Piano Lessons in Irvine, CA

Instruments: Piano Voice Violin Viola Mandolin Keyboard

What is your dream piece to perform and why?
There are too many to list: For solo classical repertoire: I love The French: Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc, Milhaud. I tend to favor impressionists too like Cyril Scott and have recorded a great amount of repertoire all ready. For concerti I haven't yet performed: I would love to play the Leroy Anderson Concerto in C, The Leith Steven's Night Song Concerto, John Ireland's Piano Concerto and more Mozart. For musical theatre: I love all the standard repertoire and love to perform them all I also love to record my own original piano works.

If you weren't a musician what do you think you'd be doing instead?
I have great background in art as well and film history. I have taught film noir, Pre-Code and MGM cinema courses which I love. I'm a huge classic movie buff. I love visual art and have background in sketching and coloring. I love yoga and veganism and have written already 2 books on vegan cooking. I'm a clinical hypnotherapist and love working with clients in regressive sessions and teaching seminars. I enjoy metaphysical studies and have background as a psychic/tarot reader and astrologer and find this fascinating. I'm a computer web designer and I also design websites for my clients.

What is your favorite style/genre of music to play and why?
Jazz Piano: 1950s LA cool Jazz standards, 1930s stride, ragtime, coastal smooth jazz bossa nova, and romantic Liberace-esque piano Classical Piano: MOZART, and the Impressionists and French Composers Harpsichord: Scarlatti, French Baroque, and 20th century works such as the concerti by De Falla and Poulenc. Voice: Great American Songbook Standards, Mozart and Operatic REpertoire Violin: Celtic fiddle My expertise is vast and would take to long to cover here. I love all music with maybe the exception of Heavy Metal rock and rap.

If you play more than one instrument, how did you decide to start playing the second? (Or 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc)!
I come from a musical family and thus it was required to be versatile. As a child I studied piano, harpsichord, electric keyboard/synthesizer, organ, violin, viola, mandolin, as well as ballroom dancing, ballet, acting and musical theatre and operatic voice. My main love is piano and voice but I'm also passionate about harpsichord though I don't currently own one. I enjoy fiddle as well. I would love to learn classical harp someday if time and money permits. I believe that most musicians eventually study many areas of the arts.

Does music run in your family? Tell us a little about your musical family members.
I come from a long famous line of musicians. My great great maternal grandfather Canuto Berea Rodriguez was a famous Galician Spanish composer who wrote symphonies, operas, piano music and song cycles. He was also the mayor of La Caruna, Spain, and owned a family music publishing house. My mother is a noted opera singer from New York and my dad a country western performer. I have 5 siblings that are all musical and many nieces and nephews that are all prodigies in the arts. My nephew Matthew is a concert pianist who has already played Chopin and Beethoven standards by age 10 and is working on Rhapsody in Blue.

When did you decide to become a professional musician? Was it a gradual decision or was there a defining moment for you?
I knew since I was 3 I would always make a career in the arts. I prefer however to be self employed. I like to teach with my own methods I know work and set my own hours and decide whom I work on. I didn't like teaching college/university due to the strict regulations, red tape of the California School systems, budgets cuts etc. In fact I worked 60 hour weeks and was stressed and exhausted. Ironically owning my own business I make the same salary for 20 hours a week and have a lot of free time to concertize, record albums and write books.

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