HERB ALPERT MUSIC CENTER

Versatile guitarist Professor Andy Abad is best known for his mastery of a wide spectrum of pop, rock, and world music. In addition to electric, acoustic, and nylon-string guitar, he also performs and records with the Spanish laud, the Cuban tres and the Mexican requinto.

Professor Abad is currently the guitarist for Jennifer Lopez, and he is also an accomplished composer with music in several television shows, as well as a Latin Grammy-nominated producer. Andy studied at University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music where he earned a bachelors and masters degree in Studio/Jazz Guitar Performance.

His first big break came in 1999 when he was chosen to tour with Marc Anthony as member of both his pop and salsa bands. In 2001 he toured the world Backstreet Boys. While on a break from that tour, Andy was invited as a featured performer to record with Bonnie Raitt on an inspiring African tune called “Hear Me Lord” for her album Silver
Lining.

As a composer, Professor Abad has placed two main title theme songs for the food network in 2022, an end credit original song placement for the Netflix hit movie “Christmas With You”, and placed over 120 pieces of music for TV and film since 2022.

He is also very proud to be on the pioneer teaching staff of USC's Pop/Commercial Music Department.

Dr. Ron Anderson holds a doctoral degree in Piano Performance, as well as degrees in Opera and Composition, and has enjoyed successes in all three endeavors. 

During his 10-year singing career, Dr. Anderson performed about two dozen operatic roles, including Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen and the title roles in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Britten’s Noye’s Fludde. His oratorio credits include numerous performances of the bass solos in Handel’s Messiah, requiems of Mozart, Fauré, and Duruflé, baritone soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana, and multiple performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, as well as other choral masterpieces.

In addition to his long list of operatic roles, he has been regularly featured as soloist (both as a pianist and a vocalist) in televised concerts with several orchestras throughout Southern California, including Torrance Symphony, the Marina Symphony, the Cypress Pops Orchestra, and the Redlands Bowl.

His compositions for orchestra, choir, chamber ensembles, piano solo, and voice have been received enthusiastically, having won competitions and critical acclaim. Recently, his choral anthem “Wilt Thou Forgive?” was awarded First Prize in the Cerddorion Composers Competition, tied with Bernardino Zanetti of Italy. He is a current winner of the SMP Press composition contest in three categories (Choral, Chamber, and Solo). His compositions and arrangements are published on SMP Press (Sheet Music Plus).

Aside from teaching at LACC, Dr. Anderson is presently on the Piano Faculty at Chapman University. His private studio has produced several winners in the National Chopin Foundation, MTNA, Composers Today, Robert Avalon International Competition for Composers, and others. He is in demand as a lecturer, and often adjudicates for competitions and events, such as the Steinway & Sons Junior Piano Competition, MTNA Composition Competition, MTNA State and Division Piano Competitions, the Reno Youth Music Festival, the Yamaha National Junior Original Concert, MTAC Young Composers Guild, and the Composers Today State Contest and Evaluations. Dr. Anderson is the former State Chair for the Composers Today Young Composers Guild and continues to serve in an advisory capacity.

Professor Jamey Arent is a guitarist, songwriter, and singer based in Los Angeles, described by Guitar Player Magazine as "a stunning player straddling blues, jazz, and rock." 

Born in Denver, he picked up the guitar at the of age 12, when he first heard the Beatles. After completing a degree in jazz studies from the Oberlin Conservatory, he moved to Los Angeles to get a master's degree in studio/jazz guitar from USC and begin his career as a gigging musician.

As a sideman, he has performed and recorded with artists like Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Matthew Morrison, Nigel Hall, B. Slade, Spencer Day, Taylor Dayne, and Raquel Rodriguez. Jamey's guitar playing can also be heard on the soundtracks for Netflix, TBS, and Comedy Central shows, including Netflix's original series Motown Magic, where Jamey had the opportunity to record on songs performed by Smokey Robinson and Trombone Shorty. He is also featured backing up Woody Harrelson on a cover of Elvis' "Burning Love" from the Zombieland: Double Tap soundtrack. 

