Daniella Urban was born and raised in Hungary. She’s been singing since she was born and learned music (szolfézs) with the Kodály method in the National Music School of Hungary, then she went to a special high school for musicians, studying vocals, conducting and harmonics at an advanced level. She plays the violin and the piano. She founded and directs the first Hungarian chamber chorus in the Bay Area: Corvinus (2015). She also sings tenor with the Oakland Symphony. She started at TRIS in January of 2016. Urban received her bachelor’s in Transportation Engineering, and she had worked for the US Military as a contractor for many years (served in two wars: Balkan & Iraq). She runs her own business as an Autoimmune Lifestyle Coach, helping chronically ill people to heal naturally and live a healthy, happy and full life. She is also a personal trainer, as she used to fight MMA (Muay Thai is her specialty). When she has extra time, she hikes with her vizsla, or knits, scrapbooks, reads, cooks, or swims.
Laney McClain Armstrong is a lifelong singer and Oakland native. She is a music educator and musician who has worked with children’s choirs throughout her career. Laney has a BA from Harvard University in Afro-American Studies, and degrees in Choral Conducting from the University of Oregon and the University of Washington. In the past, she has taught middle and high school, and worked at the Cantabile Youth Singers of Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Girls Chorus. In her spare time, she wrangles her four daughters, reads, cooks, and runs (slowly). She began working at TRIS in 2017.
Cathy DeVos — Flute Instructor
Cathy DeVos is a native of St. Louis, MO and received a bachelor’s in music education from the University of Missouri at St. Louis. She moved to San Francisco in 1981 to study for her master’s in flute performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has been an instrumental music teacher in the Piedmont Unified School District for 28 years and is currently the orchestra director for students in 4th-12th grade. She is a member of the Holy Names Orchestra and teaches flute in the Preparatory Music Department at Holy Names University.
Elena Jun - Piano Instructor
Elena Jun is a classically trained pianist and piano teacher located in Oakland, CA. She was born and raised in Seoul, Korea. She studied at San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she received her Bachelors and Masters degree in Classical Piano Performance. She was also selected to attend SFCM's Pre-College Division For Young Musicians during high school. She additionally studied harpsichord, pianoforte, and organ as secondary instruments while at SFCM. She has competed in numerous regional competitions and has been teaching private piano lessons for over 20 years. She is a member of MTAC (Music Teachers' Association of California) and has served as a chorus accompanist at various churches in the SF Bay Area. Elena started teaching at TRIS in 2019.
Emanuela Nikiforova - Violin Instructor
Emanuela was born in Varna, Bulgaria. She graduated from music middle and high schools in Varna and Sofia, Bulgaria. She has a Pedagogy diploma from the International Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland, a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Music Performance from LSU, Baton Rouge, and The San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Emanuela is a member of the Oakland, Berkeley, Marin, Santa Rosa and Silicon Valley Symphony orchestras, and a music director of the formation Antika Slavic Strings. In her spare time, she likes to be outdoors, do yoga, and, teach violin! Emanuela started teaching at TRIS in January of 2014.
George Vass - Guitar Instructor
George Teaching at TRIS since 1998, classical guitar teacher George (György) Vass received his Pedagogy diploma from the Zoltan Kodály Conservatory of Music and his masters in Music Performance at the acclaimed Franz Lizst Music Academy in Hungary. In addition to learning the classical repertoire, he also performed in rock and folk bands and has a deep appreciation for all kinds of music. György feels that classical training frees the students to explore their own musical path. He loves to find the spark that brings out the special talent of his student. His guitar students have followed their dreams to Berkeley College of Music, Yale, and beyond, and have the tools to enjoys playing music their entire lives.
Kenji Higashihama - Piano Instructor
Kenji is a native of Detroit, MI where he grew up singing and playing gospel music. Throughout his career he has had the privilege of music directing a number of shows and groups in Michigan, Illinois, Hawai’i, and California, Hope Galas for the American Cancer Society, assistant music directing for a national tour of The Music Man, and working with wonderful talent from Broadway’s Wicked, Newsies, and Phantom of the Opera. He did his undergraduate studies in music at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and holds certification in Chinese-Mandarin from the Defense Language Institute. He has been at TRIS since 2014.
Tim Vaughan – Drum Instructor
Tim was born in Buckinghamshire, England. Tim Vaughan studied drum set with George Marsh at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and went on to perform with both local and national acts, in jazz and blues festivals, at venues including the LA Greek Theater, the Santa Barbara Bowl, and The Warfield Theatre. In the 1990s, he began teaching drums and has found it to be the truly joy-filled part of his life. He had the honor of serving as drum coach for “We’re the Superhumans,” an inspirational trailer for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In addition to giving private drum set lessons, he has taught group classes for the National Guitar Summer Workshop, and, as the snare drummer for the famed Green Street Marching Band, has reached out to and mentored several local high school drum sections. He has played in numerous theatrical productions throughout the Bay Area, including the long-running Avenue Q at the New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco. He has been teaching at TRIS since February 2010.
Thomas Griesser — Saxophone & Clarinet Instructor
Tom Griesser graduated from Stanford with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1989. Since then, he has been a professional musician for 20 years, performing with groups such as the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, Brass Monkey Brass Band, and the New Morty Show. His private teachers were Richard Joiner on clarinet and Art Bouton and Hal Stein on saxophone. Currently, Tom performs in a variety of groups around the Bay Area. Tom started at TRIS in 2014.
Oakland Campus
3650 Dimond Ave.
Oakland, CA 94602
Phone: 510−531−8566
Fax: 510-531-8055
Piedmont Campus
5201 Park Boulevard
Piedmont, CA 94611
Phone: 510-531-8566
Fax: 510-531-8055