Music Conservatory Faculty
Rob DeNunzio
Music Conservatory Director
rdenunzio@sandomenico.org
Ann Krinitsky
Virtuoso Program Director
akrinitsky@sandomenico.org
Teresa Notari
Administrative Assitant
tnotari@sandomenico.org
Strings
Susan Bates, viola
Eugene Chuklov, violin
Mark Culbertson, bass
Shaina Evoniuk, violin
Natasha Makhijani
Zaven Melikian, violin
Sergei Riabtchenko, cello
George Thomson, violin/viola
Ming Xue, cello
Piano
Florence Aquilina
Jennifer Grant
Helen Konowitz
Cristina Marcu
Woodwinds
Steven Bergman, clarinet, recorder, saxophone, PS/MS band
Jane Lenoir, flute
Brenda Schuman-Post, oboe
Guitar
Mark Simons
Voice
Lilan Kane
Marian Marsh
Faculty Biographies
Florence Aquilina (Piano) holds a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music from the University of Alabama. She has extensive experience teaching both children and adults as can be seen from the diversity of her teaching posts, which have included the Hochstein Music School in Rochester, New York as well as a position as Assistant Professor at the University of Miami. In 1985 she moved to South Africa, where she served for 16 years as Lecturer of Piano, Chamber Music and Accompanying at the University of Cape Town. During this time she also founded and directed a chamber music workshop for gifted high school students who were previously disadvantaged by the political system. As an avid chamber musician, Ms. Aquilina has attended chamber music master classes with the pianist Menahem Pressler, performed with the Highland Chamber Players in the North Carolina Chamber Music Festival, and was founder and director of the Franschhoek Mountain Chamber Music Workshop and Festival in South Africa. Ms. Aquilina joined the San Domenico music faculty in November of 2000.
Susan Bates (Viola and chamber music) has been a performer, teacher, and creator of music programs for youth in the San Francisco Bay Area for 30 years. As a founding member of the New Age String Quartet, Ms. Bates worked extensively with members of the Paganini Quartet and Rafael Durian. In 1975, she became a member of the string faculty and faculty string quartet at California State University, San Jose; and, in 1979 joined the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. Ms. Bates was appointed as instructor of viola and chamber music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (Preparatory Division) in 1983, a post she holds today. At the Conservatory she directed Summer Music West from 1990 – 1995 and founded the Preparatory Chamber Music Program in 1984 for which she received the Gruber Award for “Excellence in Chamber Music Teaching” from Chamber Music America in 1992. In 1996, she united her colleagues to create California Summer Music, a project that established her as a leader in the creation of music programs for talented youth. In 2000, she founded the College Preparatory School Chamber Music Program, Oakland, California; in 2002-2006, and she created and directed a professional training program for emerging string quartets, the Lake Tahoe Music Festival ACADEMY with the Miró Quartet. From 2003-2007, Ms. Bates served as Program Director and faculty of the Yehudi Menuhin Chamber Music Seminar, San Francisco; and, in 2008 she joined the faculty of San Domenico School Virtuoso Program. She is currently on the faculty of Midwest Young Artists, Chicago and San Diego Chamber Music Workshop, Claremont. Her most recent project Young Chamber Musicians, founded in 2008 is a chamber music training program for exceptional pre college musicians from across Northern California. The programs under Ms. Bates direction have produced chamber musicians who are today continuing their love of the art form by seeking careers in the field, and playing for the "love of it". Susan Bates is a member of San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music(SFFCM), joining the Board in 2001, and serving as president from 2005 to 2009. Ms. Bates currently chairs the Board Oversight Committee of the SFFCM Musical Grant Program.