An avid educator, Professor Arent is an adjunct professor of commercial guitar at the Herb Alpert Music Center at Los Angeles City College, has mentored for Sonora Guitar Intensive, created online lesson videos for Music & Arts, teaches private lessons, and has appeared in dozens of lesson videos and masterclasses on the Pickup Music website. His popular mini guitar lessons have gained more than 5 million views on Instagram.  He is also frequently hired to demonstrate guitar equipment for brands, including Heritage Guitars, Ernie Ball Music Man, Harmony Guitars, Orangewood Guitars, Vertex Effects, Origin Effects, String Joy Strings, Shinos Amplifiers, and A3 Stompbox.

With his debut EP, The Back Burner, he steps into the spotlight as a solo artist with a guitar-driven blend of blues, funk, jazz, and soul. Produced by renowned guitarist Josh Smith, the album also features appearances by Nigel Hall (Lettuce) and Raquel Rodriguez, as well as co-writers Amber Navran (Moonchild) and Spencer Day.

Professor Mattie Barbier is an LA-based musician and sonic researcher focused on experimental intonation, noise, and the physical processes of their instrument. Their playing has been described by the LA Times as being "of intense, brilliant, virtuosic growling that gave the striking impression that Barbier was dismantling the instrument while playing it," by the Wire as “exploring the nooks of instrumental tone far beyond the reach of most mortals,” and by the New Yorker as being a "diabolically inventive trombonist-composer."

Professor Barbier engages in collaborative relationships with a range of musicians including Clara Iannotta, Michelle Lou, Weston Olencki, Catherine Lamb, Kevin Drumm, Sarah Davachi,  Jacob Kirkegaard, and Katherine Young. As an interpreter, they have given premieres by and collaborated with a broad spectrum of composers including George Lewis, Liza Lim, Lester St. Louis, Wolfgang von Schweinitz, Kaori Suzuki, Raven Chacon, and Scott Walker.

They are a member of RAGE Thormbones, wildUp, echoi, wasteLAnd music, and is an active soloist and improvisor on low brass instruments and bagpipes. They teach at CalArts and Los Angeles City College (LACC).

Professor Barbier has presented and created work with and for the Museum of Jurassic Technology, Getty Villa, Monday Evening Concerts, San Francisco Exploratorium, Indexical, Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella Series, Roulette Intermedium, RedCat, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Factory Seconds Brass Trio, and Issue Project Room as well as in collaboration with holographer Tristan Duke. They have made festival appearances at Borealis (NO), IMD Darmstadt (DE), Donaueschinger (DE), Maerzmusik (DE), Bludenz Tage zeitgemäßer (AT), Chicago’s Frequency Festival, Dartington International Summer School (UK),  Kalv Festival (SE), the Ojai Music Festival, and Musica Nova Helsinki (FI) with the Helsinki Philharmonic with upcoming engagements at Donaueschinger with the SWR. Various recording projects have been released on Sofa, Dinzu Artifcats, Carrier, Populist, Mode, Hat Hut, Innova, Faux Amis, New Focus, Domino, New Amsterdam, and Kairos Records.

Professor Gabriela Cartulano-Zambrano is an Italo-Venezuelan Latin Grammy nominee, singer-songwriter, vocal instructor, producer, and music business specialist based in Los Angeles, California.

She has three music productions and dozens of music singles released as a soloist where she has participated as main artist, general producer and singer-songwriter. She has also participated as back vocalist in several albums and music productions. Professor Cartulano-Zambrano is a certified announcer and voice-over artist. She has participated on doubling TV series, and TV and radio jingles.

She has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Master’s in Marketing Management (with honors) and with a Specialization in Popular Music in Venezuela. In 2022, after many years of experience within the music industry, she added a Specialization in Music Business.

