TEACHING ARTISTS
Lifting Voices, Uplifting Lives
The expertise, passion, and experience of our professional teaching artists are key to our youth choirs’ success. Cantare’s diverse and multilingual teaching staff mirrors our Oakland community, facilitating instruction and communication with families in multiple languages. Our artists specialize in a wide variety of musical genres. We work collaboratively so students benefit from the collective knowledge of all our instructors.
Music Teachers
Julie Haydon (she/her)
Director of Children’s and Youth Choirs
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Julie Haydon began her service with Cantare in 2003, developing Cantare’s after-school choirs and classroom music education programs. Under Julie’s leadership, Cantare received the Chorus American Education and Community Engagement Award in 2005 and 2014. In 2008, she founded Nova, Cantare’s auditioned choir for 6-12 graders. Julie served as Director of Music Ministry at Trinity Lutheran Church in Alameda for nine years, directing choral music from diverse traditions. During her tenure, she directed adult singers, the handbell choir and founded a community children’s choir.
Conway Tan-Gregory (he/him)
Director of Music Education
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Conway Tan-Gregory started with Cantare in 2014, teaching classroom music and directing after-school choirs. He now oversees the organization’s Classroom Music Education Program.
Conway earned a Master’s in Music Education with an emphasis on Kodály methodology from Holy Names University in Oakland. He has training in Orff-Schulwerk and curriculum that emphasizes the use of Modern Band styles, including rock, pop, reggae, hip-hop, rhythm & blues, and electronic dance music. Since 2007, Conway has been a professional keyboardist and music director in churches.
Lydia Mills (she/her)
Music Pedagogy Specialist
Lydia has specialized in teaching and performing music from the Andes region for over 25 years. She received her Master's in Music Education with an emphasis in Kodály in 2002. Besides teaching with children, Lydia has led teacher training programs in the Kodály approach throughout Latin America and the United States. Lydia has been an adjunct Music Education Professor at Holy Names University in Oakland and currently teaches through the Universidad Panamericana in México City and directs the Musica Educa Kodály Institute in Santiago. She has published multiple music books for teachers and recordings of children’s music in Spanish. Her website is www.lydiamillsmusica.com.
Ray Capiral (he/him)
Ray is a pianist, composer and arranger, teacher, and avid knitter. He took up the piano in a self-directed course of study at age 15 and began teaching piano after graduating high school. He received his BA in Music Composition from UCLA, and has accompanied, performed and served as Music Director in Los Angeles and the SF Bay Area. In addition to his accompaniment with Cantare and the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, he is currently the Collaborative Liturgical Accompanist (piano & organ) and Music Librarian at the Saint Ignatius Church at USF.
Rhonda Crane (she/her)
Rhonda Crane began singing professionally in 1989, started touring in 1991, and has shared the stage with artists such as Robert Cray, Joan Armatrading, and Zap Mama. She served as a church pianist at age 16 at the historic Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, and as Choral Director and the Minister of Music of Greater True Light Baptist Church in Modesto, California.
While studying music (classical piano and viola) and education at San Jose State University, she sang in the opera AIDA with Grace Bumbry and organized the Rhonda Hudson Singers. Currently, Rhonda sings with the R&B/soul band CHELLE! and Friends and the a capella group Chelle's Juke Joint.
She is Director of the Children's Ministry for Love Center Church and the Edwin and Walter Hawkins Music & Arts National Conference. Rhonda teaches piano and voice to children in San Francisco, Belmont, Oakland, and Berkeley Unified School Districts. She also teaches world choral music in the Walnut Creek Community Arts Education program. And Rhonda is on the instructor roster for Leap, Oakland Youth Chorus, and San Francisco Arts Education, because she loves teaching children to sing.
Adam Flowers (he/him)
Adam has performed principal tenor roles in opera houses throughout North America, Hawaii, and Japan. In July 2006 he completed a five-year artist-in-residency for Opera San Jose, performing over 32 roles. Adam is a certified Music Together™ teacher, teaching music to infants and toddlers in Marin County and San Francisco. He is the Project Coordinator for Pacific Actors & Singers Workshop, and a teaching artist for the San Francisco Opera Guild’s Book To Bravo and Opera A La Carte educational programs with students in the 5th-12th grades. He is a voice student of Deborah Benedict.
