Piano Faculty
Teresa Yu
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Teresa Yu is the Founder & Director of Amabile School of Music in San Francisco & Moraga, California. She enjoys her life-long career as a musician, an educator, an entrepreneur and a mother of two beautiful children. Ms. Yu started playing the piano since she was 5 years old and never stopped. She had gone through rigorous musical training and program in Taiwan, Japan and throughout the US where she has won several competitions including first prize at the New England Piano Teachers Association, the San Francisco Young Pianists Competition, and the Berkeley Piano Club Competition, and the first prize in Mu Phi Epsilon Competition. Ms. Yu has performed the Bach Double Piano Concerto in Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory of Music and Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 at the Colorado College Summer Music Festival. As the winner of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Concerto Competition, she performed Saint-saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Conservatory Orchestra. She was invited to perform the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 with Symphony of the Redwoods and the Liszt Piano concerto No. 1 with Redwood Symphony. She performed in many masterclasses that were conducted by world-famous artists such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Leon Fleisher, Richard Goode, Stephan Hough, Murray Perahia and more. She was invited to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. as a part of the Conservatory Project. She also participated in Music@Menlo International Music Festival as a chamber music institute coach and the judge of Chopin Competition in San Francisco and the Hawai'i State Music Competition. Between 2010 to 2012, Ms. Yu toured Europe and America with her piano trio, The Aleron Trio, and gave numerous outstanding performances to people from all over the world. Previous teaching experiences including Notre Dome de Victoires, West Portal Lutheran, Old Mill School, and the Nueva School. Ms. Yu has earned her Master’s Degree in Piano Performance and the prestigious Artist Certificate in Chamber Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she studied with Professor Paul Hersh.
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Ethan Lin
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Dr. Ethan Lin earned his Master of Music degree in Percussion Studies from New York University and Professional Studies Diploma degree from San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied with the prestigious principal percussion of the San Francisco Symphony, Jack Van Geem. In 2015, Dr. Lin earned his doctoral degree in Percussion Performance from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied with Ricardo Flores and William Moersch. Specializing in marimba playing, his doctoral thesis is on the unique six-mallet marimba techniques in selected works.
Dr. Lin’s concerto experiences include Alfred Reed’s Concertino for Marimba and Ming-Shong Li’s Chinese Drum Concerto with the school orchestras in Taiwan (2005 and 2007). As a soloist, he has performed numerous recitals and has been active in orchestra and ensemble performances. Recently, he was invited to perform Steve Reich's marimba ensemble work, Six Marimbas, with the San Francisco Symphony members for celebrating the composer's 80th birthday at Davies Symphony Hall. Dr. Lin had participated in various music festivals, such as Nancy Zeltsman Marimba Festival (2010 & 2015), Keiko Abe Marimba Academy (2013), and SoundSCAPE (2014). In 2007, he won the first prize in the percussion category of Taiwan Music Competition. In addition to performing, Dr. Lin enjoys teaching as well. Having plenty of experience coaching percussion ensemble and teaching private lessons, Dr. Lin recently teaches percussion lessons and group class in the bay area. His teaching philosophy is to make music enjoyable to students at all times! His wish for his students is to not only gain musical knowledge but also to feel the joy and peace which music brings to them. |
Olga Korolev
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Olga Korolev is a classically trained singer, pianist and theater artist. Coming from a musical
family, she officially started her musical journey by beginning to learn the piano at 8 years old. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a voice concentration and a Theater and Biblical Studies Minor from Biola University. While at Biola, she sung with the Biola Chorale at the 2016 Western Division ACDA Conference and continued her piano studies as well. She has served as a choir accompanist for church and was a Conservatory Fellow at the American Conservatory Theater working with the Young Conservatory and Studio A.C.T. programs. Before moving back to the Bay area, she taught Suzuki piano to students ranging from 3 years to adult in the Sacramento region. She is certified with the Suzuki Association of Americas in the ECC (Every Child Can) course and Book 1 where she received her training under Caroline Fraser and Annette Lee. She is also a member of the Suzuki Association of Americas. She is passionate about building up students as well-rounded musicians and also as individuals where ever they go in life. |
Chuan-Li Ko
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Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Chuan-Li Ko recently graduated from Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX) where he obtained his DMA in Piano Performance. He also holds the Associate, Licentiate and Fellowship (special candidate award) Diplomas in Piano Performance, awarded by the Trinity College of London. He was also a recipient of scholarships and graduate teaching assistantships awarded by several institutions, in which he was appointed to teach Keyboard Skills, Music Theory, and Ear-Training. Chuan-Li picked up the violin during high school and had 4 years of both private and studio violin teaching experience in Malaysia. His violin students all received good grades (strong merit and distinction) in practical exams offered by ABRSM and Trinity College of London.
