Amanda is an enthusiastic and creative voice, piano and early childhood music instructor. Patient, kind and generous with her students, she earned her Bachelor’s of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the Los Angeles College of Music. Amanda has performance experience singing in a capella groups, jazz ensembles, and a wide variety of choirs. She is also a trained dancer with plenty of performance experience in that art form as well. While she is an experienced performer in multiple genres, she is empathetic and encouraging with even the shyest of students to help them recognize and celebrate their musical accomplishments.
Dedicated to “spreading happiness to the world” with music, multilingual Mahika is an experienced voice and beginning piano teacher. She is currently majoring in Vocal Performance at Fullerton College. Mahika is an experienced singer with pop, jazz, musical theater, opera, and has trained in Classical Indian singing for over eight years. She is also a trained Indian classical dancer as well as Bollywood and Hip Hop, so she knows how to wholly commit to a performance with mind and body. She has performed in chamber singing ensembles and choirs for many years. As an instructor, Mahika is very sincere and encouraging in helping her students to express themselves with music.
With an infectious laugh and over twenty years experience, Vera teaches beginning to advanced violin and beginning viola and piano to students of all ages. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from UCLA and since then has performed with professional symphonies, musical theater ensembles, chamber groups, and recorded film and television scores. A native of So Cal, Vera enjoys a wide variety of music including Classical, Eastern European folk music, and rock and roll. She knows a variety of violin teaching methods and offers well-structured lessons that bring out the very best in her students.
Wonderfully kind and patient, Ben teaches trumpet, piano, drums, bass guitar and early childhood music. He is a graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston where he earned his degree in Music Production and studied jazz trumpet. As an undergraduate he was awarded the Brass Department Division scholarship one year and the Al Natale scholarship the following year. In his music lessons, he focuses on technique and improvisation in addition to self-expression. Ben is an incredibly creative teacher and accommodating to students of all needs and abilities. He firmly believes that music is for everyone.
Natalie is a friendly and outgoing instructor who has a passion for sharing her passion for music, film and theatre with her students. Natalie has a patient and warm personality and is a wonderful instructor who brings out the best in her pupils. She has 23 years teaching experience in Voice and Piano. Natalie has studied Theater Performance at Citrus College and has considerable experience teaching children and adults with whom she is a favorite. She is an encouraging and disciplined teacher that makes her students shine!
A musical virtuoso, Jessi teaches beginning to advanced violin and piano. She graduated with her Master’s in Music degree in Instrumental Performance from Cal State Long Beach. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music from Cal Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Jessi performs with the San Luis Obispo Orchestra and has previously performed with: the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra, San Luis Obispo Symphony, Opera San Luis Obispo, Symphony of the Vines, the American Youth Symphony, and the Hollywood Studio Orchestra. She is a winner of the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music Concerto Competition. Committed to social justice around the world, she has worked for many years facilitating music education programs for at-risk populations in Cambodia, India, and Nepal. In her lessons, Jessi teaches music theory and ensemble skills to build her students’ versatility and performance options, ensuring students can enjoy music both for themselves and with others.
An affectionate, caring, kind and generous person, Yundi teaches Pre-K, Voice and Piano. Multilingual, she is also fluent in Mandarin Chinese and conversational in Japanese. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Commercial Music from Azusa Pacific University with an emphasis in Vocal Performance having finished her Associate’s Degree in Music Performance at Citrus College. Yundi is committed to teaching her voice students how to take proper care of their voice to maintain the health and longevity of their instrument. A favorite amongst her many pupils, Yundi is someone you never forget!
A kind, patient and skillful teacher committed to nurturing students’ creativity and love of music, Jessica teaches piano, theory and composition from Pre-K to Advanced levels. She earned her Master’s degree in Music from New York University (NYU) and her Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Melbourne. Jessica has lived in Australia, the US, and Hong Kong, and is fluent in Chinese (Cantonese). She has taught piano for over five years along with music theory and composition. A professional composer herself, Jessica writes music for Bleeding Fingers, a custom film and television scoring company co-founded by legendary film composer, Hans Zimmer. Her background in film scoring shapes her educational approach making her an innovative instructor with a diverse range of musical interests. She enjoys teaching her students that music is not only deeply emotional but also an effective storytelling medium.
A Guitar, Piano, Theory & Composition teacher, Vincent guides his students to recognize music as a mode of storytelling and an expression of humanity. He earned his Bachelor’s of Music degree at the University of Miami in Media Scoring and Production. Vincent is an award-winning composer of independent films, and also works as a producer, recording and mixing engineer, and a studio instrumentalist for recording labels.
Well-rounded in musical genres, Vincent’s passion for music is multidimensional from creating and playing it, to recording, mixing, and of course teaching it to fellow musicians.