Leila Motaei (she/her)
Leila teaches piano & vocal performance, improvisation and composition to children and adults of all ages in a variety of styles from classical to pop to blues. She concentrates on creating a repertoire with her students that's reflective of their personal taste, as well as different approaches to studying technique and theory that are fitted to each individual's learning style. Leila holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music Theory/Composition with an emphasis in Piano Performance from the University of California, Davis. She has been teaching, writing, recording and performing professionally for more than 15 years. She has also completed her Orff Schulwerk Pedagogy Certification.
Alex Taite (he/him)
A resident and native of Oakland, Alex graduated from Pepperdine University in 2007 with a Bachelor’s in music theory and composition. He emphasized in vocal performance and jazz piano. He spent 4 years teaching theory and conducting choirs at the Oakland School for the Arts. In 2014 He placed third in the inaugural James Toland Vocal Arts competition and in 2016 took Audience Favorite. He was a finalist in the East Bay Opera League scholarship competition in 2015. He is currently writing two song books of spirituals, one for solo voice with piano and one for a capella chorus. Previously, Alex has enjoyed teaching with the SF Opera Guild (SF Opera's education and outreach department); conducting the graduate level ensemble at the San Francisco Boys Chorus; coaching at Cantare; directing, and singing in recording projects around the Bay Area; and performing on many local Bay Area opera stages. He currently finds great joy in singing with the San Francisco Opera and Symphony choruses; teaching private piano, music theory, and voice lessons; and directing Chorus Eclectic.
Salumeh Javid (she/her)
Salumeh has over 13 years of experience teaching music to young people. After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Music with a minor in Communications from Minnesota State University, she received a certificate in piano pedagogy from the New England Conservatory in Boston. Along with her expertise in music, Salumeh is passionate about building community, working as a volunteer teacher in character development. She is excited to be collaborating with Cantare to bring music and storytelling to a new generation, since "children are our future".
Xinying Liu (she/her)
Xinying recently earned her Master’s in Music Education with an emphasis on Kodály methodology from Holy Names University, and a Master’s in Violin Performance from Ithaca College. Xinying also holds a BA in Music Performance in Violin from China Conservatory of Music, Beijing. Xinying teaches independent violin lessons and general music to young students. Occasionally, Xinying performs piano and violin recitals at Noe Valley Ministry in San Francisco.
Greer McGettrick (they/them)
Greer uses their backgrounds in visual arts and music to playfully explore pedagogy and curriculum of general music from TK through 5th grade. They received an MA in Music Composition from San Fancisco State University in 2020. They live in Oakland. Greer loves hikes with their dog and learning new songs and instruments.
Nick Soenyun (he/him)
Nick has been teaching music in public schools for the last 6 years, and before that served as an instrumental music clinician, university assistant conductor, and marching band technician for many more. Originally a clarinetist, his passions in music reside in creating and celebrating all of our collective lives together through music and dance every day. Nick recently relocated to Oakland from Portland, OR, where he spent 4 years as the Director of Bands at Tumwata Middle School. Now he is happy to call Laurel Elementary his home as the Music and Performing Arts teacher. Nick lives for the energy, joy and inherent musicality that elementary students bring to the classroom!
Evan Alparone (he/him)
Evan is a Bay Area native and has been a teacher, music director, and accompanist for over 15 years. After graduating with a BA from UCLA’s Musical Theater program, he began studying choral conducting at San Francisco State University and from 2007-2010 directed the choral program at Moreau Catholic HS in Hayward.
As a music director, conductor, and accompanist Evan has worked on over 90 musicals including several Off-Broadway productions and has served as a music director in the United Methodist Church for almost 20 years. Before returning to the Bay Area, Evan served as the co-director of the NYC Community Chorus, resident music director for the Amas Musical Theater Academy, and was a staff accompanist for NYU's New Studio on Broadway.
Matt Bourne (he/him)
Matt is a pianist who performs with many groups all around the San Francisco Bay Area. He works in choral music, opera, and musical theatre, among other styles. He is the music director at Castro Valley United Methodist Church, and the pianist for several choral groups. He is also a conductor for theatrical productions at many local companies, as well as a piano teacher and a composer. He is a Bay Area native and a graduate of the music program at UCLA.