Chuan-Li has performed extensively as a soloist and vocal and instrumental collaborative pianist at various setting such as recitals and competitions. His most recent collaborations in the past five years include “Around the World in 6 Hands and 88 Keys” at National Taichung Theater (Taiwan), “A Feast of Pianistic Wonders” where he shared the stage with another 3 pianists alongside the KLPAC orchestra, “Connecting the Dots” - a percussion-piano duo recital at DPAC (Malaysia), “Music of the Night” in which he was featured as a soloist presenting Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, “Rach’d” - a joint recital featuring only Rachmaninov’s piano works and art songs at Esplanade Recital Studio (Singapore), “Mikado" with James Madison University Opera, and Saint-Saëns's Organ Symphony with Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. In spite of the global pandemic, Chuan-Li has been ardently involved in many projects and music competitions nationally and internationally. His recent achievements and contributions to the field include winning the Best Student Essay for 2021 Global Music Summit and emerging as the 1st runner-up of Charleston Music Festival 2020. Also, he virtually premiered Pump#5 for Percussion and Piano Duo at Music by Women Festival and Hot Air Music Festival respectively, written by Professor Dana Kaufman from University California at Riverside. In addition to that, Chuan-Li was also invited to present several topics in webinars, one of them being the ‘Emotional Expression in Classical Music’ hosted by Discussion et Rationalité. The presentation revolved around the importance of logicality in music performance. He discussed substantially how critical thinking and planning facilitate the process of emotional expression from the theoretical and performance perspectives, which is one of the aspects he highly values in piano teaching. Chuan Li is also a member of the Debonair Malaysia, a four-piano ensemble group, as well as Klaviercussion, a percussion-piano duo ensemble. He founded the duo group Klaviercussion with the aim of elevating public interest and appreciation for percussion-piano ensemble literature and modern music. Through this distinctive instrumentation, Chuan-Li and his collaborative partner seek to present some of the most innovative musical ideas and elements that contemporary composers intended to deliver in their compositions. |
Hilary Thompson
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“My parents always had classical music blasting on the record player and we all went to lots of concerts,” Hilary says. “I loved singing in school and church choirs when I was young.” In grade school, Hilary’s grandmother gave her a tiny little electric organ with a book, and Piano lessons followed, continuing through high school. Hilary went on to UC Santa Cruz, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Music, with an emphasis on piano and performance. She’s taught piano both privately and at the San Francisco Community Music Center for over 24 years. She was even a church music director for a number of years in Point Richmond.
Hilary offers an individualized approach, tailored to fit each student's learning style while building essential pianistic and musicianship skills. She loves fostering students' enjoyment of music-making by encouraging students to help select repertoire pieces. All genres of music are appreciated and added along with a steady mix of standard classical piano literature. |
Erin Ichimura
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Erin Ichimura is a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo graduate, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music. A gifted soprano, she has performed in numerous concerts with Cal Poly’s Chamber Choir, including San Luis Obispo’s Bach Week. She has performed in multiple recitals at Cal Poly and participated in Cal Poly’s Opera Program. During her time as a student, she tutored new music majors for entrance-level ear training and music theory classes. Throughout her career, she has toured to locations in California to sing with Cal Poly Choirs and to New York’s Carnegie Hall to collaborate with other choirs for a performance of Haydn’s Te Deum and Mozart’s Missa Brevis. In 2019 she traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, where she participated in a lab choir for novice conductors, led group warm-ups for Kenyan music students, and performed solo art music. Erin recently completed her senior project, which included a fifty-minute solo recital. She is passionate about teaching piano and voice lessons at Amabile. Erin is also a laureate of the San Francisco Girls Chorus.
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Lucas Bere
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California-native Lucas Bere is an active performer, composer, and educator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Lucas teaches piano, saxophone, flute, and clarinet. Every student learns differently, and Lucas adapts his teaching style to best fit each student. Some of Lucas’ students have gone on to participate in regional honor bands, as well as perform and receive recognition at festivals across the country. Lucas’ goal as an educator is to instill a passion for music in all of his students, regardless of whether they become professional musicians.
Lucas graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston with a Bachelor of Music in Performance. Prior to attending Berklee, he was a Saxophone Fellow at the Dave Brubeck Institute - a highly competitive program which accepts just five musicians at a time. Lucas’ studies include training in classical, jazz, and contemporary disciplines. Lucas has studied under renowned artists including Stefon Harris, Ed Simon, Shannon LeClaire, Joe Gilman, Dino Govoni, Wendy Rolfe, David Henderson, Matt Krejci, and Mike McMullen. |
Alanna Rantala
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Alanna (Battat) Rantala holds degrees from the University of CA, Davis (B.A. Music), and New England Conservatory (M.M. Piano Performance) where she studied with renowned pianist Leonard Shure. Born in NYC to musical parents, she grew up in northern CA where she was a soloist with 5 symphonies as a teenager. She has performed in several cities throughout the US, as well as London and Australia. Alanna has been on the faculties of Boston’s Community Music Center, Brookline’s Yamaha Music School, Fitchburg State University, Worcester’s Joy of Music Program, and did vocal accompanying for Holy Cross College. She recorded “Winter Music” by John Cage for MODE records (1991). Her students have won awards for performance and composition.
