Instructors
Silvester Henderson
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Joan Cifarelli
Born in Pusan, Korea, Joan Cifarelli has resided in the Bay Area most of her life. Classically trained from age 7, she started playing jazz piano at age 16. Receiving her B.A. from Cal-State Hayward, she went on to receive her M.M. from San Francisco State in Classical Performance, studying under Carlos Bussotti. Performing throughout the Bay Area as a classical and jazz pianist, she has worked with a variety of performers from Joan Baez, at Teatro Zinzanni’s, Rita Moreno at the Razz Room, and recently with Bernadette Peters, Jessye Norman and Lisa Vroman with the San Francisco Symphony. She is active in musical theatre and works with Diablo Theatre Company, Contra Costa Musical Theatre and the Vagabond Players.
Catherine Thompson
Catherine Thompson, pianist, received her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Music from San Francisco State University, where she studied piano with Carlo Bussotti, piano ensemble with William Corbett-Jones, and chamber music with the Alexander String Quartet. She is highly sought after as an accompanist in the East Bay area, and also plays solo and duo concerts with her pianist-husband, Eric Thompson, as Piano Duo Polyhymnia. In addition to being staff accompanist at Los Medanos College, Catherine also teaches piano classes there, and private piano lessons in her studio in Brentwood, California. Catherine is a member of the Music Teachers' Association of California, Delta Branch.