Jay Jay Lim received his B.S. from the University of Arizona, his B.M. in Music Therapy from Berklee College of Music, and his M.M. in Jazz Studies from San Diego State University. He has been with Greene Music since 1999. In addition to teaching for the Greene Music Education Center, he has represented Greene music as a music therapist, facilitating music therapy groups at various residential and assisted living centers throughout San Diego County. He also participated as a research team member in the Yamaha-sponsored Music Making and Wellness project of 2002-2003. You may find him performing as a jazz pianist at various venues throughout San Diego, including Croce’s, Cafe Libertalia, and Cafe La Maze (National City, CA). He teaches Piano I at Grossmont College, and he is the music director at Park Hill United Methodist Church (Chula Vista, CA). Jay Jay is also a staff member at the Music Therapy Center of California.

Elise Cho received her B.M. degree from Wheaton College and M.M. degree from Arizona State University with focus on various keyboard instruments including piano, harpsichord, and organ. She has been a certified Yamaha instructor since 1998 and has taught at schools in Arizona, Michigan, and San Diego. She is an active member of Music Teachers’ Association of California and her students have enrolled in the Certificate of Merit. She has been with Greene Music since 2001. As a mother of two young children who have studied in the Yamaha program, she is a strong believer in the system not only as a teacher but also as a parent. One of her passions is choral singing, and she performs regularly at a local church.

Mrs. Tanya Djangirov joined Greene Music in 2003. She holds a B.A. and an M.M. in Musicology from the Institute of Arts, Bishkek, USSR where she graduated with highest honors. Before becoming a certified Yamaha instructor, she served as a professor of music history at Music College in Bishkek (USSR) and as a music director at the Charter School in Kansas City, MO. She is an active member of Music Teachers’ Association of California with over 20 years of teaching experience. As a music teacher and the mother of a world-renowned jazz pianist, Mrs. Djangirov strongly believes that music is a crucial part of children’s, and for that matter, all people’s general education.

Music has always been an integral part of Ms. Mihoko Nemoto’s life, even in the very early years, when she began to learn to play the piano at the age of 3. 
At the age of 6, Ms. Mihoko was accepted into the Kunitachi College of Music, elementary school. She would continue her music education at Kunitachi College of Music through junior high, high school and college. Ms. Mihoko graduated Kunitachi College of Music with a degree in performance piano.

During college, she began expanding beyond the classroom by teaching at a piano studio in Tokyo, before coming to the United States in 1993. Once stateside, she taught piano in public middle school, accompanied for several instruments and choirs, and performed for the master class at Point Loma Nazarene University and Chapman College. Ms. Mihoko also performed several duo and solo concerts as well. 
Ms. Mihoko joined Greene Music in 1999, and has been a certified Yamaha Music System Instructor for over 16 years. In addition, she is an active member of the Music Teachers Association of California and The National guild of Piano Teachers.

Ms. Mihoko and her students are currently working to achieve a Certificate of Merit and 
Competitions. Recently, her students received first place, second place and honorable mention at the MTAC Sonata Festival in 2014 & 2015. 
She enjoys teaching very much and many of her students start piano at the age of 4 and continue all the way through college. Overall, she has 26 years of teaching music experience in both Japan and the United States.

Yiting Wang earned a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Music from San Diego State University in 2016. During her time as a student, she exhibited a strong interest in pedagogy – she was a teaching assistant for both Class Piano and Music History. Postgraduate, she became passionate about music education in early childhood development. As a certified Yamaha Experienced Teacher, she has gained considerable experience in this area by utilizing a comprehensive approach that involves ear training, theory, and performance in her teaching methods. Yiting has also participated in other pedagogy training programs such as Piano Pedagogy for Young Beginners at The Irina Gorin Institute, Discovering and Nurturing the Young Artist from Roza Kostrzewska Yoder, and the SDSU Flexible Course Design Summer Institute. Yiting’s performing experience includes master classes with world-renowned pianists such as Michael Lewin and Boris Konovalov, participation in music festivals such as the Samper International Music Festival, and her service as an accompanist for eight years.