Her freelance performing includes collaborative piano and the US premiere of “Serpents Mecanique” by George Antheil. She served on the Board and co-chaired the Composers Group for the Contra Costa Performing Arts Society. In 2016 Alanna released her first solo album of original piano music, titled "Recognize,” followed by “Search for Serenity,” recorded during the lockdown in 2020. Alanna is passionate about teaching and enjoys working with students of all ages and levels. She believes in developing a strong classical foundation and she also encourages creativity. Lesson assignments are tailored to meet individual needs along with musical interests. Her main goal for students is to find enjoyment in learning to play while developing a lifetime love for music! |
Vivien Kong
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Pianist and oboist Vivien Kong received her Master’s Degree from the San Francisco
Conservatory of Music, and her Bachelor’s Degree from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music with the Ihnatowycz Emerging Artist Award. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Vivien has over twenty years of piano performance experience and nine years of orchestral experience playing the oboe. She teaches one-on-one lessons and group classes to children and adults from beginner to advanced level. She also teaches RCM and ABRSM examination materials. She speaks fluent Mandarin and English, and can teach in both languages. Vivien has a strong passion for teaching. She believes music helps children be more intuned with their thoughts and emotions, as well as broadening their minds, giving them a creative outlet to be themselves. Vivien deeply values each individual's unique learning style, and always develops a personalized way of teaching that best suits their strengths and weaknesses. It is her priority to make each student feel special, valued and encouraged. Vivien is driven to inspire her students to explore and appreciate the beauty of music, and to help them create their own. |
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. By May 2020, he will receive his Master of Music degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. At SFCM, his primary teacher is Judicaël Perroy and prior teachers include Nicholas Goluses, Thomas Viloteau, and Leighann Narum. |
Yea-Ming Chen
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Ms. Yea-Ming is a singer-songwriter, musician, actor and composer based in Oakland, California. A classically trained pianist and a graduate of the music program at the University of California Berkeley, Yea-Ming fell in love with rock music along the way and began writing songs as a young adult and has never stopped. She has released 7 studio-recorded albums and is featured in 20+ more. Most recently, her music and acting is displayed prominently in the feature film I Will Make You Mine (2020) which premiered at SXSW.
As a piano teacher, Yea-Ming recognizes the uniqueness of each student and takes the time to understand their learning style, musical tastes, and personality. She approaches her lessons in a fun and creative way while expanding a student’s appreciation for music as well as instilling a solid foundation in music theory. |
Sylvia Mau
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Sylvia has played the piano for over 14 years, and she has had experience working with children age 4 and above in one-on-one and classroom settings. She has completed the ABRSM piano exams through grade 8.
As a music instructor, she is engaging and fun. She is constantly searching and finding new resources that will make the lesson experience for the student refreshing and inspiring. She aims to provide a positive and effective teaching method in piano and music in general. Sylvia is currently earning her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology at U.C. Berkeley. |
Camden Daly
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Music has been with Camden Daly for his entire life. He started playing music and piano at the
age of two with help from his father. Ever since a young age, Camden has been focused on piano performance. Camden graduated from California State University, Monterey Bay in May of 2021 with a major in Music with an emphasis in Recording Technology. While at CSU Monterey Bay, one of his biggest focuses was the latin jazz band Sharp Nine. Camden played many instruments in Sharp Nine, including piano, keyboards, and accordion. Sharp Nine also helped him improve his sense of complex rhythms, as well as his ensemble skills. Camden’s love and passion for musical theatre started in Fall of 2017 at Chanticleer’s Theater in Castro Valley. After being hired as music track operator for The Addams Family Musical, he found his calling in musical theatre. Musical theatre matches Camden’s own spontaneous and creative energy. After working three shows at Chanticleer’s Theater, he developed an interest in music direction and conducting. Once moving to CSUMB, Camden started studying and working towards becoming a music director and conductor in theatre. Camden currently works in a youth theater company in Livermore, CA, music directing and conducting shows in the tri-valley area. Camden also works at St. Perpetua’s Catholic Church in Lafeyette, CA as a church accompanist and assistant music director. |
Sarah Jaegers
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Originally from Holland, Michigan, Dr. Sarah Korneisel Jaegers teaches piano, clarinet, and saxophone at Amabile. Dr. Jaegers’s first instrument was the piano, which she began learning at the age of 10. Her primary instructors include Mary Van Voorst and Dr. Wan-Chin Chang. She began performing in solo recitals and accompanying for church services shortly thereafter. She strongly believes that each student has a unique voice to contribute to the world of music. As a teacher, Dr. Jaegers instills in her students a deeper love and understanding of music, guides them toward the achievement of their aspirations, and aids them in the discovery of their own distinctive voice through the development of confident self-directed learning, critical thinking, and healthy performance practices. Her studio is a fun, welcoming environment that engages students and encourages them to grow as musicians. She believes that music enriches lives and communities and aims to inspire joy and creativity and cultivate musicianship in her students.
