Greg Jones
Guitar, Bass, Violin, Cello, & String Bass Instructor

Greg Jones brings to our school not only his guitar, not only his bass guitar, but also a positive "can-do" attitude that is infectious. He received his Bachelor of Arts in music from Culver-Stockton University where he played 1st chair string bass for 4 years. After graduating he traveled extensively as a professional musician. He has had years of teaching experience and continues as a professional musician, composing and performing his own music at various venues. Greg can teach you any style of music you want to learn...and his sense of humor along with his passion for music make him a face you'll look forward to seeing in your week. Very reliable, he enjoys working with children as well as adults because he loves helping people. These qualities all put together make him an excellent choice as a teacher for you or your child.

Rafael Espinoza
Classical Guitar Instructor

Rafael brings to BWM a one-of-a-kind style…classical guitar. His renowned gift for the classical guitar won him scholarships with Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation, CSUEB and DVC Music. His expertise encompasses varied styles of classical music. He studied jazz guitar with Brian Pardo and classical guitar with Mark Simons of the San Francisco Guitar Quartet. Rafael also has experience in big band jazz, classical guitar ensemble, solo guitar playing & bowed piano ensemble. He is currently continuing his studies with Marc Teicholz at CSUEB.

Corina Stoian
Violin Instructor

Born in Bucharest, Corina Stoian began her musical career at an early age, performing whilst still a student with prominent symphony orchestras throughout Romania, including Bucharest, Kronstadt, Hermannstadt, Ploiesti, Oradea and Bacau. She attended the prestigious "George Enescu School of Music" and the "Conservatory of Music" in Bucharest, studying with Modest Iftinchi and Stefan Gheorgiu, where she graduated with the highest distinctions (equivalent to a Masters Degree). During this period she also won numerous prizes in national violin and chamber music competitions. Corina furthered her studies at the famous "Folkwang Musikhochschule" (Conservatory of Music) in Essen, Germany with Mintcho Mintchev and completed her Soloist Diploma with honours (Konzertexamen - equivalent to a Doctoral Degree).

After being appointed as concertmaster of the "Folkwang Chamber Orchestra Essen", Germany, she attracted the interest and support of several music foundations, most notably "Werner Richard - Dr. Carl Dorken Foundation" and "Villa Musica", Mainz. This resulted in numerous recital and solo concert engagements with important orchestras in Germany, such as the "Neue Philharmonie Westfalen", the "Klassische Philharmonie Bonn", the "Bergische Symphoniker", the "Philharmonisches Orchester Plauen - Zwickau" and "Detmolder Kammerorchester", performing also in the "Saalbau - Essen" and the "Grosser Musiksaal - Basel". She has collaborated with distinguished musicians, giving concerts in Italy, Israel, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Switzerland and United States.

In addition, she has recorded regularly for radio and television and has made numerous appearances at famous international festivals, including the "Schleswig - Holstein Musik Festival" (Germany), the "Rheingau Musik Festival" (Germany), the "Radio France Festival - Montpellier" (France) and the "Bear Valley Music Festival" (USA).

Corina Stoian performed with the "New York Piano Trio" and has completed a CD production featuring music from the solo violin repertoire of Sarasate, de Falla, Kreisler, Beriot and Piazzolla.

After she graduated in Romania, she was appointed violin professor at the "School of Arts" in Alexandria. Already during her studies in Germany she had assisted prof. Mincho Minchev at the “Folkwang Musikhochschule” (Conservatory of Music) in Essen, Germany. She was also invited to the "International Academy of Music of Montpellier", France, as a faculty member among the world's most renowned professors and performers.

Since August 2006 she has a residency in USA, where she appeared as a soloist at the "Bear Valley Music Festival", at the "Lesher Center for the Arts" - Walnut Creek (CA), with the "Merced Symphony" - Merced (CA), "Auburn Symphony" - Auburn (CA), "Academy at All Hallows Orchestra" - Sacramento (CA), "Folsom Lake Symphony" - Folsom (CA), at the "Sonora Bach Festival" and in numerous recitals and concerts in Amador and Calaveras County.

Matt Roads
Bass, Upright Bass, Guitar and Drum Instructor

Matt comes to our school with a profound sense of what it means to be an inspiring music teacher. With years of experience teaching drums, bass, upright bass and guitar, he has much to offer for the serious student.

Matt realizes a one-size-fits-all teaching strategy would hinder the growth of a student, thus he is extremely driven to adapt each lesson to the age, needs, and interests of his students. Because of his diverse musical background, he can incorporate any style or song his student favors as a way to keep them motivated. At the same time, he encourages his students to expand their horizons by introducing new styles and genres.

While he likes to keep his lessons fun, he is also serious about working on technique and understanding the science of music so that students can carry this into other instruments or styles of music. He keeps his lessons half fun and half rudiments as a general rule and then adapts to the student. For his more experienced students, he goes a step further and teaches them how to play along with other instruments so they will have the ability to "jam" as they progress. For example, he brings in his guitar for a bass lesson, or even his bass with a drum student, and plays along with the student so he/she can learn how to play with other musicians.

Matt strives to establish trust with his students by building a personal relationship so that the student can feel comfortable and let their musical talents come out. He also maintains a healthy relationship with the entire family by keeping communication with the parents open and keeping them informed on their child's homework and progress.

He takes practicing at home very seriously and finds many creative ways to move his students to not just feel an obligation to practice, but to WANT to practice. This motivation comes from within and he has had much success drawing this out of his students. One parent's remarks are, "We never have to push our son to practice. He looks forward to it every day thanks to the encouragement from Matt..."

Vince Lucchesi
Electric Bass, Bass and Guitar Instructor

Vince has been professionally playing the Electric Bass for over 11 years and has been musically active his entire life. After sorting through a variety of instruments, he finally found his instrument of choice at the age of 15 and began performing with the Bass immediately. Starting out at churches and the high school jazz band, he moved on to jazz ensembles in college and started teaching Bass not too long after.

He is a private Bass Instructor with seven years teaching experience. Vince uses multiple tools to help students accelerate in their instrumental development. With the use of computer programs and drum machines, he can show not only how the Bass is played, but demonstrate its function in groups, ensembles and bands. More importantly, he shows how to complement, play along with, and respond to other instruments. The Bass is also an amazing instrument on its own which is why Vince teaches solo pieces and Bass duets.

Vince teaches 4, 5, and 6 string Bass (beginning – advanced), as well as Guitar (beginning – intermediate). He uses Guitar Pro and Sibelius on his laptop to teach students how to read music and understand the detailed dynamics of their favorite songs. He teaches all ages and music styles.