Jutka Kádas - Music Program Director, Kodály Music & Piano Instructor
Jutka Kádas is a graduate of the Ferenc Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary, her native country. She has a master’s Degree in Kodály Method Theory and Choral Conducting. Jutka has taught at TRS for the past 19 years. She teaches the Kodály program, piano, and conducts the two levels of Chorus.
Cathy DeVos - Flute Instructor
Cathy DeVos is a native of St. Louis, MO and received a bachelor's in music education from the University of Missouri at St. Louis. She moved to San Francisco in 1981 to study for her master's in flute performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has been an instrumental music teacher in the Piedmont Unified School District for 28 years and is currently the orchestra director for students in 4th-12th grade. She is a member of the Holy Names Orchestra and teaches flute in the Preparatory Music Department at Holy Names University.
Fran Smith - Kodály Music Instructor
Fran Smith has always loved music and began singing and playing the piano at an early age. She graduated from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, then went back to school some years later and received a Master’s in Music Education with Kodály Emphasis from Holy Names College. She has taught music in preschool through 6th grade. Currently Fran teaches at Holy Names University, Contra Costa College and Mulberry Tree. She is very happy to be at The Renaissance School. This is Fran’s 4th year at TRS.
George Vass - Guitar Instructor
George Vass is a graduate of two Hungarian music schools, the Zoltan Kodály Conservatory in guitar studies and The Ferenc Liszt Music School in Kodály Method Theory. George comes from Hungary and has performed and taught guitar for over 22 years, 14 of those at TRS.
Katherine Baird - Cello Instructor
Katherine Baird received a Bachelor’s Degree in Cello Performance from Holy Names College in 1993. There she studied with Jennifer Culp. Other teachers have included Milly Rosner, Margaret Tait, Peter Shelton, and most recently Peter Wyrick. Katherine earned a certificate in Orff-Schulwerk from Mills College. She has been a private cello instructor and music-&-movement teacher in the San Francisco and East Bay areas for 18 years. Katherine is director of the Preparatory Music Department at Holy Names University.
Klari Kádas-Lappe - Kodály Music & Piano Instructor
Klari Kádas-Lappe has a Master’s Degree in Music Education from the Teacher’s Training College in Eger, Hungary. In addition she has a Director’s Permit for Early Childhood Education from de Anza College in Cupertino, California. Klari has over 19 years experience teaching children music using the Kodály Method. She has taught at TRS for a number of years.
Lisa Pratt - Violin Instructor
Lisa Pratt is a graduate of the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance obtained under the famed American violinist James Buswell. Lisa played and toured with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra for many years and was also third Concertmaster with the Baden-Badener Philharmonic in Germany for 3 years. Besides teaching at TRS, Lisa teaches pre-college violinists in the Young Musician's Program at UC Berkeley and in other programs. In the summer of 2010 she attended the Violin Pedagogy Institute in Italy under the well-known pedagogue, Mimi Zweig. She has also been active in ASTA adjudication programs in the East Bay. This is her 9th year teaching violin at TRS.
Matthew Walsh - Kodály Music Instructor & Piano Accompanist
Matthew Walsh received the Specialist Certificate in Music Education with Kodály Emphasis from Holy Names University in 2008. He has previously served as Music Director at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago from 1994-2006. He currently also serves as organist and choir director at St. Monica Church in San Francisco.
Tim Vaughan - Drums Instructor
Tim Vaughan is a professional drummer with more than 30 years of experience performing in a wide variety of musical contexts, with both local and national acts, at venues including the Los Angeles Greek Theater, the Santa Barbara Bowl, and The Warfield. He also has performed in numerous Bay Area theatrical productions. He studied drum set with George Marsh at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and went on to enjoy 20 years of giving private drum set lessons to students of all ages. Tim was one of the founding faculty members of the San Francisco State University Multimedia Studies Program and most recently served as the drum section mentor for Woodside High School and Sonoma High School. This is his 3rd year at TRS.
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