Teachers
Our Faculity
Victoria Strochkova
Studio Director, Piano/Violin/Viola
Victoria Strochkova studied violin at the R. M. Glier Kiev State Music Collage under the instruction L. B.
Shukhman from 1984 to 1988. She continued her violin study at Ukrainian National Tchaikovsky Academy of Music in Kiev under the instruction of prof. V. V. Kozin and prof. A.N. Gorokhov.
Victoria started teaching children during her studies and continued her commitment to young musicians throughout her career. After graduation she became a full time teacher, dedicating herself to exceptional music instruction in technique, music theory and performance skills. Since emigrating to the United States, she played in local orchestras including Russian Chamber Orchestra under direction of Alexander Verishagin and Pro-Art Symphony conducted under maestro James Gardner.
In 1998 she relocated to San Ramon with her family and a year earlier she joined the MTAC association. She was balancing her career between raising her own children and teaching music privately. In 2006 she founded Strochkova Music Studio and a few years later she established new school San Ramon Music and Fine Art School offering wide selection of classes with collaboration of other great local teachers.
She shared and enriched her teaching experience in another local school: Radayeva Music School for three years (2006-2009) and after some break she came back to teach in this school again. Victoria prepared numerous students for local youth orchestra such Berkeley Youth Orchestra, Youth Orchestra Gradus ad Parnassum, Oakland Youth Orchestra San Francisco Youth Orchestra, Cal State East Bay University Orchestra. Her students were concertmasters of the first violin in Oakland Youth Orchestra and others.
Victoria has been an active member of the Music Teachers Association of California since 1997. She is preparing her students for CM test, CM Honors, Panel, ABARSM and other programs. As part of her curriculum students are successfully prepared for orchestra and college auditions. Her 30 years teaching experience allows for a customized approach to attain each student’s goal.
Farida Isayeva
Piano
Farida Isayeva graduated the Music College, Music Conservatory, and State University in Russia. She has a Doctorate Degree and speaks English, Russian, Turkish, and Azeri. She has been teaching piano and music theory for all ages and all levels since 1984. Ms. Isayeva was Principal of a music school in Russia, but moved to the US in 1998. Since then, she has continued to teach piano privately, and has taught at music academies and music conservatories.
Ms. Isayeva's style of teaching is creative and challenging. Her teaching methods are geared according to each student's needs. She builds a lesson plan to create success in each of her students, and her students consistently achieve high scores in assessments. She uses a combination of lesson books and individual plans for each student. Ms. Farida encourages preparing students for a variety of performance opportunities such as recitals, competitions, festivals. Many of her students have won awards.
Piano
Melissa Nering has taught piano in the East Bay for the past fourteen years. She graduated from California State University East Bay with a BA in Liberal Studies and a Minor in music. Melissa had a keen interest in piano from the time she was seven years old. When she finally had the opportunity to begin classical piano lessons, it was a dream come true. She believes one is never too old to learn and enjoys teaching children and adults.
Many of Melissa’s students have participated in studio recitals, community events, and Certificate of Merit testing. Melissa successfully auditioned to become a Cal Plan member with the Music Teachers Association of California (Alameda East Branch) and she is currently working towards Active membership. Melissa believes in a well-rounded piano education and incorporates music theory, technique, repertoire, sight reading, and ear training into lessons at the piano.
When she is not at the piano, Melissa can be found hiking, reading a good book, baking, or spending time with her friends and family.
Melissa Nering
Yukiko Egawa
Piano
Yukiko Egawa was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, and has been a resident of the East Bay since 2000. She studied piano pedagogy at a local college, where she earned certificates in teaching Beginning and Intermediate Piano.
Since January, 2017, she’s been teaching piano at a local music school. The majority of students are beginners, from preschooler up to adult students.
She says that every lesson, she loves seeing the smiles on her students’ faces.
She believes that learning music should be fun and exciting, so she likes to provide well-rounded piano lessons with many hands-on activities: playing theory games, singing solfege (Do, Re, Mi…) with hand signals, and counting rhythm using the Kodaly method.
