TEACHING ARTISTS
The expertise, passion, and experience of our professional teaching artists are key to our youth choirs’ success. Cantare’s diverse and multilingual teaching staff mirrors our Oakland community, facilitating instruction and communication with families in multiple languages. Our artists specialize in a wide variety of musical genres. We work collaboratively so students benefit from the collective knowledge of all our instructors.
Music Teachers
Julie Haydon (she/her)
Director of Children’s and Youth Programs
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Julie Haydon began her service with Cantare in 2003, developing Cantare’s after-school choirs and classroom music education programs. Under Julie’s leadership, Cantare received the Chorus American Education and Community Engagement Award in 2005 and 2014. In 2008, she founded Nova, Cantare’s auditioned choir for 6-12 graders. Julie served as Director of Music Ministry at Trinity Lutheran Church in Alameda for nine years, directing choral music from diverse traditions. During her tenure, she directed adult singers, the handbell choir and founded a community children’s choir.
Sara Ptak (she/her)
Associate Director for Music Education
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Sara Ptak (she/her) is a singer, educator, and teaching artist originally from rural Illinois. She earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from DePaul University and a Master of Music in Opera Performance from McGill University. She has also studied at the Aspen Music Festival, the Toronto Summer Music Festival, the Franz Schubert Institut in Austria, Domaine Forget in Québec, the Brevard Music Center's Janiec Opera Company and more.
Before joining Cantare, Sara served on the voice faculties of Manhattan School of Music Precollege and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. She also taught early childhood music throughout New York City as a teaching artist with Brooklyn Conservatory of Music's Music Partners program and has maintained a private voice studio for more than thirteen years.
Sara's teaching style is rooted in curiosity and play. As a performer and creator, she is also the creator of Miss Sara's Music Room, a children's music project featuring original songs and playful musical adventures.
Mana Contractor (she/her)
Mana Contractor is a vocalist, composer, and educator with over a decade of teaching experience. She holds an MFA in Voice Arts from the California Institute of the Arts and draws on training in Hindustani classical music, Western vocal techniques, jazz, and contemporary styles. As both performer and educator, she is dedicated to nurturing confidence, creativity, and curiosity in her students, fostering a musical community where every voice is valued and heard.
With over a hundred performances to her name, Mana has appeared on stages across the United States and internationally, including The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the UNESCO World Heritage Site Mehrangarh Fort in India. Her work spans original composition, ensemble singing, and interdisciplinary collaboration, with appearances alongside ensembles such as Original Vision and The Industry.
In the classroom, she invites students to view the voice as a versatile and expressive instrument—capable of shaping tone, timbre, and phrasing in limitless ways. She cultivates an inclusive, supportive environment where singers of all ages can build healthy technique, artistic confidence, and a lifelong love of music.
Rhonda Crane (she/her)
Rhonda Crane began singing professionally in 1989, started touring in 1991, and has shared the stage with artists such as Robert Cray, Joan Armatrading, and Zap Mama. She served as a church pianist at age 16 at the historic Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, and as Choral Director and the Minister of Music of Greater True Light Baptist Church in Modesto, California.
While studying music (classical piano and viola) and education at San Jose State University, she sang in the opera AIDA with Grace Bumbry and organized the Rhonda Hudson Singers. Currently, Rhonda sings with the R&B/soul band CHELLE! and Friends and the a capella group Chelle's Juke Joint.
She is Director of the Children's Ministry for Love Center Church and the Edwin and Walter Hawkins Music & Arts National Conference. Rhonda teaches piano and voice to children in San Francisco, Belmont, Oakland, and Berkeley Unified School Districts. She also teaches world choral music in the Walnut Creek Community Arts Education program. And Rhonda is on the instructor roster for Leap, Oakland Youth Chorus, and San Francisco Arts Education, because she loves teaching children to sing.
Adam Flowers (he/him)
Adam has performed principal tenor roles in opera houses throughout North America, Hawaii, and Japan. In July 2006 he completed a five-year artist-in-residency for Opera San Jose, performing over 32 roles. Adam is a certified Music Together™ teacher, teaching music to infants and toddlers in Marin County and San Francisco. He is the Project Coordinator for Pacific Actors & Singers Workshop, and a teaching artist for the San Francisco Opera Guild’s Book To Bravo and Opera A La Carte educational programs with students in the 5th-12th grades. He is a voice student of Deborah Benedict.
