Music History, Theory, Solfege and Composition Faculty

RUFINA GORIN
Director
MA in Piano Performance and Pedagogy, Nezin Gogol Music Teachers' Training Institute, Ukraine. B.A. in Piano Performance and Pedagogy, Music College, Kiev, Ukraine. Currently, Ms. Gorin is a faculty member at National Guild Performance Auditions, an adjudicator of CM and National Guild Performance Auditions, Sound of Music Festival, U.S. Open Piano Competition, and others. Mrs. Gorin has been an active member of the Music Teachers' Association of California (MTAC) since 1981, serving on the Board of Palo Alto Branch since 1988 and as branch president 1993-1995. She was elected to the State Board of MTAC in 1996 and served for four years, completing her tenure there as a Vice President. Previously, Ms. Gorin was piano faculty chair and piano teacher at Special Children's Music School, Kiev, Ukraine; Accompanist for Children's Ballet Group, Kiev Ballet Company, Ukraine; and a piano teacher at Junior Music Academy and Conejo Valley Conservatory, Thousand Oaks, CA.

ROBERT GANS
Piano, Jazz Piano, Theory, Composition
Robert's journey in the music world has taught him that to reach people, it's necessary to speak their language, and contribute something meaningful to the conversation. He taught piano, music theory, and composition at the Portland Conservatory of Music from August 2005 until May 2010 when he moved to California. In 2008, he presented a solo piano recital featuring works by Beethoven, Wagner, Ravel and himself. In April 2009 Robert performed 2 of his recent piano works at the Conservatory's first Contemporary Music Festival causing one reviewer to comment, "Soundscape for Piano and Rhapsodic Variations, played by the composer, Robert Gans, showed that the Romantic style is alive and well at the conservatory." More recently he performed movements from the Escenas Romanticas of Enrique Granados.
In 2008 Robert completed a 3 movement work for string orchestra based on John Milton's Paradise Lost and a revision of his first musical drama, The Skyladder. In 2009 he wrote incidental music for a drama entitled The Streets of Portland produced by AIRE Theater at the St. Lawrence Arts Center and released a new CD entitled For the Very First Time. In 2010 Robert finished composing a set of five piano nocturnes entitled Dreamscapes which he performed at the Conservatory's second annual Contemporary Music Festival in April 2010 to critical praise.
Robert is a graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego with a Bachelor's degree in music. After exploring post graduate study he returned home to New York City to work in the music industry for seven years before moving to Portland, Maine, and then to Menlo Park, California.

GRACE WEBER JOHNSON, Mezzo Soprano
Voice(Classical and Music Theater)
D.M.A. in Voice Performance, Shenandoah Conservatory, Winchester, VA. M.M. in Voice Performance/Pedagogy, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC. A.B. in Music, Coker College, Hartsville, SC. Member of The National Association of Teachers of Singing and College Music Society.

For all genres of vocal music, Dr. Johnson's teaching is grounded in bel canto technique. She enjoys working with both beginner and advanced students and has over 30 years teaching experience, including K-12 general/choral music and college-level Applied Voice. Her former students are performing, teaching, and attending graduate schools including Eastman School of Music. Dr. Johnson has special interest in psychology and singing and was invited to give a poster presentation of her dissertation research for the Pan European Voice Conference at the Royal Academy of Music in London in 2005. As a performer, she specializes in Oratorio and Art Song.

YUKIKO MATSUMOTO
Flute
B.M. in Flute Performance, San Jose State University. A.A. in Music, Independence Community College, KS. Currently, Ms. Matsumoto teaches flute at GSM, Cupertino High School, and The Music Place, CA. In addition, Ms. Matsumoto is the first chair flute/piccolo at First Baptist Church,substitute piccolo/flute at Saratoga Symphony and Cupertino Symphonic Band. Previously, Ms. Matsumoto taught flute at St. Stephen's Episcopal Elementary School and performed with the Peninsula Youth Theater and San Hose State University.