Department, such as the Honors Recitals and the Pops Concert, and has won the PMD Concerto Competition as both a pianist and a violinist.
12Twinkle Suzuki Music & Movement and Parent Education
Allegra Yellin
Allegra Yellin grew up in Brooklyn, NY, in a family full of musicians, sometimes on tour with her father, a jazz saxophonist and also singing 3 part harmonies with her Bluegrass-pickin’ uncles. She studied music formally beginning in high school, and later at the Jazz school here in Berkeley and she is currently working towards a Master’s degree in Music Education at Holy Names University in Oakland. Allegra has been teaching music and movement classes for young children and families for the past 15 years with East Bay Music Together. She also teaches various types of classes and private lessons for all ages on guitar, banjo and voice. Outside of the classroom, Allegra has performed and collaborated with many local talents and can be seen performing old time string band music every first Friday of the month with the Squirrelly String Band, at the North Oakland Squaredance.
Katherine Baird
13Orchestras and Ensembles
Katherine Baird (Cello Choir)
Joshua Cohen (Chamber Music Intensive)
Along with duties as founding Musical Director and Conductor of the Castro Valley Orchestra, Josh teaches privately, produces and performs chamber music concerts, and directs opera and musical theater productions. He has performed with many regional groups including the Oakland East Bay Symphony, California Symphony, Oakland Lyric Opera, Holy Names Orchestra, Livermore Valley Opera, Livermore Symphony, San Jose Lyric Theater, Alameda Civic Light Opera, Diablo Valley Opera, Contra Costa Musical Theater, and Trinity Chamber Concerts. He plays occasionally with the Ellis Island Old World Folk Band, and has performed with chamber groups and orchestras in Canada, England, Israel and Australia.
Josh has the pleasure of having collaborated with Bay Area composers Jack Curtis Dubowsky and Aaron Blumenthal in the development and performance of orchestral and violin repertoire on projects with Varetski Pass, The Bay Gulls, and San Francisco Balalaika Ensemble in a variety of musical styles.
Josh is a principal in Qibits Associates, specializing in computer networking and security projects. He lives in Alameda with his wife Genevieve, who is an emergency manager and flutist.
Cathy DeVos (Da Capo Youth Orchestra)
Poppea Dorsam (Chamber Music Intensive)
Dorothy Lee (Preludio Violin & Viola, Chamber Music Intensive)
Robin Revelli (Divisi String Orchestra)
Robin Revelli is a Suzuki violin teacher with thirty-six years of experience. She has been teaching private, group and string orchestra classes with Holy Names Preparatory Music since 1978. Throughout her years of teaching, a number of her students have participated in Junior Bach Festival, East-Bay Music Festival, BYO, YPSO and OYO, just to name a few. She currently is conductor of the pisi String Orchestra at Holy Names. Robin is a graduate of Holy Names College with a B.A. in Music Education. She currently performs with the Holy Names University Symphony and has also performed with Prometheus Symphony Orchestra and Symphony of the Mountain.
Rebecca Rogot (Cello Choir)
Becky Rogot began her musical training at age 6 in Washington DC with William Foster, currently assistant principal violist in the National Symphony Orchestra. She continued her studies with Shinichi Suzuki and Vaclav Adamera as well as Yuka Mori in Matsumoto Japan, earning her Suzuki Method teaching certificate at the Talent Education Institute in both violin and cello. After graduating from Carleton College with her BA in Psychology , Becky extended her cello pedagogical training with teacher training from Barbara Wampner and Tanya Carey completing Suzuki Books 1-10. Her teachers have included Jennifer Culp, the late Peter Shelton, and Amos Yang. Becky plays with the Holy Name’s Orchestra previously under the baton of Dr. Steven Hofer. Becky currently serves on the faculty for Crowden’s Community Music Program, Resurrection Lutheran Church music program and at the Holy Names’ Preparatory Music program, where she teaches both violin and cello to groups and individuals. Her students have performed in chamber groups and orchestras across the Bay Area and beyond and range in age from 3 to 20. Becky is excited to be on the faculty at Preparatory Music where the opportunity to share her music and teaching flourishes with each student.