Joe Gell (he/him)
Ras Joe Gell first began playing Drums in 1996. He has been studying and performing African Drumming since 2000. He has been blessed to learn fromgreat Drum masters like Ayo Adeyemi, Obbo Addy, Titos Sompa and Francis Awe. Since 2002, Gell has taught numerous workshops and classes around North America. Ras Joe released his first youth drum instructional book, “Djembe Fun For Everyone Vol. 1” in September 2015. In Summer 2016, Gell embarked onhis first drum circle book tour in the East Coast. Ras Joe has been consistently bringing healing drumming and chants to after-school programs, summer camps and community centers for nearly two decades. His mission is to bring peace, happiness and oneness throughhealing divine music.
Salumeh Javid (she/her)
Salumeh has over 13 years of experience teaching music to young people. After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Music with a minor in Communications from Minnesota State University, she received a certificate in piano pedagogy from the New England Conservatory in Boston. Along with her expertise in music, Salumeh is passionate about building community, working as a volunteer teacher in character development. She is excited to be collaborating with Cantare to bring music and storytelling to a new generation, since "children are our future".
Xinying Liu (she/her)
Xinying recently earned her Master’s in Music Education with an emphasis on Kodály methodology from Holy Names University, and a Master’s in Violin Performance from Ithaca College. Xinying also holds a BA in Music Performance in Violin from China Conservatory of Music, Beijing. Xinying teaches independent violin lessons and general music to young students. Occasionally, Xinying performs piano and violin recitals at Noe Valley Ministry in San Francisco.
Greer McGettrick (they/them)
Greer uses their backgrounds in visual arts and music to playfully explore pedagogy and curriculum of general music from TK through 5th grade. They received an MA in Music Composition from San Francisco State University in 2020. They live in Oakland. Greer loves hikes with their dog and learning new songs and instruments.
Dr. Victoria Nieto (she/her)
Victoria Nieto is a Venezuelan choral conductor with experience in working with children, youth, and mixed choirs. Over the past years, Victoria has been performing both as an ensemble singer and conductor in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In addition, Victoria worked as an instructor for conducting workshops in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay for the program Música para Crecer that uses music as a social tool to rescue children from underprivileged environments, enriching the communities at large.
During her stay in the United States, Victoria presented "Venezuelan Choral Music" in the Missouri Choral Directors Association conference and was invited as a guest speaker at the University of Pennsylvania as part of their ACDA Student Chapter. Victoria holds a doctoral degree in Choral Conducting from University of Miami, a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Missouri State University, and a Bachelor of Music in Choral Conducting from the UNEARTE in Venezuela. Dr. Nieto was previously the Director of Choral Activities at Hamilton College.
Victoria now resides in the Silicon Valley area of California, where she conducts a community choir in Mountain View and previously served as the Training Division conductor at Cantabile. She also maintains an active private studio, teaching voice, piano, and choral conducting lessons.
Alex Taite (he/him)
A resident and native of Oakland, Alex graduated from Pepperdine University in 2007 with a Bachelor’s in Music Theory and Composition. He emphasized in vocal performance and jazz piano. He spent 4 years teaching theory and conducting choirs at the Oakland School for the Arts. In 2014 He placed third in the inaugural James Toland Vocal Arts competition and in 2016 took Audience Favorite. He was a finalist in the East Bay Opera League scholarship competition in 2015. He is currently writing two song books of spirituals, one for solo voice with piano and one for a capella chorus. Previously, Alex has enjoyed teaching with the SF Opera Guild (SF Opera's education and outreach department); conducting the graduate level ensemble at the San Francisco Boys Chorus; coaching at Cantare; directing, and singing in recording projects around the Bay Area; and performing on many local Bay Area opera stages. He currently finds great joy in teaching private piano, music theory, and voice lessons; and directing Chorus Eclectic.
Accompanists
Matt Bourne (he/him)
Matt is a pianist who performs with many groups all around the San Francisco Bay Area. He works in choral music, opera, and musical theatre, among other styles. He is the music director at Castro Valley United Methodist Church, and the pianist for several choral groups. He is also a conductor for theatrical productions at many local companies, as well as a piano teacher and a composer. He is a Bay Area native and a graduate of the music program at UCLA.
