Instructors

Elizabeth Hangan has been working as a singer in Southern California for thirty years. Her experience includes live performance, recording and instruction. Her versatile style includes American Roots, Blues-Pop, Rock, Folk and Jazz. Elizabeth also worked for several years with Sapadilla a nation-wide touring band from the Caribbean. She graduated from the Los Angeles Music Academy with a degree in Vocal Performance. In addition she studied at the Dick Grove School of Jazz and Pasadena City College. Elizabeth was the Traveling Enrichment specialist with the Los Angeles Unified School District and currently teaches at Downey Music Center. Elizabeth’s philosophy about singing is; “If you wanna sing, sing!” There is so much joy in throwing your head back and unleashing a melody. Vocal lessons entail learning proper breath control, exercises to strengthen pitch and delivery and tools to help keep your voice in shape, all while singing cool tunes.

Mike has been playing guitar for over 50 years. He grew up in Chico, CA and studied with guitar master, Charlie Robinson. Mike studied music and art at CSU Chico, and Commercial Music at CSU Long Beach, before moving to Claremont in 1990 where he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree. He has taught guitar, music theory, and vocal jazz at CSU Chico, directed the jazz ensemble at Butte Community College, vocal jazz at CSU Northridge, and is currently teaching Music History, World Music, studio guitar, and jazz ensemble at the University of LaVerne. Mike also performs with his combo The Jazz Doctors.

Mike Kreivis has vast experience with guitar in performance, composition and teaching. He teaches all styles and all levels. He also teaches mandolin, ukulele, dobro, bottle neck and lap slide guitar. In addition to formal music training he teaches reading and writing tablature, ear training, and working in a band.

Jerry O’Sullivan has been playing in bands since he was 13 and has been a professional musician since the age of 21 when he wrote and performed the hit song Pomona Queen. He currently plays guitar and is the lead vocalist for the band CVS, (Claremont Voodoo Society). Jerry has been teaching ukulele since 2005 when he joined the Folk Music Center.

Ellen Chase has been around the folk music scene her whole life. Her mother, Dorothy performed and taught at Hecht House in the 1950s in Boston with Bess Lomax Hawes. Ellen began working at the Folk Music Center with her grandfather when she was in junior high school and has performed and taught guitar and banjo ever since. After graduating from Pitzer and acquiring a Ph.D at the Claremont Graduate University, she taught reading and language acquisition at Pacific Oaks and Cal State San Bernardino. In 2001 Ellen took over the Folk Music Center from her parents and currently runs the shop, concert series, folk festival and teaches music classes.