Baxter Northup Music

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About Our Teachers

WOODWINDS

David (Monday thru Thursday)

David graduated Cum Laude from CSUN and has performed throughout the U.S. and abroad.  He has been teaching for over 20 years and specializes in saxophone, flute, clarinet, improvising, theory, reading, and tone production.  For more about David, visit: www.davidcroziermusic.com

Bill (Saturday)

Bill has been teaching woodwinds for over 25 years and has been at Baxter for 15.  He studied at Long Beach Community College and Cal State Long Beach and has performed with such artists as the Righteous Brothers, Doc Severenson, Tom Jones and at Disneyland.  He specializes in saxophones, clarinet, and flute. 

Phil (Wednesday and Thursday)

Phil holds a Masters degree in oboe performance from Cal State Los Angeles and has performed on many recordings for television and movies.  He has been teaching for over 30 years.

Brian (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday)

Brian holds a MFA from the California Institute of the Arts.  He has recorded for many film and television productions and has toured in Europe, the U.S. and Canada.  He has been teaching for 18 years, and has been at Baxter for six years.  He also teaches at the Oakwood School in North Hollywood.  He specializes in classical clarinet, bass clarinet, jazz clarinet, and saxophones.  For more about Brian, visit: www.brianwalshclarinet.org

Tom (Monday and Sunday)

Tom Luer is a freelance saxophonist who resides in Los Angeles, CA, and is a Rico Reeds Performing Artist. His group “Project Popular” released their self titled album to critical acclaim, and has performed throughout Los Angeles and can be heard at venues such as Vitello’s, Hal’s Bar and Grill, and was even a featured group at the Laguna Beach Live Jazz Series and the LA Valley College weekly jazz series. Recently, NPR used music from Tom’s CD in a nationally broadcast promo.

Tom has a Master’s Degree in Saxophone Performance from the University of Southern Mississippi, a Bachelor’s Degree in Performance from the University of Wisconsin-EauClaire, and additional graduate studies in jazz at the University of North Texas. As a music educator, Tom has served as a faculty member at Cal Poly Pomona, the University of North Texas, Texas Christian University, Bethel College, North Lake Community College and Butler County Community College.  For more about Tom, visit: www.tomluer.com

FLUTE

Susan (Tuesday and Thursday)

Susan holds a Bachelors degree and Masters degree from San Jose State University.  She studied piano at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago.  She has released three albums on her label Craig Records.  She has been teaching for 34 years and specializes in piano, flute, recorder, Irish wooden flute and Irish pennywhistle.  For more about Susan, visit www.craigrecords.com

Cari (Thursday and Friday)

Cari graduated with a degree in performance from Cal State University, Northridge where she studied with David Shostac. Cari has 20 years of teaching and performance experience. She can be heard on soundtracks to television shows, films, as well as folk, rock, and classical recordings. Cari is a classical instructor specializing in beginning adult students and children with special needs.

Kiki (Saturday)

Originally from Fukuoka, Japan, Kiki earned her Masters degree in flute from the California Institute of the Arts and her Bachelor’s degree in flute performance from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.  

Kiki teaches privately and is also on the teaching staff at the Oakwood School and St. Cyril of Jerusalem School.  She performs and records with various artists and new composers in the Los Angeles area. 

DRUMS

Korey (Monday thru Thursday and Saturday)

Korey has been playing professionally since 1970.  He began teaching at Baxter in 1992 and specializes in drum set, congas, percussion and beginning to advanced students.  He is a member of Side Car Jazz and performs regularly on wheels.  To see Korey in action, YouTube “Side Car Jazz”. 

GUITAR

Terry (Monday, Tuesday and Sunday)

Terry Medeiros has been a professional musician for fifty years and has taught private guitar and ukulele for most of his career. Terry has been teaching at Baxter Northup since 1999 and focuses on coordination, technique, music appreciation, style analysis and western music theory. Terry’s career includes live performance, radio, internet, television, recording, music composition and production. A lifelong student of the guitar, Terry has taken classes at the University of Hawaii, San Francisco City College, Pasadena City College along with private lessons from some of the greatest guitarists in the music business. To learn more about Terry please visit: www.terrymedeiros.com

October (Monday thru Wednesday and Saturday)

A graduate of Cornell College and Walnut Hill School for the Arts, October has pursued teaching and composition, in addition to her wide variety of live performance and recording experience, for over twenty years.  October has worked with such artists as Steve Earle, Justin Townes Earle, and Robbie Fulks, and was a consultant for the television show “Rita Rocks” as well as the Great American Country (GAC) channel. 