Currently, Yiting works as a studio teacher at Greene Music Education and the Community Music School, along with serving as an adjunct at San Diego State University. In addition, she has taught at the San Diego Summer Music Institute.

Lilia Ulman studied at a traditional Russian Music School in the former USSR. She holds a Master degree from the State Institute of Pedagogy and Bachelor degree in Piano Pedagogy and Pianist Accompanist from the State College of Music.

She was on the faculty of the Music School for children in the former USSR, where she specialized in teaching classical piano from ages 7 – 16, preparing students for competitions, recitals and music college entrance. Since 1993 Ms. Ulman has successfully worked in San Diego at California Music Studio and as a private piano teacher.

In 2007 she received a Forte Award for a Fine Outstanding Resourceful Teacher of Excellence. For 14 years she worked as a Therapeutic Musician with the world renowned Dr. Frymann at the Osteopathic Center for Children providing classical music for children treatments. Ms. Ulman has worked as a Pianist Accompanist at California Ballet School and Company since 1996 and Grossmont College in Dance Department since 1994.

She has also worked with outstanding Artists and Choreographers who are known throughout the ballet world, including Dame Sonia Arova, Thor Sutowski, Maxine Mahon , Paul Koverman, and David Howard.

Tyler recently completed his Viola Performance Degree from Lamont School of Music, University of Denver. Tyler attended Scripps Ranch High School and has played with many youth orchestras in the San Diego area, including YPO, SDYS, CYO, and YAS. He was trained as a classical violist since the age of 12, after an introduction to piano at age six. He has played professionally with Jazz and commercial music artists including, Pretty Lights, Michal Menert, and Denver Based rock bands Eldren and Petals of Spain. Tyler is currently pursuing audio engineering and teaching credentials.

Mei Yin is an excellent professional piano educator whose students have been awarded in international piano competitions, and have completed the Certificate of Merit (California state piano certifications).

She has received three Outstanding Piano Teacher Diplomas within the American Protege International Piano & String Competition in 2021, the International Young Musicians Competition, and Gifted Musicians Festival in music education and students’ achievements in 2019. Mei is a member of Music Teachers’ Association in California (MTAC), where she has been appraised as “a fine teacher” by the official piano evaluators of Certificate of Merit. Currently, she works at Greene Music Education Center & Mei Yin Piano Studio. She has an M.A. in Education from California State University in San Marcos, a B.A. in Music Education, and a Major in Piano Performance & Pedagogy from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China.

Her students were winners of multiple international piano competitions: 3rd Prize in the AADGT International Young Musicians Festival 2021, 3rd Place of the American Protégé International Piano & String Competition 2021, 3rd Prize of the “Golden Classical Music Awards” International Competition 2021, 1st Prize of International Music Competition Salzburg 2020, Gold Medal (1st Place) of AADGT International Young Musician Festival 2019, and 3rd Prize of AADGT International Young Musicians Festival 2019. Other students of hers have received rewards from different official piano competitions in San Diego, California as well.

Yearly, her students were selected as outstanding piano students for their performances at the MTAC Conventions with highest ratings (5+), have been awarded for California State Honors and San Diego Branch Honors, and received highest rating (“excellent”) for piano examinations of Certificate of Merit.

Hanan has been teaching at Greene Music since 2018 and is a textbook example of the wonders of the Yamaha teaching system, having spent the better part of her childhood surrounded by all things Yamaha. She has been playing piano since she was four years old as a student of the Yamaha Music School in Cerritos, CA. She studied at that Yamaha school for 12 years (basically taking weekly lessons up until the day she left for college at 16) where she took both group and private lessons along with composition classes, and participated in the Yamaha Grade Examination System, ABRSM Testing, Certificate of Merit, and performed in two Yamaha Junior Original Concerts. She credits her wonderful childhood experiences with Yamaha as the reason she stuck with her piano lessons throughout childhood, and she would perform with her “piano friends” in Yamaha recitals even after she had already left for college. She also credits the Yamaha method for helping her develop perfect pitch, which is her musical superpower (it’s pretty cool to sing the solfege in your head while listening to music).