She has been Projects and Special Events Coordinator for the Symphonic Orchestras System of Venezuela in Venezuela. She has participated as Associate Coordinator for International tours with the conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Symphonic Orchestra in England, Turkey, Austria, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, and Uruguay. She has been Production Coordinator for TV shows as Univision New Year’s Special, Los Angeles and Music Videos among many others. She has been a vocal instructor in private and public institutions and non- profits since 2010.

In 2017 she received a Latin Grammy nomination with her album “Tu Amor” as artist, singer-songwriter and general producer. She received 2 nominations for Arpa Awards in 2018 and 2022 and Redencion Awards, NYC in 2018. In 2007 she received Publications Mention for her Bachelor’s Thesis and in 2010 for her Graduate Thesis “Recording and Releasing a Music Production”. In 2004 she won the 1^st Place in Simon Bolivar University Festival and in 2006 was awarded 3^rd Place in the National Festival of the University Voice, Venezuela.

Professor Cartulano-Zambrano is a voting Member of Latin Grammy Awards (LARAS), member of The American Federation of Musicians, Local 47 (AFM), and BMI, among others. She is sponsored by Fender Guitars and Telefunken Mics.

Professor Andrew Conrad is a single reed artist, improviser, and composer living in Los Angeles, CA. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz and Improvisational Music at the University of Nevada, Reno and a Master’s degree in Jazz Reeds performance at California Institute of the Arts, where he primarily studied saxophone, improvisation, and composition. While attending CalArts he studied Jazz as well as music from around the world taught by its masters including West African Ewe Music, Balinese Gamelan, Cuban Music, Balkan Folk Music, and North Indian Classical Music. He has received several awards including the LA Weekly Theater Award for “Best Original Music for a Musical” for his work with Poor Dog Group on Brewsie and Willie, and 1st Place in the Umbria Jazz Festival’s CONAD Jazz Competition. He is the leader of A Conrad Trio and a co-leader of the improvisational jazz quartet Chord Four, both of which perform all original compositions as well as being a longstanding member of Orkestar Meze. Andrew has performed or recorded with Wild Up, Vinny Golia, Wadada Leo Smith, Jon Armstrong Jazz Orchestra, theBABAorchestra, Poor Dog Group, Tina Raymond, San Luis Obispo Symphony, Fell Runner, and The Trevor Anderies Quintet. He has performed at many national and international venues including Umbria Jazz Festival, Angel City Jazz Festival, Los Angeles Bach Festival, and the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival. Professor Conrad also works in Los Angeles with JoAnn Kane Music Service as a professional Music Copyist, Transcriber and Librarian.

Praised in The Clarinet Magazine for her “intense musicality … and unapologetic interpretations,” Los Angeles-based clarinetist Professor Virginia Figueiredo is an internationally active performer, recording artist, and educator. She has toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia as a soloist and chamber musician, and her performances have been featured on radio broadcasts in both Portugal and the United States.

In Southern California, she performs regularly with The Pacific Opera Project, the Luso-American Duo, and numerous other orchestras and chamber ensembles. As a recording artist, Figueiredo has released three albums to critical acclaim: her debut solo album, Seule, was a 2018 Global Music Awards silver medalist, while her 2014 album with The Divan Consort, Refuge, earned a first-round GRAMMY nomination in 2015 as well as a Global Music Awards gold medal, and Intuicion, with her Luso-American Duo. A passionate advocate for new music, Figueiredo has commissioned and premiered works by Bill Kraft, Ken Walicki, Jenni Brandon, Christopher Bochmann, Luis Tinoco, Clotilde Rosa, Paulo Brandao, and Sergio Azevedo, among many others.

As an educator, Figueiredo is a frequent clinician and teaching artist for clarinet festivals and masterclasses around the world. She also teaches clarinet at California State University, Dominguez Hills, Loyola Marymount University, Moorpark College, Pierce College, Cerritos College, and at the LACC Herb Alpert Music Center. She's also a teaching artist with the Los Angeles based Harmony Project. Figueiredo holds a DMA in Clarinet Performance from the University of California, Los Angeles, in addition to degrees from the Lisbon Superior School of Music and California State University, Fullerton. Her principal teachers have included Olga Prats, Nuno Silva, Carlos Alves, Håkan Rosengren, and Gary Gray. Figueiredo is a Silverstein and Yamaha endorsed artist.

