Jessica Ivry (cello) is a freelance musician who plays and composes a myriad of styles including Classical, Balkan, East European and improvisation. She is also an instructor of music at the College of Marin. Jessica plays with the Real Vocal String Quartet, an original music string and vocal ensemble and with avant-cabaret composer and singer Amy X Neuburg and the Cello ChiXtet. Jessica has also performed and toured with the Beth Custer Ensemble (music for silent film), and with singer/songwriter Vienna Teng as well as with Balkan women’s choir, Kitka. For San Francisco’s A Traveling Jewish Theatre’s 2005 and 2007 seasons, Jessica scored and performed original music for The Bright River, a hip-hop retelling of Dante’s Inferno, and for Arthur Miller’s classic drama, Death of a Salesman. Jessica recorded on Grammy nominated album, "Blueprint of a Lady" for jazz vocalist, Nneena Freelon. Recently Jessica performed with ARK, a conglomerate of Bay Area and New York Klezmer musicians at the 18th Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow, Poland and for the final concert of the 23rd Annual Jewish Music Festival in San Francisco. This project was a feature on “Spark”, KQED public television series about Bay Area artists. Jessica holds degrees from Skidmore College and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Naomi Hartman Violin, Viola, Coaching Naomi Hartman, violin and viola, received her Masters in Music and Professional Studies Diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she studied with Jodi Levitz. She is a passionate performer and teacher of students ages 3 and up. Her philosophy has two main goals: 1. To share her own passion and enjoyment of music making with her students; 2: to provide her students with a technique that will give them a lifetime of healthy, tension-free playing. She believes that music is the right of every person and she rejoices in connecting with students and families who value a musical education as much as she does. She values the cultivation of discipline, focus, technical ability, and artistic expression through an approach that emphasizes enjoyment and creativity- even "serious" music making should be fun! She approaches each of her students as an individual and uses a variety of methods including Suzuki (with special emphasis on parental involvement in the learning of young students), Havas (an ergonomic approach to violin playing), and Traditional Methods to accommodate each learning style. She has a holistic view of music that develops the student as a human being as well as a musician, this approach encourages critical thinking, problem solving, and communication and leads to the students' ownership of his or her own knowledge and self expression. Thea Farhadian Violin
Jackson Emmer Guitar, Coaching
Debra Kramer Art