Talia is incredibly energetic and works wonderfully with children. Sweet, friendly, and down-to-earth, she teaches voice with specializations in pop and musical theater as well as piano, songwriting, acting and our Early Childhood Music program. She completed the Citrus Singers Conservatory program at Citrus College.
Talia has extensive professional experience in Vocal performance, touring in places such as New York, Los Angeles, and all the way in China. She has over seven years experience teaching children and young adults and is a beloved teacher at JFMA. Talia is dedicated to fostering a passion for music as a foundation of growing up.
Patient, personable and kind, MaKesa teaches Voice, Piano and Songwriting. She graduated from the Los Angeles College of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance. As an undergraduate there, MaKesa worked as a summer mentor aiding students in increasing their comfort performing and creating a fun and welcoming atmosphere for incoming students. She is currently recording an EP and performing with her band, Mali Edge. A vibrant personality with an incredible voice, MaKesa puts her whole heart into to making every one of her students feel special in their ability to say something unique and important with music.
Enthusiastic and friendly, Walter teaches Piano, Trumpet, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Piano, Mandolin, Theory, Composition, Improvisation and Recording Technology. He earned his Bachelor’s of Music in Composition from the University of North Texas. He has many years experience teaching private lessons to all ages in Performance and Music Technology. Walter has worked in recording studios playing keyboard, guitar, and bass and freelances in score editing, composition, and arranging. Versatile in a wide variety of musical styles from orchestral music to jazz, Walter is always positive and upbeat, and is dedicated to encouraging any student to believe in oneself.
Jessie is committed to seeing steady progress in her students to keep them confident, motivated, and consistently improving as musicians. She teaches voice, piano and math. Jessie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance from the University of the Redlands, where she was a Music Talent Award Scholarship recipient, and studied theater, jazz dance, swing dance, and ballet at the College of the Desert. She is skilled in multiple genres including: pop, jazz, musical theater and is highly accomplished in jazz singing, sight singing, and vocal improvisation. She was a choir member for productions at Opera by the Glass, the Pacific Opera Project, the University of the Redlands, and the McCallum Theater. Jessie believes that a solid musical technique is the ideal foundation for a lifetime of musical development and enjoyment.
Jeremy is wonderfully creative in his teaching and uses a diversity of methods to engage all kinds of students. A JFMA instructor since 2004, he teaches guitar, piano, drums, ukulele, bass, violin, theory, and banjo. Jeremy earned both his Bachelor’s in Psychology and his Master’s in Music Performance from Azusa Pacific University. As the Music Director for Mission Pointe Church, he prepared all the music for weekly services, led congregational singing, and ran rehearsals and performances for the worship band. Currently he performs as a freelance musician in the Los Angeles area. Dedicated to the success of his students, Jeremy develops personalized curriculums of music theory and guitar techniques for his students.
A multilingual and internationally accomplished musician, Ednaldo has been teaching advanced Clarinet and Saxophone, and beginning Piano since 2016. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance and Music Education from the Federal University of Paraíba in his home country of Brazil, where he was the principal clarinetist for several orchestras and concert bands. He went on to earn his Artist Certificate and Master’s degree in Music Performance from Azusa Pacific University. Ednaldo has been the recipient of many awards for competitions in Brazil, Bosnia Herzegovinia, the US, and the UK. Locally, Ednaldo has held many orchestral and wind ensemble positions and has performed a diverse repertoire as a soloist in a wide variety of orchestral settings. As a teacher, Ednaldo is patient, kind and encouraging to his students as he develops them into confident, creative performers.
An exceptionally talented guitarist and experienced music educator, Andres is also a friendly, cosmopolitan, bilingual teacher of guitar, bass guitar, drums, piano, and the ukulele. His Bachelor’s degree is in Business Administration with a minor in Contemporary Music performance. He then went on to study Guitar at the Los Angeles Music Academy where he graduated on the Dean’s List of honors. He developed a music program for an entire high school in Quito, Ecuador and also has many years of one-on-one teaching experience in Los Angeles. He has developed a highly effective method of teaching music theory to kids based on playing games. He is also highly accomplished in music production, mixing, mastering, marketing, and of course performance. He has performed playing blues, rock, funk, pop, and R & B. He can teach any student to express him/herself in any musical genre, sharing one’s talent with the world.
A versatile musician, Alexander teaches Piano, Guitar, Drums and Ukulele. He is currently completing his Bachelor’s degree in Music from Cal State Fullerton having earned his Associates in Music from East Los Angeles College. He has been teaching music lessons since 2018 with attention to crafting engaging exercises to keep his students practicing between lessons. Alexander is patient and disciplined in his teaching; he focuses on technique, performance, and making music fun at every age. Alexander is a kind and thoughtful person and a very dedicated teacher.