PACO Academy
Course Offerings

Cary Chin is a computer-industry veteran with over 30 years of experience building both computer hardware (CPU, memory) and software systems, and has taught computer science and programming courses for 2nd grade through college and graduate school at Stanford University. Cary is also a near-20-year veteran of PACO, from parent to Orchestra Coordinator, Board member, Secretary, and President, and currently serves on the PACO Board in the capacity of Ensemble Coordinator. He has three children, all of whom graduated from PACO in 2009 (Carson), 2013 (Delenn), and 2014 (Tessera), respectively.

Violinist Irene Sazer is an original member of the Turtle Island String Quartet, and the founder of the Real Vocal String Quartet (rvsq.com),and the Berkeley School of String Improvisation. Sazer's strong classical training, her experience and international collaboration in a vast array of musical styles, and her talent as an improviser, singer, composer, arranger and educator, make her a unique musical voice in the international community. Widely recorded and respected, Sazer's musicality and creativity continues to inspire and unfold.

www.irenesazer.com

One of the Bay Area’s most sought-after double bass players Michel Taddei is Principal Bassist of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the Berkeley Symphony, the Fremont Symphony, the Pacific Chamber Symphony, Symphony Napa Valley, and the Mendocino Music Festival, and is Assistant Principal Bass of the California Symphony. He has performed with the SF Symphony and New Century Chamber Orchestra as well. A passionate chamber musician, Michel is a founding member of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, and has performed with the Bella Trio, Empyrean Ensemble, Earplay, Quartet San Francisco, Musica Marin, Ensemble SF, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the Saint Lawrence and Telegraph string quartets and with Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble on tours in the US and in Central Asia. Director of Artistic Administration at the Crowden Music Center in Berkeley, Michel has consulted for the California Symphony’s El Sistema-inspired program Sound Minds, and served as Education Consultant for Music at Kohl Mansion. An active teacher, Michel has been a longtime faculty member at PACO, the Crowden School, the Golden Gate Philharmonic the Oakland Youth Orchestra and Young People’s Symphony Orchestra, and has coached at UC Berkeley and UC Davis.

Violist Wendy Clymer is an avid chamber musician and a passionate music educator. She is violist of the Persephone Chamber Ensemble and has performed with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Symphony Napa Valley, Grace Note Chamber Players, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Resonance Jazz Ensemble and at summer festivals in the U.S. and Europe. She was a founding member of the New York-based pop punk band Fake Brain. Wendy is on the faculty of the Crowden Music Center and the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, where she has coached chamber music and viola sectionals since 2006. She has held teaching positions at California State University East Bay, the Lafayette School District, and Summer in the City at San Jose State University and has served as president of the San Francisco area section of the American String Teachers Association. She received a B.A. from Brown University, studied viola performance at the Juilliard School and completed an M.M. at San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Michael Gilbertson The works of Michael Gilbertson have been described as “elegant” and “particularly beautiful” by The New York Times, “vivid, tightly woven” and “delectably subtle” by the Baltimore Sun, “genuinely moving” by the Washington Post, and “a compelling fusion of new and ancient” by the Philadelphia Inquirer. He was one of three finalists for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his Quartet. Michael’s published music includes choral works with Boosey & Hawkes and G. Schirmer, and orchestral works with Theodore Presser. Michael serves as artistic director of ChamberFest Dubuque, an annual summer festival he founded in 2009, and serves on the board of directors for the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. Michael holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Yale. He has just completed three years as the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra’s Composer-in-Residence.

Ben Simon has been the Music Director of the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra since 2002, the same year he began his tenure with the professional San Francisco Chamber Orchestra. A violist by training and a chamber musician at heart, Ben finds conducting a challenging and multi-faceted activity and is looking forward to sharing his experience with our budding maestri within the PACO community.

Maita Eyzaguirre is a multimedia composer, pianist, and educator, raised in Italy, to Chilean and Trinidadian-American parents. She moved to the Bay Area after graduating from Brown University, where she studied composition with Eric Nathan and Wang Lu and sound installations/sound design with Butch Rovan. Her passion for composition has led her to explore different forms of electronic music, including integrated circuits and hand-built instruments, as well as contemporary concert music. At Brown, she engaged deeply in a refugee tutoring program where she developed a passion for culturally-competent education that focuses on building self-confidence and encouraging self-efficacy in youth. Maita joined PACO’s administrative staff last month as our new Office Assistant.

Violinist and violist Jory Fankuchen has built a reputation as an engaging performer of many genres, as well as a passionate pedagogue. In response to this versatility, the San Francisco Examiner recently raved that, Mr. Fankuchen’s “flamboyant” performance “created the illusion that Eugene Ysaye had been born in Argentina, possible in bed next to Jean Sibelius.” His ensembles include the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the Magik Magik Orchestra, Squid Inc., the Musical Art Quintet, the Chamber Music Society of San Francisco, and he appears as a regular guest with the New Century Chamber Orchestra. Jory has appeared as soloist with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, the Berkeley Symphony, at the Tanglewood Music Center, and has the distinction of performing on Jascha Heifetz’s Guarneri del Gesu violin at the Legion of Honor.

Chamber music has always been the driving force behind Jory’s passion for music. He has performed in concert with artists such as Robert Mann, Joseph Silverstein, Joel Krosnick, Bonnie Hampton, Mark Sokol, and Ian Swensen. As first violinist of the Kailas String Quartet, he performed throughout North America, winning first prize in the Chamber Music International Competition, and silver at the National Fischoff Competition. Jory Serves on the faculty of the Crowden Music Center, the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, and most recently as a visiting lecturer at Cornell University. He holds a B.M. from the San Francisco Conservatory, and an M.M. from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Ian Swensen and Lucy Chapman, respectively.

Evan Price is a violinist and composer best known for his work as a 10-year member of the Turtle Island Quartet and for his 20+ years of gypsy jazz with The Hot Club of San Francisco. His playing and writing have been featured on numerous CD’s by those ensembles and many others. An alumnus of the Cleveland Institute of Music and Berklee College of Music, Evan is at home in classical music, jazz, and various fiddling genres. His compositions and arrangements for such ensembles as Chanticleer, New Century Chamber Orchestra, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, and San Francisco Chamber Orchestra reflect that broad expertise. He is a former US Scottish Fiddling Champion, Kentucky State Fiddling Champion, Canadian Junior Fiddling Champion, and the recipient of 2 GRAMMY® awards for his work with Turtle Island. Evan is also the star of Evan Price Day, an annual event at PACO Camp which culminates in a jazz improvisation workshop with the PACO Festival Orchestra.

Violinist, violist, and pianist Peyton Lee is a freshman at Stanford University studying piano performance. As a multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer, he engages with music in a myriad of mediums. Some of his recent work includes composing a piano concerto, revamping the PACO gig book, a collection of thirty instrumental pop covers, and playing in the Stanford Symphony Orchestra. Peyton graduated from PACO in 2020.

Violinist Waverly Long is currently studying violin performance and journalism at Northwestern University. Previously, she was concertmaster of Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra and co-founder and co-president of Paly Chamber Musicians. She won the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition in 2017, and in 2016, her string quartet was awarded first place in American Protege International Competition and Santa Cruz Baroque Festival Youth Chamber Music Competition, and performed in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. Waverly also has experience coaching young chamber ensembles and teaching violin and viola. In her free time, she loves busking downtown, performing in senior centers, and arranging string quartets.