Founder & CEO  -  Robert W. Konkle
Executive Director  -  Liz Angelucci Beggs
Assistant Manager, Student Services  -  Jenna Countryman
Assistant, Student Services – Ranjani Jones

Our Teachers

Village Center for the Arts screens all teachers carefully.  Families can be assured that all of our instructors have been fingerprinted, FBI cleared, and their references carefully checked before they are asked to join our team to teach our students.  Our teachers are friendly, fun and professional.  They have come from Dartmouth, Berkelee, New England Conservatory, The San Francisco Conservatory of Music and many other great schools.  Scroll down to learn more!

Orlia Amaral (Voice, Piano)
Orlia has been teaching music since 2005. She earned her BA in Music Education from Vanguard University, and has been studying piano from the age of 9. When not at Village Center for the Arts, you may find her reading, singing/chanting in her church choir, or going on a hike!

Luke Bace (Guitar, Bass)
Luke has been passionately teaching guitar and bass for ten years. He went to Sarah Lawrence college in New York where he got a BA with a concentration in Jazz Studies. While in New York, Luke played in a number of bands with genres ranging from alt-country to free-form improvisation to jazz standards. He performed Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint at Carnegie Hall in March of 2008. Luke has toured the country 5 times in the past 4 years and has played some of San Francisco’s best venues such as the Independent and Bottom of the Hill.  You can catch him playing bass in and around the Bay Area with the indie-pop band Big Tree. When he isn’t teaching or playing, Luke loves a good hike.

Michelle Brown (Concert Band)
Michelle has been teaching brass, band and general music students for over 20 years.  She holds a Bachelor of Music Education as well as a Master of Music Trumpet Performance.  She’s taught both privately and in the classroom to students of all ages, pre-K to 72!  Michelle loves taking her little dogs Louie and CoCo to the Dogpark.

Jenna Countryman (Flute, Woodwinds, Brass, Piano)
Jenna currently teaches flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, alto saxophone, and piano with Village Music School.  She has been playing the flute since 1994 and holds a B.M. in flute performance from Florida State University as well as a M.M. in the same from San Francisco State University.  Coming from a musical family, she picked up the other instruments along the way.  Jenna is a member of San Francisco’s Symphony Parnassus.  She is an avid runner and spends much of her free time drawing, painting, or otherwise crafting.

Tami Donrad (Yoga)
Tami (RYT-200) is  a registered yoga teacher with the National Yoga Alliance. Trained by the late Larry Schultz of “It’s Yoga Int’l”, in “Ashtanga Vinyasa”. She began her teaching career 2 ½ years ago with the Juvenile Hall of Contra Costa County, teaching the young female residents yoga, and also for the local High School Football teams. Tami has taught ages pre-K through 12 at various private and public schools throughout the Bay Area. She explores a playful approach to her practice with children, including asanas (poses), breathing, meditation and rest.

Katherine Douglas (Piano)
Katherine has been teaching for eight years at Village Music School, and has played piano for 15 years.  When not playing the piano, She enjoys the practice of yoga to bring calm to both body and mind, and uses the tools of her yoga practice often to help students understand challenging concepts, persevere through harder pieces, and play for the sheer joy of it.

Jordan Glenn (Percussion)
Jordan has been teaching steadily for the last 7 years.  He has a bachelor of music in jazz studies from the University of Oregon and a masters degree in performance from Mills College.  In addition to teaching, Jordan performs regularly throughout the Bay in settings ranging from classical chamber music, jazz, pop/rock, experimental and improvised musics.

Sarah Greenberg (Yoga)
Sarah has immersed herself in yoga and meditation as a form of empowerment, healing, and joy for over ten years.  A certified teacher registered with Yoga Alliance, Sarah completed intensive teacher training programs in both San Francisco and Mysore, India.  In addition to teaching yoga, Sarah directs an education program in rural Malawi and loves her work as a psychotherapist with a private practice in Berkeley.  She is happily married to her soul mate, Kevin.  They have a dog named Izzy, and expect their first child this August.

Jennifer Griest (Piano)
Jennifer Griest is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she received her Master’s Degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy.  Ms. Griest has taught both private and group piano lessons, and has served as an instructor for Encore Music Studios in Columbus, Ohio, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and currently for Village Music School. She received teaching awards in Columbus, and was named six times to the “Incomplete List of Instructors Ranked excellent” compiled by the Office of Instructional Resources at Illinois. She is a member of the National Guild of Piano Teachers and the Music Teacher’s Association of California.

Abby Haug-Sammons (Voice, Piano, Musical Theatre)
Abby Sammons is just plain thankful to be a part of such a wonderful community at Village.  Hailing all the way from the Midwest, she graduated With Honors from Webster University’s Conservatory of Theatre Arts with her BFA in Musical Theatre.  Abby performs on stage throughout the Bay Area along with contributing her passion of music to the younger generation.  For her, it does not get any better than helping a student develop and finesse their artistic craft.