Dr. Patricia Hannifan is an Instructor at Los Angeles City and Valley Colleges and a Staff Accompanist at Los Angeles Valley College. She is also the Organist and Music Director for Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Long Beach as well as a freelance piano and organ accompanist in the greater Los Angeles area. Dr. Hannifan also teaches piano and organ and coaches singers in her private studio.

Her achievements include being a four-time Winner of the Artistic Director Achievement Award for 'Best Music Director' by the Valley Theater League for her work with the Woodland Hills Community Theatre - The Fantasticks (1998), The All Night Strut! (2001), The Taffetas (2006) and Nunsense (2009).

As a founding partner of the LAVC Summerfest, a collaboration of the Music, Theater, and Dance departments of Los Angeles Valley College, she served as the Musical Director for the inaugural performance of Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret in the summer of 2010 and the 2011 performance of Anything Goes by Cole Porter.

Dr. Hannifan holds a DMA in organ performance from University of California, Los Angeles, a Master’s Degree in Organ Performance from the Flora L. Thorton School of Music at the University of Southern California, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from California State University, Northridge.

Professor Horton has a very rich experience in Commercial Music and currently teaches Commercial Voice courses and lessons at Los Angeles City College. She trains and nurtures students' voices through the nuances of varying genres while solidifying a firm foundation of vocal technique. Professor Horton also introduces students to African American traditions in the LACC Gospel Ensemble and the African American Music history course. The ensemble learns music that spans the musical canon from the old standards to the newest releases within the gospel genre. The history course explores the contributing factors that helped develop and nurture genres born from the African American experience.

Professor Horton not only lives an active life of music but also studied it intensively. Her informal study began as a child in church and then school. She began her formal study at Berea College, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music then flourished at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) where she received her Masters in Vocal Performance. Though formally studying classical voice in both undergrad and grad school, Professor Horton explored the music of Africa, India and Indonesia alongside the art of improvisation at CalArts. She also sang with the Latin Jazz Ensemble as she perfected her salsa moves. Her passion led her to create and direct the CALARTS Gospel Choir for two years. Seeing a greater need, she also created/ produced “The African American Arts Experience”. It was a three day collaborative festival covering film, music, fine art, artist talks and writing that highlighted African American and Black contributions to the Arts. Embracing all of these influences, including gospel, R&B, pop and jazz, she provides a culturally diverse mindset to her approach to performance and teaching music.

Dr. Ken Nagatani received both a Master of Music and a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Manuel Barrueco, and completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Southern California in 2006 as a student of William Kanengiser.

He has been the recipient of several honors and awards, including the Mary Pickford Foundation Endowed Scholarship in Classical Guitar and the Jack Marshall Memorial Scholarship while at USC. He has certified training in the Suzuki method, and has been active as a performer and teacher in Southern California for the past 24 years. He currently teaches Classical Guitar and Beginning Guitar at LACC.

Dr. Steven Niles attended the University of Southern California where he received a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance with minors in Historical Musicology, Music Education, and Harpsichord. He has taught music in the Los Angeles Community College District since 2011, at Pierce, Mission, and City Colleges. He teaches class and applied Piano, Music Appreciation, and Music Theory. Professor Niles has performed nationally and abroad in solo recitals and as concerto soloist. He has taught numerous masterclasses at institutions in the US, China, and Taiwan. He has commissioned and premiered numerous works by contemporary composers. He performs continuo and improvises in early music, as well as Jazz. He also writes music criticism for New Classic LA and other publications.

