Owner, Piano, Singer/Songwriting, Performance Coaching, Artist Development

Adults (intermediate-advanced)

I am a professional pianist/keyboardist in San Francisco. I began taking piano lessons when I was 6 years old and fell in love instantly. I had a wonderful piano teacher, whom I adored, who taught me to understand music theory & read music, but also taught me to play by ear & improvise. She taught me to understand the language of music but she also taught me how to stray from the page and create the music that was inside me. To this day, I am eternally grateful for that.

When I was 10, I started playing in my church band. It was here that I discovered my passion for playing music with other musicians. This is still a passion that I share to this day.

I began teaching private lessons to the kids in my neighborhood when I was 13. I have been teaching private lessons and group workshops ever since.

I have a degree in classical piano performance, but have always continued my pursuit of playing in other styles as well (jazz, pop, funk).

Over the years, I have accompanied choirs, accompanied soloists, taught private lessons, taught group workshops, played in many different bands, and have ultimately been narrowing my focus toward the aspects of music that I love the most.

In 2005, I moved to San Francisco and have been actively involved in the music scene here, accompanying the Piedmont Children’s Choirs, the Nationally Renown Head Royce choirs, and soloists such as Megan Hilty from Wicked.  Studying with funk keyboardist Jimi McKinney, who has played with Larry Graham and the Graham Central Station, Sly & the Family Stone, and Tower of Power, and grammy nominated jazz pianist Mark Levine, author of “The Jazz Piano Book”, and collaborating with musicians such as George Lacson and Mike Rogers of the John Lee Hooker Jr. Band, I have heavily pursued adding other styles and new repertoire to my classical, pop, and improvisational roots. I am very excited to now be composing and performing with my band, Hidden in the Sun, an amazing group of musicians who borrow from rock, blues, jazz, and funk styles.

Piano, Voice, Piano/Voice Combo, Songwriting

Children (ages 3 & up)

Adults- Piano (beginners-intermediate), Voice (beginners - advanced)

Lizzie Clapper, head of the MMS Children’s Department, has her degree in Music Education from San Jose State University. Her teaching philosophy is grounded in her deep belief that music is for everyone and that all beginning music students should have a well-rounded and nourishing experience with equal focus on learning to read music, listening to music, and understanding music from both the classical and jazz/rock/pop perspectives.

Lizzie began her journey with music at a very young age, starting piano lessons at age 5. She sang in many choirs throughout much of her childhood and well into adulthood, singing with the world renown San Jose State University Concert Choir, where as a part of that group she sang with Andrea Bocelli as well as multiple performances with rock group The Rolling Stones.

Lizzie met Ciara McAllister in 2006 when the two began working together as music teachers for a performing arts summer camp based out of San Francisco and the two have been working together ever since. Lizzie is also deeply passionate about singer/songwriters and has been writing her own music since 2005, performing in many venues around the Bay Area. Eventually, Lizzie joined up with Ciara (and other close friends) and helped to form the band Hidden in the Sun, an indie-rock band that features Lizzie as the lead singer and one of the contributing writers. As the lead vocalist in that group, her singing prowess has been described as both “striking” and “galvanizing” by Pop Music critic Steve Hochman of The California Report. She is currently creating music for her new solo project Mother First.

Lizzie is passionate about sharing her talents with the students at McAllister Music Studio!

Piano

Children (ages 6 & up)

Adults (beginners - advanced)

Andrew Kunz's love of music began at the young age of 6, when he first picked up the piano, and eventually expanded to guitar, bass and drums in the formative years following. As a teenager he started his first band and recorded a whole album's worth of original music before finishing high school. In college, Andrew studied classical and jazz piano and was awarded the prestigious UCSC arts scholarship and the Costa award for excellence in jazz performance. Outside of school he was involved in numerous jazz, funk and afrobeat bands among the Santa Cruz's fertile musician community.

In addition to his studies in classical and jazz music, Andrew's studies broadened to a multitude of different world music cultures, including classical Hindustani music theory and performance, central Asian music ensembles, and African music history. This variety of influences has informed Andrew's unique, open-minded compositional prowess and approach to music, which has led to success as a performer. He has toured extensively both across the U.S. and internationally as a keyboardist and percussionist for a few of the bay area based bands that he helps lead. Andrew is excited to bring his enthusiasm and knowledge of music to the MMS team and hopes to instill his passion for music in his future students.

Piano, Piano/Voice Combo

Children (ages 3 & up)

Adults (beginners - advanced)

Sebastian has a longtime relationship with music. Growing up in Singapore, he began piano lessons at the age of 6. Pursuing music with passion and dedication, he completed the ABRSM exams at the age of thirteen. He studied classical music at the Nanyang School of Fine Arts for two years before breaking off and working under a private teacher until his high-school graduation. He performed in competitions and concerts around Singapore and South East Asia, both as a soloist and a chamber-music performer.

He continued to nurture his passion for music at Saint Mary's College graduating in the Spring of 2019. During this time, he picked up the guitar and started writing music of his own. He also began giving private piano lessons to students in his community at St. Mary’s College and continued to hone his teaching skills by working as a writing adviser in the Center for Writing Across the Curriculum program. He is well versed in all styles and truly appreciates helping students explore music in the style that they feel excited to learn.

Sebastian has an infectious and joyous relationship to music that fuels every interaction he has with his students. He believes wholeheartedly that a good educator is one who puts the student first and that can only be done when they give up the view of a teacher as a "master" and replace it with "servant". Sebastian will be teaching beginning - advanced piano and piano voice/combo for children and adults and is honored and thrilled to begin his journey with the MMS community!