Ben Hicks (Guitar)
Ben began playing guitar at the age of thirteen. Over the years he has taken influence from many different styles of music including Blues, Jazz, Funk, R&B, Soul, Country, Classical Period Music, Romantic Era Music, and Rock, in order to develop his own sound. After graduating from the University of California Santa Cruz, Ben attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA where he studied guitar performance.  He is thrilled to now be back in the Bay Area and teaching at Village Music School!

Billy Lawley (Voice, Piano, Musical Theatre)
Billy has been teaching voice and piano for the past nine years.  Billy has also worked as an Elementary Music Instructor in the Dallas Independent School District in North Texas. His accomplishments as an educator include Teacher of the Year for the 2009-2010 school year as well as Director of the All City Elementary Honor Choir in Dallas. In addition to teaching, he has performed in musicals with numerous theaters as
an actor and singer.

Ryan Lukas (Guitar, Bass, Percussion, Vocals)
Ryan Lukas has been teaching upright and electric bass, guitar, voice and drum sfor 14 years. In addition to his teaching at Village Music School, Ryan teaches at Santa Clara University, he maintains a private studio in Berkeley and has worked in the past as an instructor at the BandWorks school of rock. Educated in music at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, NY, Ryan has toured the country with his own band and has released three albums.  In his spare time Ryan works on writing music and enjoys hiking and exploring all the great nature of California.

Tom Neely (Guitar, Bass, Ukulele, Project Rock Band)
Tom has been playing music for 26 years and teaching for the last 21 of those. A music major in College, he studied classical and jazz theory, songwriting and recording at DVC.  Tom strongly believes that no two students learn the same which leads to customized lessons for all of his students.  He is comfortable teaching acoustic and electric guitar, four and five string bass, as well as tenor and baritone ukulele.  He teaches basic technique, music theory, songwriting and recording.  Tom was born in Hawaii, he is a Disneyland nut, and a happily married father of two little boys.

Cory Pullen (Percussion) 
Cory is a drummer and music educator in the San Francisco Bay Area with over 20 years of musical experience.  He has been teaching percussion for over 5 years and performs regularly with several groups throughout the Bay Area.  His creative and musical approach to the drums has kept him an in-demand player throughout his musical career.  His love for music and dedication to continue learning are easily heard through his drum playing.  When he’s not teaching or playing drums, Cory enjoys hiking, camping, and snowboarding.

Nick Reis (Piano)
Nick graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and he has been teaching piano for about two years.  His favorite piano genres include classical and blues. As an avid listener of movie soundtracks, he loves to share movie themes to learn on the piano.  If you have a favorite movie theme you’d like to learn, let Nick know!

Stephanie Staidle (Piano)
has been playing piano for 30 years, growing up exposed to jazz and the classics by her father who is a musician and taught her piano at a young age.  After going to college at Georgetown University where she majored in Psychology with a double minor in Music and Art, she continued her educational career by obtaining a Masters in Art Therapy at NYU.  Stephanie began teaching piano lessons in addition to her work as an art therapist in 2008.  She has taught lessons to children aged 4-16 and was also a principal music teacher at Greenwich Country Day School in 2012.  Stephanie is passionate about allowing children to access and appreciate their self-expression through the arts, often combining art making with piano to make the learning process more engaging.

Josh Szarke (Guitar, Bass, Piano, Project Rock Band)
Josh has been teaching at Village Music since 2008.  While guitar is his main instrument, he also teaches bass, beginning piano and drums, and Project Rock Band classes.  After graduating from a small college in Wisconsin, Josh lived in Minneapolis for about 8 years where he wrote and recorded original music and released several albums. As a singer/songwriter he toured colleges and clubs throughout the Midwest and East Coast.  He brings his experience and passion for music into the classroom and inspires both kids and adults.  Josh’s hobbies include hiking, photography, and playing music with family and friends.  He and his wife have a two-year old who keeps them very busy.

Jessica Thompson (Piano, Guitar)
Jessica  has been working with Village Music School since October of 2005.  In addition to teaching private and group lessons, Jessica has been taking her own private piano lessons since the age of six, and has been composing since the age of seven.  She has a degree in Recording Arts from Los Medanos College, as well as a second degree in Liberal Arts.  Jessica currently schedules and performs in live music around the Bay Area, and she has even performed her own pieces at the Chronicle Pavilion. Her training is primarily classical, but she is fluent in modern music as well.  Jessica plays piano, guitar and mandolin, and has written over one hundred musical works, both lyrical and instrumental.

Shoanie Young (Violin)
Shoanie started her musical training at the age of four.  A graduate of Eastman School of Music and University of Southern California, she received her B.M. and M.M., respectively, in violin performance.  She has enjoyed teaching at the University of California, Merced and playing with regional orchestras.  Shoanie is passionate about scuba diving and is currently studying Traditional Chinese Medicine.

All Village Music Students are welcome and invited to perform in the Spring Recital, please discuss with your teacher at your next lesson!

Sunday  May 5, 2013
Act I 1:00pm – Act II 2:20pm – Act III 3:40pm
(After you register, Village staff will be in touch to let you know which act to be present for!)

