Ms. Risa is a jazz pianist and accordionist with a lifelong passion for music. Her musical journey began early, starting piano lessons at the age of 2. She studied classical piano, theory, and improvisation, shifting her attention to jazz in high school.

She has explored a diverse range of musical genres from swing, zydeco, and jazz fusion, to klezmer, Latin, and J-pop, and is a versatile musician with experience performing solo piano, chamber music, in jazz bands, as well as singing in choral groups.

 Ms. Risa holds a BA in music from UC Berkeley and is active in the Bay Area as a musician and educator. At Berkeley, she performed in the UC Jazz Ensembles, served as the program’s Vice President, and mentored students in performance and theory. Ms. Risa also loves singing; she sang as a tenor and served as music director for an a cappella group for three years, and is a prolific arranger and composer.

 In her teaching, Ms. Risa focuses on developing students’ skills in healthy classical technique, ear training, jazz fundamentals, improvisation, and arranging, with the goal of empowering musicians of all ages to be imaginative and to create their own unique music. She believes in fostering an encouraging learning environment to nurture each student’s individual interests.

She is also familiar with the AP Music Theory exam and the Certificate of Merit program.

 Ms. Risa is fluent in English and Japanese.