Guitar & Ukulele Faculty
Zachary Uzin
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Mr. Zachary Uzin started playing the violin at the age of 5. In 1977, he graduated from Sokolovky's Musical College in Gomel, Belarus. From 1975 to 1983, he was teaching violin in Gomel's Tchaikovsky Music School. His students have been participating and rewarded in various competitions and festivals. At the same time, he worked as concertmaster of violins at Gomel Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. In 1983, he moved to Vorkuta, Russia where he performed and taught violin at Glinka Music School and Vorgasher Art College. In 1989, Mr. Uzin moved to the United States and continued to work as a violin teacher throughout the US. He also performs as a guitarist in two bands regularly; The Best Russian Music Band is a Russian style Jazz-Pop band and The Caesar’s Empire Jazz-Rock Band.
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Mario To
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Mario Tsz-chun To is an avid guitarist and chamber musician. He had worked with internationally acclaimed artists such as German tenor Knut Schoch and Hungarian conductor Gergely Madaras.
As a solo guitarist, Mario won the Tarrega Malaysia International Guitar Festival Competition in 2017 and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Concerto Competition in 2021. He had also been invited by the Hong Kong International Airport, the Asia Society and the Royal Commonwealth Society to perform on stage. As an ensemble player, he collaborated tightly with the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble and was featured as the spotlight artist in the NOVA Ensemble Guitar Project in 2019. He is also an experienced musician in operas, notable production includes the 2019 world-premiere chamber opera “Beauty and Sadness”. In 2020, he was invited by the University of Hong Kong to deliver a lecture on the music of Tōru Takemitsu. Mario’s achievements have also been widely recognized through his numerous scholarships. He is a three-time recipient of the HSBC Hong Kong Scholarship and an awardee of the prestigious Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme. Other scholarships include the Society of APA Scholarship and the Grantham Scholarship etc. Mario is currently studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music on full scholarship as the graduate assistant. He graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, under the guidance of Ms. Meng Su and the Academy Director, Prof. Adrian Walter. |
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. |
Ruth Couch
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A folk musician with Classical and World Music roots, Ruth grew up on folk and Baroque music (Bach, Beatles, Blues and Ballads…) Learned guitar from family, studied flute as a child with Julius Baker’s students Susan Kanor and Bonnie Lichter (before Ms. Lichter went on to teach the pre-professional program at Juilliard). Eager to play in groups, took one year of cello studies in school to learn what went into the range of instruments, in orchestral music. Studied electric guitar, percussion, and bass. Over the years experimented with drums, dulcimer, saxophone, and other wind instruments and enjoyed becoming a performer. Ruth studied with master drummer/percussionist, music historian, and bandleader, Bobby Sanabria, at the program for Jazz at Lincoln Center in NY. She plays orchestral flute, recorder, saxophone, mbira, zamponia, and several kinds of small percussion and piano. Ruth loves to listen to music that has a story to tell, with or without words, and teaches beginners familiarity with song-making, including, but not limited to, basic literacy in written music systems. She is excited to be teaching Guitar, Ukulele, beginners’ percussion/drums, basic piano, Improvisation, and topics related to Music Literacy skills at Amabile. Ruth seeks to encourage students to engage in musical conversations and expressions, to listen and develop confidence, to interact with other strands of music, and explore what their own voices can do.
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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. |