October has taught at Baxter since 2002, and also taught for four years at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago.  While October’s studio is open to everyone, she is dedicated to the education and empowerment of women and girls of all ages through music and especially the guitar.  For more about October, visit www.rocktober.org

Jim (Wednesday thru Saturday)

Jim has been teaching at Baxter for ten years.  He specializes in teaching kids, reading, acoustic, rock, and classical guitar.  His musical career includes performing with The Tonight Show Band, on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Merv Griffin Presents, Phil Donahue, and The Love Boat.  Jim has toured with Broadway productions of Dream Girls, Evita, and Phantom of the Opera and has done studio work with Melissa Manchester, Bette Midler, Helen Reddy, Tony Bennett, John Fogerty and many more. To learn more about Jim, visit: www.myspace.com/jimhenken

Matt (Tuesday, Friday and Sunday)

Matt received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in studio/jazz guitar from USC.  He has been teaching for ten years and currently has over 30 students.  He specializes in jazz, rock, funk, blues, and classical/flamenco.  To hear more of Matt’s music visit http://mattlakeguitar.com/

Scott (Thursday and Saturday)

Scott is a performing guitarist, studio musician, and composer/arranger. He plays many styles including jazz, pop, rock, blues, funk, and classical.  With a degree in Studio/Jazz Guitar from USC’s Thornton School of Music, he teaches guitar and performs all around Los Angeles.  Scott has been lucky enough to study with some of the most respected musicians in Los Angeles and the world, including John Pisano, Bruce Forman, Darek Oles, and Bob Sheppard.  He is an enthusiastic teacher and teaches all ages and levels.  For more about Scott, please visit www.scottbramer.com

PIANO

Seth (Wednesday and Saturday)

Seth grew up in Baldwin City, a small town in northeast Kansas, where his musical journey was mostly self-guided. After majoring in piano performance in college, Seth branched out, working not only as a pianist, but also as a musical director, conductor, arranger, and composer.  He toured with singers Michael Crawford and Shirley Bassey, and also on two Windham Hill Winter Solstice tours. Seth has performed in some of the nation’s top venues, including Radio City Music Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Hollywood Bowl.  He has been teaching for over 20 years and also teaches at the Buckley School.  For more about Seth, visit www.sethosburn.com

Joanne (Monday, Tuesday and Friday)

Joanne began her career as a professional vocalist at age 7, performing throughout her childhood.  She obtained her Bachelors Degree from the Boston Conservatory of Music with a major in classical piano.

Joanne is recognized as a recording artist and producer, participating in over 20 releases. In 2003, Joanne was awarded a Platinum Record for singing backing vocals on the two-time Grammy winner, “Fallen” by Evanescence. A guest lecturer at Berklee College of Music in Boston and Baxter teacher for over ten years, Joanne specializes in piano, piano accompaniment for singers, writers, and commercial music. 

Tracy (Monday, Friday and Sunday)

Tracy graduated from Los Angeles Valley College and Groves School of Music. He has been teaching piano privately for over 20 years for all ages, levels, and styles of piano music.

Jean (Saturday)

Jean received her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia College in Chicago.  She has been teaching at Baxter for four years and also works at BUG music as a publishing liaison to artists.  She has played in several bands and plans to release an album of her music soon.

VIOLIN

Erlinda (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday)

Beginning her violin training at age 5, Erlinda won numerous competitions in Nevada, Utah, and New York City.  She was a full Scholarship student at UNLV, University of Memphis, and Cal State Northridge and was concertmaster with their respective orchestras.  At UNLV, she won the concerto competition and subsequently performed the Saint Saens Third violin concerto with the UNLV symphony orchestra.  Erlinda recieved her Bachelor of Music in performance from Northridge where she studied with Franklyn D’Antonio. She also won the Manuel Kimpinsky award for outstanding achievement at CSUN.