Steve Bergman (Woodwinds, Band, Recorder Class) received a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of North Texas and has been a faculty member San Domenico Music Conservatory and Dominican College since 1992. Mr. Bergman has appeared in performance as a clarinetist with the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, Dallas, Fort Worth, Berkeley and Marin, and as a saxophonist at the Monterey Jazz Festival. A diverse musician, he teaches recorder, flute, clarinet, and saxophone, and is equally experienced in Jazz, Classical, Popular and Renaissance styles. www.bergwind.com
Shaina K. Evoniuk (Violin) grew up in Ashland, Oregon studying and performing classical, bluegrass, and Celtic music. Her violin has taken her from soloist and concertmaster with the Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon as a youngster, to national (New York's Carnegie Hall, San Francisco's Davies Hall) and international stages. Shaina has played under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, Alasdair Neale, and Andrew Mogralia, and has studied with the Cavani and Avalon String Quartets, as well as with members of the San Francisco Symphony. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Mr. Wei He. Shaina is a founding member of the Ganesh String Quartet (ganeshstringquartet.com), with whom she recently returned to the U.S. from a successful tour in France. When not teaching, Shaina is usually doing yoga, hiking, riding her bike, and having potlucks with her friends. She currently resides in Oakland, California and can often be seen performing jazz, indie rock, hip-hop, Indian, and western classical music throughout the greater Bay Area. www.shainaevoniuk.com
Helen Konowitz (Piano) earned an MA in Music from UC Berkeley and a BA in Music from The University of Chicago. She began piano lessons at the age of 4 and later also studied organ, recorder, viola da gamba, and voice. She has taught music fundamentals to the Navy Band at Treasure Island; music fundamentals, music history, and college choir at Kenyon College; and music fundamentals and ear training at the College of Marin; as well as maintaining a studio of private students. She is a member of the Music Teachers Association of California, chairing the Certificate of Merit adjudication program for Marin County, and is also active in the Music Teachers' National Association. Her performances can be heard in recordings of the Historical Anthology of Music with the University of Chicago Collegium, and in the score for the film "Above San Francisco", among others. An active performer, Ms. Konowitz can frequently be heard in recital and as a soloist with Marin Oratorio. Helen specializes in introducing students of all ages to music-making at the piano, and she seeks to help her students explore and develop their love of music while building skills for musical independence. She has been teaching piano at San Domenico since 2007.
Jane Lenoir (Flute) performs regularly as a soloist, orchestral musician, chamber music artist, and jazz performer in the San Francisco Bay Area and internationally A graduate of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, Jane has appeared locally with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, San Francisco Ballet, Oakland Symphony, Ballet and Opera, San Jose Symphony, San Francisco Chamber Music Society and University of California Contemporary Chamber Players. She has performed with many major jazz artists in ensemble and as a soloist and has toured with the Paul Dresher Ensemble and George Coates Performances. Jane has recorded with the Seattle Group for New Music on Mode Records, a newly-released CD of contemporary Japanese music on the Vienna Artists label and recently released her own jazz CD, “Fluid”. Ms. Lenoir has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Beckmesser Award for outstanding performance on contemporary music from the LA Times. She is currently principal flute and soloist with the Music in the Mountains Festival in Nevada City, as well as the Desert Music Festival in Scottsdale, Arizona. She is co-founder of TOPAZ, an 11-piece ensemble dedicated to the performance of classical, jazz and world music. Together with co-founder violist Mimi Dye, they share a vision of a world-class performing ensemble exploring the relationships between these various music genres, the role of improvisation in music making, and the breaking down of barriers that artificially divide the vast realm of music into isolated segments. www.janelenoir.com
Cristina Marcu (Piano), an accomplished pianist and teacher of Romanian decent is San Domenico’s newest piano faculty member. A graduate from USC Music School, Cristina has taught piano for 23 years to students of all levels. She enjoys teaching with both classical and contemporary ideas as it allows her students to be open to the spontaneity of the creative moment. In her lessons, students are encouraged to use their imagination and learn to become independent musicians with a healthy sense of creative freedom.
Tone color is one aspect of Cristina’s expertise, and she guides her students to listen and explore the joy of sound making. This can be accomplished as the student finds his or her unique way of connecting to the instrument and develops a sensitive curiosity to what is possible. How to play the piano is the initial goal, and an emphasis on how to learn will inspire the student to receive a balanced experience in discipline, musicianship and creativity. Music theory, improvisation and composition are also part of Marcu’s style of teaching.
Cristina Marcu is an active member of MTAC and all her students have opportunities to perform in recitals, the Piano Honors program, competitions and master classes.
Marian Marsh (Voice) career performer, has been teaching for over 40 years, even before she became an acclaimed concert singer. She has taught at the college of Marin, Dominican University since 1975, the University of California at Santa Cruz for 14 years, Santa Clara University, The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, was the first voice teacher at Sonoma State University, and previously taught at San Domenico from 1967-1974. Miss Marsh has premiered over 20 compositions including the Carnegie Hall premiere of Alfred Schnittke Requiem and Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio at Grace Cathedral. In addition, she has often performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the Oakland, Marin, Santa Rosa, Monterey, Santa Cruz and Fresno Symphonies, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Sinfonia Nacional of Lima, Peru. Marian was a two-time winner of the Northern California Metropolitan Opera Auditions.