Dr. Jaegers earned her DMA degree from The Ohio State University, her MM from Michigan State University, and her BM and BA in Spanish from Iowa State University. |
Fiona Cheng
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Originally from Hong Kong, Fiona is a pianist and a singer. She studied piano at the age of twelve and completed her ABRSM grade 8 exam. Fiona holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from San Francisco State University and a Master Degree of Music Education from Holy Names University.
Fiona has been teaching piano and music to students from preschoolers to adolescents. In addition to teaching music, she sings in local community choruses including the San Francisco Choral Society and the San Francisco City Chorus. As a piano teacher, Fiona teaches music theory, piano technique and musical expression. She believes that these are the basic skills that her students should have as pianists. |
Matthew Gaspar
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Matthew started playing the piano at the age of five. After graduating from U.C. San Diego with a degree in General Biology, he soon discovered his passion and joy in piano teaching and has been pursuing this career since.
Through his 14 years of teaching piano to students ages 5 and above, he decided to guide his students to discover the fun of playing the piano by focusing on creating a solid foundation of the fundamentals of note reading, rhythm, and finger and hand positions. By building his students’ confidence by constantly encouraging them, he aims to help his students find their own passion for playing the piano in the genre of music that inspires them. |
Ahmed Ragab
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A trilingual artist, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Originally from Egypt, he listened to and lived in both Egyptian and Japanese cultures during his childhood. He started learning music on the drum kit at 17 and has been on a journey exploring the different languages of music ever since. Starting from Heavy metal music, he quickly expanded into learning jazz, funk eventually learning piano and composition.
Ahmed has performed in various places around the world, including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Tokyo, and Cairo. He has performed in local festivals with several notable artists in the Bay Area including, Audiopharmacy, Climbingpoetree, Nina Grae, Sasha Bayan, Teao Sense, Thieves of the Sun, Dave Mihaly and YOURS. His style of playing ranges from Rock, Funk, Reggae, Jazz, all the way to Hip-hop as well as Electronic and world music. |
Hanwen Wang
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Hanwen started playing the piano at the age of eight. She has studied in professional music high school and music conservatories in China and currently, she’s earning her Master's Degree in Piano Performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has participated in many piano solo competitions during 2016-2019 and won prizes such as the International Young Pianist competition in Asia and the 5th International Deutscher Irmler-Klavierwecbewerb. She has also participated in a lot of recitals and concerts in China as well as performing piano solo pieces in Italy. Through her teaching, students can experience the joy of playing the piano and appreciate the beauty of music.
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Allison Mahaney
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Allison was born and raised in the Bay Area, coming from a musical and theatrical family, her mom instilled a deep love of these art forms in Allison from a young age. At the age of two, from the moment Allison entered into ballet lessons at Berkeley Ballet Theater, Allison’s passion for music and dance only continued to blossom. At the age of nine, Allison joined the school choir and began taking piano lessons shortly thereafter - only furthering her love and passion for music and movement as art forms. She has performed in Saint Helena School Choirs as well as the Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School Jazz Choir under the direction of Craig Bond - fondly known as Saint Helena’s Pied Piper (ST. HELENA'S PIED PIPER / Craig Bond leads hundreds of students to find joy in song).
Graduating from college with a BA in Psychology from the University of San Francisco, Allison decided to continue her education with a focus on the field of Early Childhood Education & Development. This led her along the path to pursue a career geared toward the education of young children mainly focused on specialty enrichment classes and programs. She has taught Music & Movement, Ukulele, Dance, Yoga, Gymnastics, & Circus Arts classes among others to children across the Bay Area. In addition, she is a Certified Educator of Infant Massage and works as a Registered Behavior Technician with preschool-aged children providing ABA Therapy. Allison’s spare time is a continuation of her passion for musical endeavors - you can find her working as an Artist Manager for a select few independent artists, enjoying outdoor adventures; and spending time in the kitchen, where nature is the main musician. She has a six-year-old Lynx kitty named Sid Feral who loves to chit chat and bask in the sunny Oakland weather. |