 Jack De Rieux Little Theater- Northgate High School
425 Castle Rock Rd. Walnut Creek 94598
$20.00 Performer Registration     $5.00 Admission

Optional Rehearsal
Village Center for the Arts Performance Hall
Wednesday, May 1st at 6pm (Please RSVP to info@villagecenterforthearts.org)

CLICK HERE for details or call Village  for more information today! 925-676-8400

REGISTER HERE

CAMP SUPERSTAR!

A great-time, introductory summer camp focused on the performing arts!
All ages 5-11, are invited to join the Village Music School staff for a fun, no-experience required, summer camp full of music and the arts.  Our Village camp is a friendly introduction to a variety of arts education programs focused in Music, Arts & Crafts, Movement, Theatre and more- all taking place in an encouraging and supportive environment!   Campers will have so much FUN playing games,
creating crafts and exploring the world of music and performance!
Call Village today or click here to enroll, and get ready for a SUPER summer!!
(925) 676-8400

Ages: 5-11
Camp Dates:
Session I: July 8-July 12
Session II: July 15-July 19
Session III: July 22-July 26
Half Day/Morning: 8:30am-Noon
Half Day/Afternoon: 1pm-4pm
Full Day: 8:30am-4pm

Camp Tuition:
1 week, half day= $180 (2 weeks=$360, 3 weeks= $540),  Lab fee:$20.00
1 week, full day =$360 (2 weeks=$720, 3 weeks=$1080), Lab fee: $30.00

Extended Care:
 4pm-5pm: $50 per week/$10 per day

For more details, CONTACT Village Center for the Arts
925-676-8400 | VillageCenterForTheArts.org
1720 Linda Dr Pleasant Hill, Ca 94523

REGISTER FOR CAMP SUPERSTAR

Andrea’s Musical Adventure Camps

Castle Tales  Musical Theatre Camp
Your 4-7 year old boy or girl  (3 yrs welcome with sibling)  will be delighted to join us in the magical land of Storybooks and Castle Tales.  Your princess, fairy, dragon, or knight will learn and perform four classic stories (like Cinderella, St. George and the Dragon and The frrog Prince) using songs, felt puppets, acting games,
story-dancing, dress-up, and more. Campers enjoy a tea-party and snack-time daily. We will craft our own costumes for a performance done for families at the end of each week. Stories vary between Castle Tales I and II; we know your child will love it so much, they will want to come back for more!

Tuition : $170
Dates:  Castle Tales II August 12-18

REGISTER FOR CASTLE TALES CAMPS

Toddler and Preschool Classes

Village now offers programs for your little one!  Scroll down for the fun options.

Princess Songs: Ages 4 and up

Students will improve their voice while singing songs of timeless animated
fairy-tails!  Our class focus is for each Princess to have a great time as they build strong voices and fond memories of a magical age. Students also receive a tote filled with musical and Princess accessories! Class participants are encouraged to arrive in their Princess attire.

Day: Saturday
Time: 11:15-12:05
Summer Session: May 25, Jun 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

Tuition: $110.00
Lab: $12

REGISTER FOR VILLAGE  PRINCESS CLASS

Storybook Yoga: Ages 3-5
Our class is a playful journey through age appropriate postures.  Every adventure features story themes of kindness, generosity, courage and happiness that are perfect for our little yogi.  Storybook kids learn to love the journey.

Day: Saturday
Time: 9:00-9:45
Summer Session: May 25, Jun 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

Tuition: $110

REGISTER FOR VILLAGE STORYBOOK YOGA 

We all know music is the one language that knows no borders. A great piece of music knows no time and yet can define an era. It is timeless, universal, revolutionary and beautiful.

Research clearly shows that music lessons can dramatically enhance children’s spatial-temporal reasoning skills, the skills crucial for greater success in subjects such as math and science.  Studies also show that early and ongoing musical training helps organize and develop children’s brains in ways that no other activity can. Musical achievement is a constant reminder of the benefits of commitment, discipline, process and practice. Not to mention, playing music is a blast!

I have been a music teacher for over twenty years, and as the Founder of Village Center, I’ve witnessed generations of students prove that the success discovered through musical achievement transcends the notes on the page or the scales under one’s fingers.

By way of our bi-monthly column, the Village Center team and I will have the pleasure of sharing with you teachers, PTA members, school principals and students who have dedicated themselves to strengthening the educational opportunities in our schools and throughout our community and are championing the cause of keeping the Arts alive.  Email info@VillageCenterForTheArts.org if you know of someone who fits this description.

So many parent groups have dedicated their time and energy in to getting more Arts Programs into schools to get their children the optimal education they deserve.  We’d like to THANK YOU- you’ve made a significant difference!  Now, more than ever, our collective effort to make Arts Education accessible to as many people as possible is critical to properly educating our children as well as building a strong, creative community!

The recital begins at 2pm, however there are 3 acts!  Please call 925-676-8400 if you are unsure of which act you should plan to attend.

Congratulations to all of our students, and we look forward to a wonderful performance by all!