An active member in the professional musicians’ community in Los Angeles, Erlinda has worked in the recording industry, as well as with the Long Beach Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the New West Symphony, Symphony in the Glen, Pasadena Pops, California Philharmonic, and the Riverside Philharmonic.  She and her husband, Armen, were featured soloists with the Santa Clarita Symphony.

Erlinda has been teaching since 1992, and has been at Baxter since 1997.  Her focus is on music literacy and creating a balance of structure, musical independence, and fun on the violin.

Kristin (Monday, Thursday and Friday)

Kirstin graduated with a Master of Music in violin performance from Yale University, and a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from the University of Southern California. 

Kirsten is involved with many different kinds of projects ranging from classical to popular genres.  She also frequently judges VOCE, Certificate of Merit, Southwest Youth Music Festival, and ASTA competitions. 

Kirsten has performed with the New West Symphony and Long Beach Symphonies and has played on recordings by Michael Jackson, Madonna, Willie Nelson, and Aerosmith, to name a few.  Kirsten also appears on the soundtracks to “Wall-E”, “Four Christmases”, and “Revolutionary Road”.  Kirsten’s television appearances include performing at the Academy Awards, the Grammy Awards, the Emmy Awards, on the Tonight Show, and with Kanye West as part of a small chamber ensemble for a nationally televised Hurricane Katrina benefit.  Kirstin’s solo CD “Czech Mate”, released on the Raptoria Caam label, is available via Amazon.com.

CELLO

Jeremy (Saturday)

Jeremy received his Bachelors in Music from the University of Northern Colorado.  He plays regularly with the Traction Avenue Chamber Orchestra and specializes in teaching beginning cellists.

Alison (Monday and Sunday)

Alison Chesley is an accredited Suzuki teacher, composer, and recording artist. Alison has toured and recorded with bands such as Shellac, Meshell N’degeocello, and Broken Social Scene.  She has a Masters degree in cello performance from Northwestern University and has studied pedagogy at the Chicago Suzuki Institute and with Tanya Carey of De Paul University.  On the faculty at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago for the past 5 years, Alison enjoys working with both children and adults, beginners and more advanced students. She focuses on technique, improvisation, and just expressing yourself through your instrument. For more about Alison, visit www.helenmoney.com 

TRUMPET

Bernie (Tuesday)

Bernie has a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Cal State Northridge.  He is a licensed music therapist and attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.  He has been teaching trumpet for over 25 years and specializes in making playing the trumpet fun and helping students become well-rounded players in classical, jazz, and commercial music. 

BASS

Trent (Tuesday thru Friday)

Trent is a Los Angeles area based professional performer and instructor, with credits including: Eddie Money, Nancy Sinatra, The Boneshakers, Wayne Kramer (The MC5), America, and many more.  He is available as a freelance bassist, and is currently accepting students at Baxter Northup.  Trent has been teaching for over ten years and specializes in all styles of electric bass, theory, improvisation and song learning.  He has been working at Baxter on and off for over 25 years.  For more about Trent, visit www.trentstroh.com

TROMBONE

Eric (Wednesday and Friday)

Eric graduated with a B.A. from Cal State Northridge.  He has toured with Don Henley, Doc Severensen, Aretha Franklin and Natalie Cole, recorded with Bette Midler, Dwight Yoakam and played on film and TV scoring sessions for “Rush Hour 2”, “A League of Their Own”, “American Idol”, “The Bonnie Hunt Show”, and “TMZ”.  Eric has been teaching at Baxter Northup Music since 1998.  You can find him on YouTube, www.youtube.com/user/BigVikingLA

ACCORDION / BANJO / MANDOLIN

Phil (Tuesday)

Phil has been teaching for 20 years, five of them at Baxter Northup.  He studied film scoring at UCLA and has been a studio musician for Rod Stewart and Bon Jovi and toured with Tracy Chapman and Social Distortion.  In addition to teaching accordion, banjo and mandolin he teaches piano and guitar, all styles.  For more about Phil, go to: www.parlapiano.com