Ena is always singing!

Music has always been one of my best friends. I enjoy music most when it is shared with the natural joy of children. I started teaching voice, piano and guitar in 2003. It's the best job in the world, getting to watch a child grow through the magic of music!

I studied music at Clark College where I studied voice with April Brookins Duvic. At Portland State University, I studied voice with Margaret Daane and piano with Connie Titterington. I also attended Marylhurst University and studied voice with Pollyanna Hancock Moody and piano with John Haek.

From an early age, I participated in musical activities. I also have theatre experience, which ranges from childhood productions to improv comedy groups. I have been in over a dozen years of choir as well as various musicals like 'Oliver' and 'The Sound of Music'.

It is the joy of music that I shared with my late mother that built such a lifelong foundation. Singing and sharing with mom gave me some great tools for a successful life, but most importantly, it created an unbreakable bond between her and I and myself and music.

I received my BFA in Music from California State University, Chico where I studied classical guitar, classical piano, traditional and electronic composition, and synthesis. I love coffee, sweets and I am vegan!

Kevin is a member and one of the original founders of Portland Cello Project, a collective of cellists that travel the country playing their own arrangements in performing art centers. A Portland native; he has been playing cello for most of his life. Growing up he studied with Dorien de Leon and played in Portland Youth Philharmonic and Metropolitan Youth Symphony. Now he enjoys teaching cello to people of all ages.

My name is Mari, a queer Chicano Portland based violin and vocal instructor. As a queer multiracial cutie I have spent much time feeling unfitted to various spaces, identities, and communities. However, with music I am able to safely be everything that I am and create harmony with those around me. This creates a deep sense of human belonging and offers me a safety and vulnerability that allows me to live a little harder. When I make music I am more alive , I am more me. 

I have been playing music my whole life. Singing has always come very naturally to me and is often an incredible tool for self regulating. In my childhood I played music with my family during most gatherings. Creating harmony together as a family is and was magic. I also spent summers camping and playing bluegrass with my family and friends. I began formal training on the violin in my middle school years and continued to study through high school and into college. 

I began my teaching journey at the ripe age of 14. I have always found big joy and deep fulfilment in teaching and learning side by side. Each student I have had the pleasure of teaching has also taught me something new about myself as a teacher and about the expansiveness of each individual mind. 

As a teacher I believe in the joy of beginning, endless curiosity, and playing from the heart. I move with patience, compassion, and playfulness. A lesson without laughter is not a Mari lesson. 

Xoxo

Dean Vivirito was the K-8 music teacher in 2007/08 and then private music tutor from 2008-2019 at The Sequoyah School in Pasadena, CA. During his 24 years in Los Angeles, Dean was a member of The Pasadena Choral (baritone) as well as an early tutor and collaborator for recording artist Phoebe Bridgers. His specialties are piano, ukulele and voice. Dean regularly performs in the Portland area and is currently in production on a new solo album with local producer Dominic Castillo.

I have never taught music without Carmen. Dozens of children and families over the last fifteen years have enjoyed the sweet welcoming of my little angel. She has charmed, comforted, and brought laughter and joy to so many. I am grateful for all the pets and attention children have given her. She has always known the differences between each person and treated everyone like they were her only friend.

There was a time when she used to get on the second piano in a room and walk the keys whenever I would play. When I was singing jazz in 2012, she demanded that I practice with her on my lap, while I attempted to accompany myself. After a long day, she would paw at the covers until I lifted them, so she could get underneath and spoon her mom.

Most of you knew her in the last year as she was being diagnosed and treated for cancer. Thank you for seeing the beautiful sweetheart she is and not the ravages of cancer on her face. Many of you stopped to greet her, thanking her for her years of service and giving her the queenly love she deserved. And to all of you who called, wrote, or gave to her fundraiser….THANK YOU for giving of yourself. I’m so grateful to have so many amazing families in my circle. It’s an honor to serve you.