Zaven Melikian (Violin) is nationally recognized as a leading expert in string pedagogy. He graduated with a License de Concert from Ecole Normale de Music in Paris, where he studied with Yvonne Astruc. Before coming to the United States, he performed extensively throughout France, Italy, Egypt, Lebanon and his native Yugoslavia. Mr. Melikian was a member of the San Francisco Symphony for twenty-three years, serving the last fifteen of that tenure as Assistant Concertmaster. In 1977 he was appointed Concertmaster of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, a post he held until 1994 when he was awarded the San Francisco Opera Medal upon his retirement. In 1969 he became professor of violin at The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, retiring in 1998 and receiving an honorary Doctor of Music degree. During this time he trained an extraordinary group of violinists at the Preparatory and Collegiate level who may be found among the ranks of major symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles in the United States and abroad. Mr. Melikian began teaching at San Domenico in 2000.
Sergei Riabtchenko (Cello) received a Bachelor degree from Pushkin Music College in Russia, where he was the Grand Prix winner of the Moscow Young Musicians Festival. He received his Masters from the Moscow Conservatory of Music, and performed with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra until 1990. Upon moving to the United States, Mr. Riabtchenko taught for three years at San Francisco State University and currently performs with the California Symphony Orchestra and the Arlekin String Quartet. He began teaching at San Domenico in summer 2000.
Brenda Schuman-Post (Oboe) has built a career on versatility, making the oboe and its music accessible to almost any audience. Her Oboe of the World CD is acclaimed as “groundbreaking!” and Jazz Now magazine calls her an “oboe advocate.” She studied with Ronald Roseman, Marc Lifschey, and in master class with Heinz Holliger. Brenda plays baroque to modern, bluegrass, pop, progressive jazz, and world and improvised musics. She's performed in concert halls, museums, churches, universities, schools, night clubs, at corporate events, jazz and world music festivals, county fairs, shopping malls, senior and drug rehabilitation centers, and outdoor events in Europe, Indonesia, and throughout the United States. Brenda's presentations include Classical Trash, classical music with a twist: an offbeat oboe/piano/accordion duo; Oboes Of The World: a lecture-performance about the sound of the oboe, in all its ethnic varieties, and its historical/cultural/spiritual meaning to humanity; Oboe Plus: a mixed instrumental/vocal ensemble performing concerts and private events; About The Oboe, a comprehensive lesson for oboists and composers; Extended Techniques and Improvisation; Improvisation for Classical Musicians; and Mpingo's Fruit, about the status of African Blackwood.
A devoted oboe educator, she presents clinics to band and orchestra directors on How To Play and Teach The Oboe. Brenda teaches privately and is a freelance orchestral and chamber musician and studio-recording artist in the San Francisco Bay Area. www.oboesoftheworld.com
Mark Simons (Guitar) is a leading Bay Area guitarist and veteran member of the groundbreaking San Francisco Guitar Quartet whose natural musicality and impressive technique have long been critically acclaimed. He has presented numerous concerts, both as soloist and chamber musician throughout New England, the Mid Atlantic, California and Germany. Recent touring with the San Francisco Guitar Quartet has included Texas, Florida, Arizona, Guam and the Republic of Taiwan. Mark has also toured with the Grammy Award winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and currently performs in duet with flutist Catherine Payne of the San Francisco Symphony. Mr. Simons has released three critically acclaimed recordings with the San Francisco Guitar Quartet, including the 2003 SFGQ release “Compadres”, which was awarded “Top CD of 2003” by Acoustic Guitar magazine.
Mr. Simons was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in Guitar Performance to Stuttgart, Germany and received both the Outstanding Graduate and Chamber Music Departmental Awards from the University of Southern California School of Music where he was an Assistant Lecturer and Outreach Coordinator for the Guitar Department. Mark Simons holds degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music, Tufts University, The University of Southern California and the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. www.marksimons.net
Ming Xue (Cello) is originally from Shanghai, China. She started piano at the age of six and cello at the age of eight. She received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and then came to the United States for post-graduate study. She holds a Masters of Music degree from University of Nebraska – Lincoln, where she also served as a teaching assistant. She was accepted as a doctoral student at the University of Texas – Austin in 1993, and is now a DMA candidate in Cello Performance. During her studies at UT – Austin she founded the New China Trio, which has gone on to win first prize in the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition in Ohio and the Schaad Award of the Carmel Chamber Music Competition in California. The Trio came to study at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1996 with full scholarship as Piano Trio in Residence, and Ming received her Artist Certificate in Chamber Music at the Conservatory in 1998. She has also played with the Lincoln Symphony, Austin Symphony, Austin Lyric Opera, and the Midsummer Mozart Festival Orchestra. She began teaching at San Domenico in 2000.
Faith France, Founding Director
