Guitar & Ukulele Faculty
Gianfranco Baltazar
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Gianfranco Baltazar (guitarist and composer) was born in Lima, Peru and at age six moved to San Francisco, California. He studied guitar and chamber music with Scott Cmiel at both the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music pre-college and studied composition at the John Adams Young Composers Program with Director Matthew Cmiel and Chicago Symphony Composer-in-Residence Samuel Adams. The San Francisco Ballet School feature one of his compositions on their 2016 Showcase Concert and in the From the Top NPR show in San Jose 2016.
Gianfranco supplemented his study of the classical guitar with research and performances of traditional Peruvian music, bossa nova, tango, and flamenco. He have studied for four years at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with David Tanenbaum, as well as having the chance to have masterclasses with Sergio Assad, Manuel Barrueco, William Kanengiser, David Leisner, and Su Meng. |
Sungmin Lee
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Sungmin Lee is a classical guitarist from South Korea who is currently based in San Francisco, California. He started piano training when he was four years old and his passion for music grew at a young age of 12, when he grew interest in finger style guitar. Sungmin then discovered his love for classical music, sparking his interest in studying classical guitar.
Sungmin has received several prizes and wide recognitions in competitions during his guitar career—highlights include the Great Lakes Guitar Festival, Eastman Guitar Concerto Competition, Lone Star Guitar Festival and SF Bay Classical Guitar Competition. He has also performed in several reputable master classes with Jorge Caballero, Carlos Barbosa Lima, Manuel Barrueco, and Matthew McAllister. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Sungmin received his Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance in addition to the Performer’s Certificate. He received his Master of Music degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2020. At SFCM, his primary teacher is Judicaël Perroy and prior teachers include Nicholas Goluses, Thomas Viloteau, and Leighann Narum. |
Matt Funamura
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Matt Funamura is a trumpeter, guitarist, composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist raised in the Sierra Nevada Foothills near Sacramento. At the age of six, he picked up his first guitar and trumpet at the age of 8 beginning his musical journey. He majored in music performance and jazz studies at American River College in Sacramento, California for two years during which time he was a freelance musician throughout the west coast. He then went on to earn a Bachelor of Performance from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.
Matt has performed with and studied under numerous musicians in a wide range of genres including: Angelique Kidjo, Ingrid Jensen, Tiger Okoshi, Gamble & Huff, Salvador Santana, Joe Gilman, Charles Haynes, Dontae Winslow, Jerry Martini, and Victor Mendoza. He currently plays with local legend Ed Ivey and the North Beach Brass Band, as well as a wide range of musical acts in Northern California. He teaches trumpet, guitar, bass, ukulele, and mandolin. |
Kian Stevens
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Kian is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music producer all the way from Southern Illinois. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Music Production from Drexel University and has been teaching guitar, bass, and drum lessons to all ages for several years.
Kian believes that no two students learn the same. He spends extra time and care getting to know each student’s personality, musical tastes, and learning style in order to customize lesson plans that work for each student. With an emphasis on fun and practicality, Kian’s lessons are designed to get students excited about music while instilling a strong foundation of technique and music theory along the way. Kian lives and breathes music and is very excited to share his knowledge and passion with new students! |
Don Balistreri
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Don has been giving guitar/electric bass/Ukulele lessons since 1996 to students of all ages, levels, and styles and enjoys them all. Also a professor of music at West Valley College, he holds a Master of Arts Degree in Improvised Music Studies/Jazz Guitar and a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Guitar performance, both from San Jose State University.
In addition to teaching, Don is a Silicon Valley recognized performer, having played such venues as the Fairmont of San Jose, Capital Club of San Jose, Villa Montalvo, Children's Musical Theatre of San Jose, and the Center for the Performing Arts and the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco to name a few, and with artists such as Steve Smith, Sally Struthers, and Adrian Zmed. He has also performed at Santa Clara University, San Jose State University, and College of San Mateo in a variety of musical theater productions. |