Jon Palacio Jr.

Director of Jazz Studies

Over the past few years, Jon Palacio Jr. has emerged as one of newest writer/arranger’s in the Bay area. His writing style is best defined as the melding of strong rhythmic concepts with lush melodic content. Mr. Palacio is most readily recognized as one of the bay area’s authentic Latin big band writers. He incorporates powerful melodic and harmonic texture with the true spice of Latin rhythms to his charts. Whether it is the complexity of the music or it’s rich harmonic structure, Palacio’s compositions possess the passion and intensity that musicians enjoy playing. College and university jazz bands frequently perform his charts across the country; however, a growing number of professional groups have started recording and performing his songs as well. Not only is his published works known in the United States, Palacio’s music is spreading to countries like Peru, Argentina, Philippines, Chile, Brazil, and Italy to name a few.

Although he specializes in Latin charts for big bands, Palacio also composes for orchestra, symphonic bands, chamber ensembles and choral groups. He has written for commercials, musicals and other recording projects. He is in demand for writing commissioned works for high schools, colleges and private organizations and continually adds new works to his repertoire.

Mr. Palacio attended California State University--Hayward where he received a B.A. in composition under the tutelage of composer/trombonist Dave Eshelman and M.A. in composition under Dr. Jeffrey Miller. While at CSUH, Palacio matured into a talented jazz pianist and prolific writer, earning national awards for composition and performance. Jon Palacio has returned to Chabot College as the Director of Jazz Studies.

Email: jpalacio@chabotcollege.edu
Office: 1109 | Phone: 510-723-6831

Eric Schultz

Director of Music Technology

Eric Schultz enjoys an active and diverse musical life as a composer and performer of contemporary and experimental music, a recording engineer, a record producer, a saxophonist, an occasional percussionist, a conductor, a live sound engineer, and just about any other interesting musical adventure he can find. As the Director of Music Technology at Chabot, he teaches recording, audio production, music theory, and history of rock and popular music. Born in Chicago, Eric received his doctorate in music composition from Arizona State University, where he studied with Glenn Hackbarth. He lives in downtown Hayward with his wife and daughter and their dogs Miles and Theo.

Email: eschultz@chabotcollege.edu
Office: 1128 | Phone: 510-723-6828

Joe Bonfiglio

Clarinet

Joe Bonfiglio has a BM from Peabody, and BM & MM degrees from The Juilliard School. He has taught on the faculties of the Peabody Preparatory School, University of California at Santa Barbara, and is currently Adjunct Professor of Clarinet at Chabot College. Joe has performed many concerts as soloist with bands and orchestras, and was recorded on the sound track to the movie “Fat Rose and Squeaky”.

Click HERE to listen to his amazing performance of Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

Email: jpcbonfiglio@gmail.com

Yueh Chou

Bassoon

Dr. Yueh Chou is the bassoon instructor of the School of Music and Dance. She is known for her work on Modern and Historical Bassoons. She holds a Certificate Diploma (2007) on both Baroque and Classical Bassoons at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Den Haag, the Netherlands; a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the Juilliard School; and has obtained both Masters and Doctorate (2000) degrees in Music (with minors in Baroque Bassoon and Music Education) from the University of Southern California. Dr. Chou has extensive performance and teaching experience, including teaching Master Classes at Fu-Jen University in Taiwan. She has taught Bassoon and Chamber Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division and Chabot College in Hayward.

Besides her love of modern and historical instruments, Dr. Chou also enjoys contemporary music. She premiered the solo Bassoon pieces Under the Open Sky by Veronika Krausas in Los Angeles and Group on a Row the Same by Lou Harrison in Santa Cruz. She has performed in Den Haag; Amsterdam (Muziekgebouw aan't IJ) in the Netherlands; Geel and Chimay (Theatre du Chateau) in Belgium; Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center in the United States; and the National Concert Hall in Taiwan. She is the co-founder of the Baroque ensemble Harmonia Falice based in the Bay area.

She plays on a modern by Heckel as well as a baroque after Prudent (c.1770) and a classical after Granser (c. 1800) by Peter de Koningh.

Richard Flores

Guitar, Guitar Ensemble, and Harmony & Musicianship

Richard Flores earned both his Bachelor of Music degree and his Masters degree from Cal State Hayward studying under Jim Bertram. Mr. Flores has been teaching at Chabot College since the fall of 1992.

 For the past several years Mr. Flores has performed in the Flores/ McGuinness Duo featuring soprano and guitar. They have premiered numerous works written for guitar, voice and various instrumental combinations. He has also performed with the Austin Chamber Ensemble, the Coro Hispano de San Francisco as well as numerous choirs in the Bay Area.

Click HERE to listen to Professor Flores.