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Hannah Robbins
Violin
Hannah Robbins is a violin teacher who has been teaching in the East Bay Area for the past ten years. She grew up on the East Coast, where she studied violin with teachers at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. She was the youngest member to be accepted into both the Hochstein Youth Orchestra and the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (RPYO). She later moved to Nashville to study with teachers at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt before relocating to San Francisco to attend the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Hannah’s teaching style combines different methods (e.g. Suzuki) and materials along with a strong emphasis on supplementary theory, ear training, proper technique, and overall musicality. From the very beginning, students learn the importance of good tone, sound, rhythm, and technique for optimal results, all while having fun and expanding their love of music. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, discovering new places in the Bay Area, and performing in ensembles with friends.
Her students have performed in the San Jose Youth Symphony, the California Youth Symphony, PACO, PYO, and the El Camino Youth Symphony, some holding leadership and concertmaster roles. Many actively participate in competitions (beginner to advanced levels) and graded assessment programs such as the Royal Conservatory of Music Achievement Program and Certificate of Merit. They have been accepted into professional-level summer programs, including Music@Menlo, Brevard Music Festival, and Interlochen, and a number have become members of the California All-State Orchestra. Many of her students have continued their studies at the college level.
Ari Zakem
Violin
Ari Zakem is a classically trained violinist with over 30 years of experience and a deep commitment to musical excellence. Raised in Chicago, Ari began studying violin privately at age seven with members of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and Chicago Sinfonietta. Demonstrating advanced skill early on, he held concertmaster positions in multiple youth orchestras and actively mentored emerging violinists. His formative years included participation in prestigious summer programs, such as those at Northwestern University’s School of Music, and extensive experience in chamber music and solo performance.
Ari’s musical development continued at The Johns Hopkins University, where he studied under Melina Gajger at the Peabody Institute, a distinguished lineage tracing back to Shirley Givens and Ivan Galamian. There, Ari honed his orchestral expertise as a member of the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra, further refining his technique and interpretive skills.
Ari brings a thoughtful and encouraging approach to teaching, drawing on years of experience to support each student’s individual musical journey.
Currently, Ari balances his musicianship with family life as a stay-at-home parent, maintaining his artistry by performing with the Prometheus Symphony Orchestra in Oakland and continuing his professional development through his work with Melissa Kleinbart of the San Francisco Symphony. He is passionate about nurturing the next generation of violinists, sharing his extensive knowledge and lifelong dedication to the craft.
Salvatore Minutoli
Piano / Flute / Guitar
Salvatore 'Sal' Minutoli is excited to teach students on just about any instrument, although he considers his specialties to be piano, flute and guitar.
Self-described as "the ultimate band nerd," Sal has plenty of ammunition to back up the claim. He spent 5th grade through college playing in just about any musical ensemble the schools had to offer - jazz band, symphonic band, rally band, marching band, etc. Although he was not officially awarded "ultimate band nerd", he was decorated with such honors as: Most Promising Musician, Marching Band Section Leader, Honor Band (Concord High School), and Best Jazz Musician (University of the Pacific Music Camp).
Living up to the potential that his grade school teachers saw in him, Sal has continued pursue music in many ways. Over the years, he has performed with various bands and ensembles ranging from country and blues bands to punk bands to "Top 40" variety bands to jazz ensembles, vocalist accompaniment (and everything in between). In addition to performance, Sal also maintained his studies of music, working with a long and impressive list of mentors and local institutions including: Linda Lukas (San Francisco Symphony) at San Francisco State University, Susan Muscarella (founder of the Berkeley Jazz Conservatory) at Jazz Conservatory (formerly Jazz School), Bruce Cook at Diablo Valley College, and currently under Joan Cifarelli at Los Medanos College.
"I like to build a strong foundation. I teach scale and chords, as they are crucial to understanding music. I like to emphasize reading as that is another important part of understanding the language of music," says Sal. "Most importantly, I engage the student with music that they enjoy. I ask them what their favorite song is and then I teach them with it. It is fun and they learn much faster."
On top of being a proud nerd, Sal is also a proud father.
Yekaterina Afanasyeva
Piano
Bio coming soon.