At UCSD, Hanan studied music, biochemistry and psychology with the intent of furthering her music skills to cultivate her lifelong hobby. Fortunately for her, she ended up liking that “hobby path” too much and decided to set aside her biochemistry knowledge in favor of her music and psychology skills and thus began her road to teaching (sorry science). She has been teaching piano for fourteen years, and takes great pride in her ability to connect with students and create lifelong bonds rooted in music. One of her proudest teaching moments was when she prepared five of her piano students to perform during the ceremony and cocktail hour of her wedding in 2018. Her students entertained guests with two hours of classical music and pop/jazz standards, which she arranged for piano/vocal performance, and guests were astounded by the talent these young individuals exuded.

Hanan is an active member of the Music Teachers Association of California (MTAC) and her expertise lies with its Certificate of Merit Evaluations as she has had over 50 students successfully prepare and pass their yearly evaluations, with many receiving Branch and State Honors. She has experience teaching all eleven levels (Preparatory – Level 10/Advanced) and in the 2019 evaluations her Level 10 student received “Excellent” marks on all three areas along with a 149/150 on his written theory test, the highest Level 10 score in the San Diego Branch (he’s still kicking himself for that one missed question). Hanan currently serves as the MTAC San Diego Branch Co-Chair of Certificate of Merit, and is also in the process of training to become a Certificate of Merit Evaluator for other branches. When she’s not teaching, you can find her practicing piano, spending time with her dogs and husband, making giant batches of compost for her orchard, and living an active lifestyle in sunny San Diego 🙂

Dr. Erik Garriott is a conductor, pianist, percussionist, and music educator residing in San Diego, CA. His music studies began at Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education in 2010. In 2013, he completed a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting at California State University Northridge (CSUN). Finally, he received his Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from the University of South Carolina (UofSC) in 2017. He completed his dissertation entitled “The Availability and Implementation of Undergraduate Degrees in Conducting in the United States” in April, 2017. This research document contains detailed descriptions of undergraduate conducting programs in the United States and around the world.

Dr. Garriott has conducted many music ensembles in the United States including: the PLNU concert band (2007-2010), the PLNU chamber orchestra (2008-2010), San Diego Honor Band (2008), Point Loma Opera Theatre (2009, 2017), CSUN Symphony Orchestra (2011-2013), CSUN Opera (2011-2013), CSUN Youth Philharmonic and Youth Symphony (2011-2013), UofSC Symphony Orchestra (2014-2017), UofSC Campus Orchestra (2014-2017), and the Columbia Community Orchestra (2016-2017).

Dr. Garriott currently works with the San Diego Community College District and the Grossmont-Cuyamaca College District as an adjunct professor of music. He also maintains a student schedule at Greene Music Education Center, Recreational Music Center, and in his own private studio.

Minami started piano at the age of three, and was accepted to Kunitachi College of Music for kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school. At the age of 12, she started formal voice while continuing piano. She discovered her passion for singing at Kunitachi College of Music High School and College. She graduated from Kunitachi College of Music with a degree in Vocal Performance.

Throughout high school and college she has participated in choir concerts, TV shows, and solo recitals. More recently, she has been active as pianist and accompanist with the Grossmont Symphony and the Grossmont Master Chorale. She enjoys teaching music and wants to spread the joy of music.

Harley Magsino received his Master of Music degree from San Diego State University, and has played in several bands in the San Diego area. His principal instruments are guitar and bass, but Harley is also proficient in playing and teaching the ukulele, cello, and piano.

Shayan Kalantar has been studying classical piano and music theory from a young age, and completed the Certificate of Merit and Guild programs during his early studies. He graduated from UC San Diego with a degree in music performance and composition with honors and distinction, and hopes to continue his career in sound design and film scoring in graduate school.

Shayan is also adept with modern music technology and hardware/software use for music production. As an expert in using synthesizers, DAWs, MIDI control surfaces, and both studio and field recording techniques, Shayan learned from industry-renowned faculty mentors at UCSD to implement contemporary music concepts into his work.

With a passion for teaching and inspiring others to enjoy the gift of being able to play music, Shayan has taught private piano lessons for 2 years before joining Greene music in 2023, and aspires to share his knowledge and enthusiasm for all things sound and music with his students