Kayo Harada
Lessons: Competitive Piano, Certified of Merit
Kayo is the founder of KAYO PIANO STUDIO.
She obtained her degree in piano performance and pedagogy from Tamagawa University of Tokyo.
Some students have received prestigious awards in local and international competitions.
She always teaches with passion.
Currently an active member of MTAC, MTNA, and CAPMT.
Yuki Yokota
Temporary piano teacher – yukiyokota.com
She began her musical journey at age three. After moving to the United States at age seven, she took private lessons and attended piano courses as a pre-college student at the University of Southern California. As a young artist, Yuki has appeared in numerous solo and concerto competitions. Upon winning first place, Yuki was invited to perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 19 with the Long Beach Festival Orchestra at age ten. Following this, she received first place in the Piano Concerto Competition at the Music Teachers Association of California State Convention.
In addition, Yuki has performed Rachmaninoff’s beloved Second Piano Concerto with the Bob Cole Symphony in 2022. She obtained her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance degree at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, and Master of Music in Piano Performance degree at University of Cincinnati – College Conservatory of Music with the support provided by prestigious scholarships.
Yuki continues to pursue a Professional Studies Certificate in Keyboard at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Her principal mentors are Dennis Thurmond, Sung Hwa Park, Giorgi Latsabidze, Shun-Lin Chou, and Awadagin Pratt.
Jason Heemang Griffin
Lessons: Piano, Composition
He is a composer/pianist raised in Torrance and Rancho Palos Verdes. After attaining a Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, he moved back down to LA county to pursue a career in music. Having just received a Master’s in Composition from Cal State Long Beach, he is currently actively taking on new teaching, performance, and composition jobs.
While his compositional activities range from media music to research in Korean folk traditions, he has always been active in providing piano accompaniment and lessons to students around him. At Stanford he had provided five years piano accompaniment to the music department’s vocal and choral classes, acting as a professional staff accompanist in 2022. At CSULB, He went above and beyond the normal responsibilities of a TA to personally write syllabi, design midterms and finals, and act as a lecturer for the university’s class piano curriculum. From teaching in private studios to a university setting, He is equally adept at teaching piano to young beginners to adult amateurs.
Noriko Kunikiyo
Lessons: Piano
She was born and raised in Japan where she started musical journey. Beginning with private piano lessons at the age of five, she also studied clarinet as an elementary school student and played in an award winning woodwind ensemble at her school. Later, She studied Voice in High School and worked as a staff member for orchestra and opera programs in Japan.
After coming to the US, She studied piano performance under the tutelage of well known pianists Dr. Anna Gliadkovskaya, Dr. Kirill Gliadkovsky, Dr. Susan Boettger and Dr. Svetlana Smolina. She has performed for master teachers Ning Ann, Rufus Choi, Lorna Griffit and Andrzei Dutkiewicz. Also she joined the Philadelphia International Music Festival and performed at the master class, piano solo recital and chamber recital in 2015.
Samuel Durand
Lessons: Piano, Composition
He is a Central Arkansas native, began studying piano at the Searcy Community School of Music with Dr. Scott Carrell. He was the principal pianist for the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra and won the Sam O’ Driggers Piano Festival twice. In 2020, he recorded C.P.E. Bach on fortepiano for the Packard Humanities Institute. Samuel graduated from the Longy School of Music of Bard College, where he studied with Grammy-nominated pianist Andrius Zlabys.
As a composer, his first public work, El Morro Castle, was premiered in 2017. He has also composed works performed by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Guild and achieved national recognition for Reminiscence. Samuel recently completed his first piano quintet, Death…Redemption…Life, a finalist for the 202 3 American Prize, and commissions for chamber works.
Now living in Los Angeles, Samuel is studying Film Scoring at UCLA Extension, with credits including the upcoming film Senseless (2024).
Rhea Smith
Lessons: Piano / Violin
She is a pianist/violinist. Under formal teaching from private teachers as well as being part of an orchestra, she has been playing piano since she was six years old and violin since she was 11. She has been teaching for 8 years and is currently pursuing music education at Cypress College.
Carlos Martinez Zepeda
Lessons: Piano / Guitar, Composition
He is a music composer and piano/guitar instructor who began learning lead guitar at age 12 and piano at 20. He attended Antelope Valley College where he performed on piano in their 85th anniversary’s private concert in 2014 and went on to graduate with honors in 2018.
He later attended and graduated from Cal State Long Beach where he wrote music for their New Music Ensemble twice in 2021 and two senior animation films. Raised in a non-musical family, he recognizes the value of music and aims to enthuse keen appreciation from his students.
Yotaro Haruyama
Lessons: Piano, Guitar
He is a Guitarist/Composer born and raised in Los Angeles, California. His formal education for guitar has started at El Camino College, where he earned his Associates in Arts degree and is currently working towards his bachelors at Cal State Fullerton.
He has studied various genres of music including Jazz, Classical and J-pop and has experience performing in ensembles such as big bands and jazz combos. He also has experience playing the piano and teaches beginning piano at Kayo Piano studio.
Sharlyn Zeng
Lessons: Piano
She is a lifelong classical pianist with over 25 years of training and performance experience. She began studying piano at the age of four under the renowned Chinese conductor Aiyue Ding, earning awards in regional piano competitions in Kyoto and Shanghai.
After moving to the United States to pursue her studies at UCLA, Sharlyn continued her musical journey alongside her academic pursuits. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics with College Honors while continuing her piano studies at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where she took ~2 years of collaborative piano and chamber ensemble courses with Dr. James Lent and Professor Gary Gray. During her time at UCLA, she performed in Popper Friday concerts and accompanied musicians in senior and master’s recitals.
Outside of music, Sharlyn has built a career in finance and earned an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. She is currently a licensed CPA and Senior Director of Finance at a Los Angeles-based tech company. Despite her professional commitments, she remains dedicated to her love for piano and continues to study with LMU Professor Wojciech Kocyan.
Fluent in English, Chinese, and Japanese, Sharlyn enjoys teaching students of all backgrounds. She believes in fostering a supportive and inspiring learning environment, helping each student develop both technical skills and a deep appreciation for music.