Cupertino Staff

Matthew Pinck

Music Director | Rock Band Teacher

Matt, fondly known as "Yoga Matt" on stage, has collectively studied music since the age of five and has been teaching in Santa Cruz County since 1998. Among his arsenal of music expertise are: guitar, vocals, bass, composition, piano, and performance. His vast formal training has taken place in top schools, such as UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, and Cabrillo College, eventually earning his Bachelor Degree in Jazz Guitar from Skidmore College in New York. Over the years, Matt has gained much professional experience performing in Jazz, Funk & Rock bands, as well as performing solo. Matt & his wife Sarah also love to busk the streets of numerous cities throughout the world, from Hawaii to Newfoundland to the western European cities of Amsterdam, Belgium, Paris, London, Edinburgh and Dublin! Matt takes a unique and creative approach to teaching that engages students to bring out their best stage performance & skills!

Sarah Newman

Music Instructor for Piano, Voice, Choir, Harp, Recorder, Clarinet & Saxophone | Rock Band Teachers (In-Person & Remote)

Sarah has been playing saxophone for well over fifteen years and has been teaching for Be Natural Music since 2013. She studied music at UCSC, earning a Bachelors in Community Studies with a minor in Jazz. Sarah has a special talent for working with young children, developing special rhythm exercises and games, making learning music fun. Everyone adores Sarah! Sarah teaches Saxophone, vocals, piano and Harp. Sarah also specializes in song-writing. Her creativity helps young children come up with lyrics and melodies all on their own! She guides her students through basic song-writing technique, while encouraging their creativity. *Sarah is also a Certified Sound Therapist

David Powell

Drums & Piano Instructor (In-Person & Remote)

David grew up in Kentucky taking piano lessons at a young age. He grew up playing classical piano, but in his teen years found a new love; Rock 'n Roll. That's when he realized he wanted to learn the drums and move to California! David went to San Jose State getting his Masters in music performance specializing in percussion. For the past couple decades, he's played in some amazing bay area jazz and rock bands. His energy and excitement for music goes unmatched. David still performs, though his tour days are behind him. He now focuses his energy towards teaching. From beginning-advanced piano to music theory to beginning-advanced drums; this guy can do it all!

Brian Hermosillo

Guitar Teacher

Brian has been a part of the Bay Area Metal/Punk/Garage Rock music scene since the mid 1980s. Mostly self-taught, he has been playing guitar since he was 13. He was born in San Jose,Ca. but he spent the first 9 years of the 21st century living in Minneapolis,Minnesota and was an active member of the music scene there as well, playing in bands and recording other artists using his home analog studio 8 track reel to reel. Brian has toured with his bands all over the world including a few trips to Italy, Germany,France,Spain,the Netherlands and Japan. Brian is a record collector and owner of the former record shop Undefeated Records in Santa Cruz. Although guitar is his main love, Brian is a multi-instrumentalist and most recently has picked up playing the banjo for fun. Brian has taught several kids to play guitar,bass,and drums over the years and is excited to teach guitar again.

Sharon Bjorke

Instructor for Voice, Piano, Ukulele & Beg. Guitar (In-Person & Remote)

Sharon is a multi-disciplinary artist, bandleader, performer, musician, and arts educator who delights in sharing her love and joy of music and art with children of all ages. An accomplished vocalist, Sharon plays guitar, piano, and mandolin. She is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, where she studied the classical music of North and South India as well as western and extended vocal techniques. Her musical influences include vintage blues and jazz, American musical theater, traditional world folk and popular music, classic and modern rock and roll, Celtic, and Eastern European music. Sharon is a dedicated teacher and devotes her life to creating, nurturing, and presenting the arts. "Music can change the world." - Beethoven

Vanessa Castillo

Cupertino Office Manager

Vanessa Was Born in the Bay area, with a strong passion in the performing arts of Dance. Her training began at age 5 and advanced in a way that allowed her to dance with major dance companies alongside truly amazing performers. Now hanging up her Ballet Shoes, Vanessa is now showcasing her many talents as Be Natural Music as Office Manager, utilizing every instrument within herself to give you the best experience possible.

Chris Bragg

Drum Instructor

Chris Bragg has been playing drums for over 15 years. He found his love for music through the Jazz traditions his grandfather played. Chris has played in numerous bands ranging from punk rock, classic rock and even math rock. His passion for music has shaped him into the musician that he is today and he is very excited to teach new students how to play drums!

Michael Bragg

Administrative Assistant & RRB Coordinator

Michael fell in love with Music from the age of 10 years old, watching his Father perform live shows and play with various bands around the Bay Area. He started to learn the Bass Guitar and started his own band by the age of 12 years. During his early years he learned how to read music playing the clarinet in middle school band as well as teaching the clarinet to beginners. He continues to play with the same band he helped form to this day and has over 20 years of experience in playing live music all over the country. His live music career music background is in mainly Punk Rock and Metal but has a passion for all forms of music.

Curtis Wallace

Vocal and Guitar Teacher

I'm Curtis Wallace, a San Jose native, and I've been a musician practically my whole life. I was introduced to music by my parents at a young age- my mom is an operatic singer and piano player, and my dad plays blues and rock guitar. I started singing and playing piano when I was around 8 years old, and I picked up the guitar at 11. I was influenced by a wide variety of rock and punk music, and early on I learned to play mostly by trying to figure out songs by ear, later on with lessons. I gained experience by playing guitar and singing in bands that played shows frequently, and we toured across the U.S. with acts such as The Story So Far, Real Friends, Modern Baseball, and many others. We also had the amazing opportunity to do a full tour in Japan, playing 9 shows in various cities there, as well as opening a show for Green Day at South by Southwest in Austin. I believe that playing music is something that anyone can learn if you are passionate about it, and if you can dedicate some time to doing it as something you love, it can lead to opportunities and things you wouldn't have thought possible.