Professor Caroline Reyes is an Instructional Assistant at Los Angeles City College, who returned to her native Los Angeles and Orange County area from Western New York in the summer of 2015. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in harp performance and ethnomusicology from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. An active performer and educator, Professor Reyes has served on the faculty of Roberts Wesleyan College and has performed with many notable ensembles, including the Long Beach Symphony, Orchestra Santa Monica, The Eastman Wind Ensemble, The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and The Rochester Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, Professor Reyes has been featured in the Rochester Women in Music Festival, as guest faculty recitalist at the Eastman School of Music, and the Rochester Fringe Festival. When not playing or teaching the harp, Professor Reyes can be found performing with and teaching Balinese gamelan ensembles and teaching world music courses.

As a bassoon and contrabassoon player, Dr. Rebecca Rivera has recorded for several film and music projects and performed with many ensembles throughout Southern California including Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Pasadena Symphony and Pops Orchestras and the woodwind trio Third Wheel.

She recently performed with Elton John at the 125th Anniversary concert for Yamaha. She has performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Cerritos Performing Arts Center, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, The Orpheum and The Los Angeles Music Center. She is a guest artist on Fiesta by Flamenco Latino guitarist Tony Ybarra.

In addition to maintaining her private teaching studio, Dr. Rivera is adjunct professor of bassoon and Chapman University and a lecturer in reed-making at the University of Southern California. She completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in bassoon performance at the University of Southern California, studying with Rose Corrigan and Judith Farmer.

Professor Emilia Simeonov has been an active violinist and educator with a diverse performance career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestra and theater musician in Europe and the US.

Starting her career in Oslo, Norway and later in NYC, Professor Simeonov has been invited to perform at several music festivals - The Annual Oslo Opera Ball, Knut Hamsun Festival, Bergen Mostraspelet, Music on Madison concert series in NYC, and New York Fringe Festival to name a few.

Professor Simeonov has been a violinist in Kristiansand Chamber Orchestra, The Norwegian Opera, Manhattan Symphony, as well as a member of TettPå String Quartet and Forte String Quartet.

As a theater and musical musician she has been a soloist and a composer of the theater production Dos Parables by Isabel Allende, performed at Oslo New Theater, a concertmaster of the musical production Jesus Christ Superstar by Lloyd Weber and a solo violinist at the chamber musical Araby at NYC Fringe Festival, featured at the WNYC Greene Space.

As an educator, Professor Simeonov has more than twenty years experience teaching violin, viola, chamber music and string orchestra. She served as a faculty of Paramus High School Music Program (NJ), Montclair Kimberly Academy, as well as Oslo Community Music School (Norway). Many of her students have won regional competitions and been accepted to music colleges and universities.

Besides being a classical violinist, Professor Simeonov has a passion for improvising in different styles, including Balkan, Flamenco and World music. She has been performing and recorded with several bands.

Born in Varna, Bulgaria, in a family of musicians and artists, Professor Simeonov started playing violin at the age of six with her mother, a professional violinist and educator. After graduating Sofia School of Music “L. Pipkov” in the class of Alexander Seraphimov, she was accepted with a full scholarship at The Norwegian Academy of Music, where she holds a Graduate Performance Diploma in Chamber Music and B.M. in Violin Performance. Professor Simeonov studied with professors Terje Moe Hansen, Milan Vitek and Gregori Zhistlin.

Originally from southwest Missouri, Professor Darrin Stafford earned his bachelor’s degree in music education in 1993 from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. Since then, he has been performing as a singer, keyboardist, and songwriter. In the year 2000, he moved to Miami, Florida, and taught elementary school music while also pursuing his performing career. He was a member of the Grammy-nominated chamber choir Seraphic Fire. In 2008 he earned his Master’s degree in jazz music from the University of Miami.

Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2009, he continues to work extensively as a freelance singer and keyboardist with several bands (including his original project). He is an adjunct faculty member at both Irvine Valley College and Los Angeles City College, where he teaches commercial voice, songwriting, jazz piano, and a class on the history of pop, rock, and soul. A member of both ASCAP and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, he self-released his first full-length original album Sending Out A Light in October of 2015. In addition, he is currently working on new songs for a new album due to be released within the next year.