Kent Tchii, M.M. (Advanced Piano Ensemble)
Suzuki Piano Method Teaching Certificate
Three Masters Degrees (Piano Performance, Piano Pedagogy, Piano Pedagogy with Suzuki Method Emphasis), Holy Names University
Director of Preparatory Music from 1998-2007
After teaching at Catholic Hsiao-Min Girls Junior & High School in Tai-Chung, Kent served at ROC Marine Corp, transferring to National Defense Department Symphony Orchestra. He later studied with Horst Leichtfried at Conservatory of Music and Drama Arts in Vienna, Austria. Other teachers include Roy Bogas, Ho-Hui Lin, En Wang, Arlene Woehl and Bobby Wong. Kent and Mei-Ling Tchii run the Tchii’s Piano School of Music in Alameda. A member of the Music Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC) Alameda County Branch since 1991, Kent served on the MTAC State Board of Directors from 2005-2013, was Co-President of the Suzuki Music Association of California – Bay Area Piano Branch, and is currently President, MTAC Alameda County Branch. Kent’s philosophy in teaching focuses on student’s performances of solo and ensemble repertoire. Students explore Suzuki and standard classical repertoire as well as Jazz, Ragtime, Blues, and Pop genres.
Mei-Ling Tchii, M.M. (Beginning and Intermediate Piano Ensemble)
M.M. Piano Performance, Holy Names University
M.M. Piano Pedagogy with Suzuki Emphasis, Holy Names University
Teaching Certificate, Suzuki Piano Method
Administrator, Prep Music, 1997-2007
After teaching at Catholic Hsiau-Min Girls’ Junior and Senior High School in Taiwan, Mei-Ling studied briefly in Musashino Academia Musicae in Tokyo, Japan before she moved to Salzburg, Austria, continuing her piano studies with Prof. Igo Koch at Vienna City Conservatory of Music, Austria. Other teachers also include Kanamori Haruna, Ho-Hui Lin, Arlene Woehl and Roy Bogas. Mei-Ling has over a 25 years’ of experience in piano teaching, encompassing beginning to advanced levels of solo piano and ensemble repertoire. She and Kent Tchii run the Tchii’s Piano School of Music in Alameda. Mei-Ling is a member of Music Teachers’ Association of California, Suzuki Association of Americas, and Suzuki Music Association of California, Bay Area Piano Branch. Mei-Ling speaks fluently in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Japanese and English.
14Adult Musicianship
Maree Hennessy
Maree Hennessy holds Masters in Music Studies & Bachelor of Education degrees, and an Australian Kodály Certificate. She is the Director of the Kodály Center at Holy Names University, overseeing and teaching in the Masters in Music Education program. She has extensive experience in teaching and learning music in multi-level contexts across educational sectors, and has worked in Early Childhood, Primary, Secondary and higher education, and community contexts. Maree sees that engaging the very young in experiential music opportunities creates firm foundations for future success in music study.
Michael Kaulkin
Michael Kaulkin is an accomplished composer of chamber, orchestral and choral music, as well as music for the stage. In the Bay Area, his works have been performed by the Oakland East Bay Symphony, San Francisco Choral Artists, Mission Chamber Orchestra, LIEDER ALIVE! and others. He holds a M.M. from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied composition with Conrad Susa after a previous 3-year period studying composition and choral conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary. He is on the Musicianship faculty of both the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College Division and has previously taught at the Crowden School in Berkeley and the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts in San Francisco. Mr. Kaulkin is also the founder of Swirly Music, a non-profit service offering self-publishing composers an online storefront for their works in print. Michael’s philosophy: “My musicianship classroom teaching is heavily influenced by my years studying in Hungary and I have adapted many Kodály-flavored techniques emphasizing strong inner hearing, musical memory, flexibility and independence. Placing a high value on students’ enjoyment of music making, with and without an instrument, my class is fun and relaxed, but also very challenging.”
Robert Lee
Robert Lee is an adjunct lecturer at Holy Names University where he teaches musicianship and choir (School of Arts and Sciences), assists in the Master of Music program (School of Education) tutoring musicianship and accompanying masters students, and teaches adult musicianship extension courses (Preparatory Music Department). Robert is the coordinator for the Kodály Chamber Singers, which he has been a part of since 2011. Robert’s work focuses on music education and performance, and he has worked for leaders in choral music education including the San Francisco Boys Chorus, Cantare Con Vivo and Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choirs as a teacher, conductor, collaborative pianist and program manager. Robert holds a Master of Music degree in Music Education with Kodály Emphasis from Holy Names University and a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Performance with distinction from the University of Calgary. He is proud to be part of a thriving community committed to providing excellence in music education. Robert is an active member of the Northern California Association of Kodály Educators (NCAKE), and is a member of the Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) and the International Kodály Society (IKS). Robert is one of the coordinators for the Children’s Choral Festival, which provides invaluable education and performing opportunities to Bay Area choirs.
Michael Reilly M.M.
