We have a lot of incredible people teaching for our programs, and while our students get to work with them every week, we know that our wider community might not know them!

Our featured teacher for May, Susan Justin, is a vocal coach and accompanist for our Elemental Choir! She is also a choral music educator for SMMUSD!

EM: How long have you been teaching for Elemental Music?

SJ: Three or four years.

EM: When did you start singing and playing piano?

SJ: I started taking piano lessons at 7 but my aunt showed me how to read notes at age 5. Both my parents liked to sing and continuously listened to recordings of vocal, orchestral, or marching band music.

EM: What makes Santa Monica such a special place to teach music?

SJ: When I studied music at UCLA, we took a field trip to SMMUSD to see the music instructors in action. They were amazing! I knew I wanted to stay near a community that supported an authentic, high level program. Elemental Music has that same spirit, standards of excellence, and local support that brings young people together as budding artists.

EM: What is one of your favorite musical memories?

SJ: My first experience singing solo in public was in Kindergarten for the holiday assembly. I sang Silent Night.

EM: If you could give our students one piece of advice, musical or otherwise, what would it be?

SJ: Find a place to practice that is comfy and routine. I always played while my mom was cooking dinner. When she finished, food was my reward!

EM: Is there anything else you’d like to add, that you think might be interesting for our community?

SJ: Singing and playing together in a group is such a great accomplishment. It’s a recipe for hard work, focus, appreciation, and fun. The resulting performances are a gift given back to the community and we are all so fortunate to have these skills going forward.