Professor David Stahl has been an Adjunct Professor of Music at Los Angeles City College since 1996. Before his Professorship at LACC, he taught music classes at Harbor College beginning in 1991. From 1999 to 2022 he also worked as the full-time commercial voice accompanist at LACC. Originally from Ohio, he received his Bachelor of Music degree from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati in Piano Performance where he was the winner of the Van Cliburn scholarship. He later earned his Master of Fine Arts degree also in Piano Performance from UCLA. His teachers have included Eugene Mancini, Aube Tzerko, Bela Siki, and David Bar-Illan. He works in both classical and commercial music. He performed the Tchaikowsky Piano Concerto #2 with the Maui Symphony, composed music and lyrics for a stage musical and choral works, and has commercially recorded 3 CDs (David on the Keys, Guy in a White Shirt, and Christmas by the Fireside). He presently lives in the Chicago area and teaches remotely at LACC.

Professor Lori Stinson is a frequent concert and soprano opera soloist in the greater Los Angeles area and the country. She has sung operatic roles with San Diego Opera, Opera Pacific, Glimmerglass Opera, Aspen Opera Theater, Utah Festival Opera, Pacific Repertory Opera, and Long Beach Opera, as well as covering roles at New York City Opera.

As a concert soloist, Professor Stinson has sung with Los Angeles Bach Festival, Redlands Bowl Symphony, Torrance Symphony, The Marina Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Pacific Chorale, Ventura Master Chorale, and Foothill Master Chorale, as well as many others. Some of the roles and oratorio she has most performed are The Countess in the Marriage of Figaro and Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte. She has performed as the soloist in Carmina Burana five times in the past seven years. When she was a soloist in the Verdi Requiem with the Cypress Master Chorale, the newspaper there said, “Her large, gleaming soprano soared above all else, and her wonderful performance would have graced any stage in the world. She sang loud, she sang soft, she colored her words, she shaped her phrases. She made the most of her turn in ‘Libera me’ and her soft high note at the end of the a cappella section was dynamite. Her high C was great. She was fabulous.”

She made her motion picture debut as the singing voice of actress Alison Elliott in a 2001 made-for-TV movie, “The Song of the Lark,” broadcast on most public television stations as part of the network’s “Masterpiece Theatre American Collection.” Professor Stinson recorded more than half a dozen opera and oratorio arias and art songs for the soundtrack in portraying a fictional character through her vocal development from a teenager to a renowned opera diva.

Professor Stu Suarez is the full-time sound engineer for the Cinema/TV and Music Departments at LACC.

Dr. Sezin Ahmet Türkmenoğlu is a versatile bass player, composer, and educator based in Los Angeles. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2012, he has worked with musicians like Alan Pasqua, Stanley Jordan, Bruce Forman, Otmaro Ruiz, Jimmy Branly, Frank Potenza, Nick Mancini, Chris Wabich, Abe Lagrimas, Larry Koonse, Michael Carvin, Michael Orland, Dennis Hamm, Kenwood Dennard, and Steve Hass. Dr. Türkmenoğlu has recorded and toured all over the world with many artists, both in Turkey and the U.S. He holds a doctorate degree in jazz performance from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Wanner is the Dean of Pathways and Curriculum at LACC.

He was Chair of the Music Department from 2004-13, served as the Chair of Department Chairs for five years, and was the President of the Music Association of California Community Colleges (MACCC) from 2010-12.

Dr. Wanner received his Master's Degree in Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts in Composition from Columbia University in New York City. Following the completion of his studies, he worked as a music editor; published articles on music, film, and art; wrote numerous orchestral and chamber works; and served as the President of the League of Composers/ISCM.

Professor Greg Zilboorg is a trumpet player and composer who draws on his experience in jazz, classical, and electronic and music to create works featuring lush harmonies, lyrical melodies and engaging textures with an alive, unpredictable, yet organic quality.

Professor Zilboorg began his journey in music as a cornet player with the school band where he grew up in northern Vermont. He later studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and California Institute of the Arts, where he focused on jazz, improvisation, and composition. He currently lives in Los Angeles, where he teaches, performs, and does session work.