Email: rflores@chabotcollege.edu

Beverley Johnson

Flute and Associate Director of Bands

Beverly Johnson is a freelance flutist and teacher in the San Francisco Bay area. She has been teaching in public schools since 1984, currently at Chabot College in Hayward, where she teaches Applied Flute and Wind Ensemble. She also conducts the East Bay Symphonic Band, and has been the band’s conductor since 1993. She holds a B.A., M.A. and a California Teaching Credential from California State University, East Bay, but also attended University of Redlands, San Francisco Conservatory, and Wright State University. Her flute instructors include Dr. Roberta Brokaw, Dr. Susan Waller, Lloyd Gowan, and Marilyn Prestia. Ms. Johnson performs with several orchestras, bands, chamber groups and for theater productions, and is a charter and permanent member of the SF Wind Ensemble. She is a retired Air Force Band musician, having served for 30 years in active duty Air Force and Reserve Air Guard bands. Beverly is very involved in the Hayward La Honda Music Camp, where she teaches band, flute technique, chamber music, music theory, and serves as the director of the Junior Camp.

Email: bjohnson@chabotcollege.edu

Victoria Lington

Piano

Dr. Victoria DiMaggio Lington holds a BM and MM in piano performance from the University of Houston, Moores School of Music, where she studied with Nancy Weems and received a DMA in piano performance and accompanying from the University of North Texas, where she studied with Pamela Mia Paul.

Dr. Lington performed her first public recital at the age of eight and was a soloist with the Mesa Symphony Orchestra at the age of fourteen. She has participated in many state, national, and international competitions, winning numerous awards and recognitions along the way. In demand as a collaborative artist, Dr. Lington regularly performs recitals in the Bay Area  with instrumentalists and vocalists, as well as with chamber groups. She has performed both solo and collaborative recitals in Eastern Europe and throughout the United States. She is currently on faculty as staff accompanist and lecturer at San Jose State University, and works with Opera San Jose as a rehearsal pianist.

Email: victoria.lington@sjsu.edu

Christian Manzana

Low Brass and Jazz Trombone

A San Francisco Bay-Area Native, Christian Manzana has been playing professionally for over a decade both as a freelance musician as well as a member of several ensembles.

Manzana received his BM in Music Performance with a concentration in Bass Trombone at San Jose State University under the tutelage of Thomas Hornig a premiere trombonist in the bay area. He later continued his Graduate work at San Jose State University receiving an M.A. in Jazz Studies under the tutelage of Scott Whittfield, a renowned jazz trombonist/vocalist. He has also been teaching locally in the San Francisco Bay Area for eight years working with Fremont Unified School District, Stanford Jazz Workshop, as well as private students ranging from classical music to jazz.

Along with teaching, Manzana is an active working musician playing in various groups throughout the San Francisco Bay Area ranging from classical music, salsa, jazz, funk, hip-hop, and r&b. He has performed with Aretha Franklin, Tower of Power, and has toured Europe with Jon Faddis. Manzana is also a member of a soul/funk/jazz band that plays video game music called the “Super Soul Bros.” which actively performs all around the country in major events/conventions such as “Comic-Con”, “E3”, and “PAX East”.

He has also performed in major Jazz Festivals such as, San Jose Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, and Jazz à Vienne.

PHOTO CREDIT: follow on instagram @bydoratsui (Dora Tsui) 

Email: cmanzana@chabotcollege.edu

Paul McCurdy

Collaborative Pianist

Paul G. McCurdy is a teacher, coach, and pianist for Chabot College, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, and the Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco. He performs in recital regularly with instrumentalists and vocalists and works with a wide range of organizations, including A.C.T., the Hamlin School, Lamplighters, the Oakland-East Bay Gay Men's Chorus, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Solo Opera, Volti, and Woodminster Summer Musicals.

He studied music at the University of Georgia and holds degrees in anthropology and German. In 2014 he recorded Mozart KLAR, an album of Mozart piano sonatas, available through iTunes and CDBaby.

Email: paulgmccurdy@gmail.com

Bruce Mishkit

Saxophone

Bruce Mishkit earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music, with a specialty in Flute Performance from California State University, Hayward; and his Master’s degree in Multi-Media Art from California State University, East Bay. Mr. Mishkit is currently a doctoral candidate in music education at Boston University and will defend his dissertation in the fall of 2018.

Mr. Mishkit is the Director of Instrumental Music and Music Technology at Crystal Springs Uplands School and Adjunct Professor of Saxophone at Chabot College.

Mr. Mishkit has studied saxophone with William Trimble, Joe Henderson and Hal Stein; flute with Roberta Brokow, Lloyd Gowen, and David Subke; and piano with Don Hass and Mark Levine. His performance experience includes concerts with Bob Berg, Victor Feldman, Donald Harrison, Rodney Holmes, David Liebman, Jeff Lorber, Tom Scott, Dan Siegel and Kenny Werner. Mr. Mishkit also performed at the 1999 Monterey Jazz Festival with Michael Zilber and the CARMA big band.

 In addition to his teaching duties, Mr. Mishkit owns and operates Deva Productions, an in-house and remote audio and video recording facility.

 Mr. Mishkit is the author of, Master Lessons for the Creative Musician; endorsed by Michael Brecker and Eddie Daniels. The book explores the practices and development of Paquito D’Rivera, Hubert Laws, David Liebman, Joe Lovano, Lennie Pickett, and Ernie Watts; and contains exercises, etudes, and transcriptions of those artists.

