Faculty and Staff

Maria Amirkhanian - Instructor

A native of Yerevan, Armenia, Maria Amirkhanian began piano lessons at the age of five. After graduating from Tchaikovsky School of Music, Maria was accepted to Komitas State Conservatory, where she obtained her B.M. in piano performance under guidance of Armine Mokatsian. In 1993, Maria was accepted, with a full scholarship, to CSU Fresno where she became a student of Andreas Werz. In addition to performing throughout California and internationally, Maria has participated in master classes with Peter Frankl, Barbara Nissman, Tomas Ungar, Ruth Loredo and Oxana Yablonskaya. In 1994, Maria was awarded second place at the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Pasadena.

The following year she won first place at the 1995 MTA Solo Competition, a statewide event. Maria was the winner of the Fresno Organizers Scholarship Award in 1996. In 2000, she obtained her DMA from Moscow Conservatory, Russia, where she studied under Yuri Hayrapetian. After serving as a piano instructor at CSU Fresno, Maria joined the faculty of Gavilan College Music Department in the Fall of 2006. In addition to teaching, Maria is the coordinator for Bach to Blues Concert series and the Marian Filice Piano Competition. Aynpes Uzum Em, Karot

Dahveed Behroozi - Instructor

Pianist and Composer Dahveed Behroozi is a Bay Area based musician primarily devoted to the independent jazz and classical scenes. Dahveed’s playing has been described as highly expressive, lyrical and colorful by numerous publications nationwide. Dahveed has recorded and performed as a leader, as well as a sideman with Thomas Morgan, Tim Bulkley, Billy Mintz, Dayna Stephens, Ed Neumeister, Todd Neufeld, Aaron Lington, John Shifflett, Jason Lewis, Bob Kenmotsu, Cuong Vu and Jeff Denson.

Originally from San Jose, CA, Dahveed studied with pianist Hans Boepple at Santa Clara University. He received his BA in Jazz Piano from The Manhattan School of Music in 2002 where he studied under Fred Hersch. He then received his Master’s from The Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College where he studied classical and contemporary piano literature under Ursula Oppens.

Dahveed is currently on the faculty at Gavilan College where he teaches courses in music history, composition, world music and theory. He is an active performer on the west coast, where he leads several different groups and also plays in other musicians groups.

Albert Marqués - Instructor

I grew up in a musical family. As a child I can remember weekends or events listening to my family perform. I also remember being awakened by these old flamenco albums my Dad would crank up early morning on weekends. I would think to myself how could anyone listen to this stuff. I liked the guitar but couldn’t stand the singing. My father would laugh and tell me that one day I would learn to like flamenco singing. I thought he was crazy but in the end Dad was right. Not only do I like flamenco singing but it is my favorite part of flamenco. Don’t get me wrong, I love dance and solo. It’s just the singing really moves me. My grandfather, who was born outside Granada in a little town called Pinos Puentes, passed the guitar down to his two sons who in turn passed it down to me. My father played professionally in the fifties doing studio work with Fantasy records and live performances.

Nate Pruitt - Instructor

Pruitt's resume includes performances in movies, including "The Lost Man" with Sidney Poitier and "Mad City" with John Travolta and Dustin Hoffman, appearances at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Monterey Blues Festival, the Berlin Jazz Festival and the W. C. Handy Memorial Jazz Fest in Alabama. A performance at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland when he was about 50 is among one of his favorites, as it reunited him with many lifelong friends and musical legends for a weekend. He's performed with countless artists to whose names he tends to add the prefix "the Great," as in the Great Dizzy Gilespie, Quincy Jones or Dave Brubeck.
His talent has taken him around the world and may have even kept him alive. After being drafted during the Vietnam War, he was recruited to a 30-man chorus instead of being sent into the action.
"My music has done so much for me," he said. "It's taken me all over. It's saved me." More

Currently Pruitt performs with the group Primary Colors.

Sam Sotelo - Instructor

Morgan Hill native Sam Sotelo has been playing drums for over the past forty years and is well versed in all styles of music. He studied percussion/drumset with Ralph Hardimon, Dan Sabanovich, Gary Hess, Taka Numazawa, Wally Schnalle, Ralph Humphrey, Joe Porcaro, Joey Heredia; African drumming with Kobla Ladzekpo and Joe Caploe; Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and Latin percussion with Luca Brandoli, Changuito and the great Tito Puente. He spent most of his career in the Los Angeles music community doing sidelining work in film and has worked recording sessions with various artists such as the Yellowjackets. Along with this, he has also worked in Post Audio Production for Film/Television and the Web. Currently, he plays out in the South Bay and Santa Cruz areas with Michelle Pollace's Latin Jazz Trio, classic rock band WredHorse, and Neo-Soul Artist Monica Marquis.

EDUCATION

M.A. Ethnomusicology UCLA 1995/ B.A. Music Improvisation San Jose State 1992/ A.A. Music Commercial Songwriting Gavilan College 1990/ Certificate-Drumset Studies Musicians Institute 1989/ Certificate-Recording Engineering Soundmaster Recording School/Pinnacle College 2006