Currently, Mr. Mishkit performs and records with his jazz group, Epicenter (www.epicenterjazz.com). To date, Mr. Mishkit has released three CD’s of original music with Epicenter and another CD under his own name titled, Distant Runner.

Email: bmishkit@chabotcollege.edu

Lenny Ott

Trumpet

Leonard Ott is professor of trumpet at Chabot College. He holds the B.A. from California State University-Hayward. His major teachers include David Burkhart, Marvin Nelson, Laurie McGaw, and Roy Poper. His is also currently teaching trumpet at California State University-Stanislaus, University of the Pacific, and in the past has taught at the University of California-Santa Cruz. Mr. Ott performs regularly with the Modesto Symphony, Oakland East Bay Symphony, Oakland Ballet Orchestra, Monterey Symphony, at the Carmel Bach Festival, Bear Valley Festival Orchestra, and occasionally with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of the International Trumpet Guild, Chamber Music America, and the American Federation of Musicians, Local 6.

Email: lott@chabotcollege.edu

William Sauerland

Director of Choral and Vocal Activities

San Francisco-based countertenor and educator, William Sauerland enjoys a varied career of teaching, singing, and conducting. Mr. Sauerland is currently the Artistic and Music Director of the Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco and Director of Choral and Vocal Activities at Chabot College.

Mr. Sauerland has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. Recital appearances in the United Kingdom have included St. George’s at Hanover Square for the London Handel Festival, the concert series at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and a special concert for His Royal Highness Prince Charles at St. James’s Palace. For two seasons he was a member of the Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble, Chanticleer, and performed in over 150 concerts in many of the world’s most prestigious music venues, including the Vienna Musikverein, the Concertgebouw, Tokyo Opera House, and Disney Hall. He has performed twice on NBC’s Today Show, numerous times on National Public Radio, and recorded two albums with Chanticleer for Warner Classics™.

Recently Mr. Sauerland made solo debut appearances with the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, the American Bach Soloists, and the Oakland-East Bay Symphony.  For his performance with OEBS, the San Francisco Chronicle provided, “Countertenor William Sauerland delivered a fluid, sumptuously shaped account of the aria Esurientes implevit bonis, with limpid tone and astonishing eloquence.”

Mr. Sauerland received a Master’s degree in Advanced Vocal Performance from the Royal College of Music, under the auspices of a Marshall Scholarship. In collaboration with Professor Audrey Luna of Miami University, his current research focuses on kinesthetic exercises for teaching healthy singing in the voice studio and choral classroom.

Email: wsauerland@chabotcollege.edu

Deborah Shidler

Oboe

Deborah received a Master of Music degree from Yale University and a B.M.E. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is presently a member of Pacific Symphony Orchestra and is Principal Oboe of Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Shidler is an active performer throughout the Bay Area including numerous performances with the San Francisco Opera and Ballet Orchestras, San Jose, Sacramento, Oakland Symphonies and Opera San Jose. She has participated in Aspen, Cabrillo and Carmel Bach Music Festivals, Music in the Mountains and the Bach Aria Festival and Institute in New York. Some of the labels for which Ms. Shidler has recorded include Sony Classical, 20th Century Fox, Koch International and Harmonia Mundi.

Artie Storch

Percussion and Percussion Ensemble

As an active Bay Area free-lance musician, Artie Storch is a regular extra percussionist for the San Francisco Symphony, Silicon Valley, Oakland and Marin Symphonies, and has performed with ensembles ranging from Masterworks Chorale to Metallica.  He is a frequent player in the Bay Area theater scene, where he has performed in numerous shows including The Producers, White Christmas, Beautiful (The Carole King Musical), and the long-running Phantom of the Opera.

As principal percussionist for The Skywalker Symphony, his recording credits include playing drums and/or percussion for movies (Mars Attacks, Inspector Gadget, The Iron Giant, Spy Kids, Jurassic Park 3, Hellboy, Barnyard, Seventeen Again, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past); television (The Man Who Captured Eichmann, Sesame Street, Young Indiana Jones, Running Mates); commercials for Saturn, Nissan, Hershey’s, Taco Bell; records by Randy Newman, Linda Ronstadt, John Williams, Chanticleer, and The San Francisco Symphony; and video games (Gran Turismo, Siphon Filter Omega Strain,The Simpsons, Uncharted, Uncharted 2, Star Wars:The Force Unleashed, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Starcraft II, Kinect Disneyland Adventures).

Mr. Storch received a Bachelor of Science degree from Brooklyn College, CUNY, where he studied with Morris Lang of the New York Philharmonic, and a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where his principal teacher was Saul Goodman.

He teaches privately, and is on the faculties of California State University East Bay and Chabot College where he teaches percussion and directs the percussion ensembles.

Mr. Storch is also the Percussion Director for the California Youth Symphony.

Email: astorch@chabotcollege.edu