Elemental Music is proud to offer a paid teaching fellowship for college students in Southern California to receive hands-on experience teaching the young musicians in our ensemble programs. With the acknowledgement and understanding that children of all backgrounds should be able to look to the front of the classroom and see themselves reflected in their teachers, our Teaching Fellowship program was developed as a way to expand the pipeline of who has the opportunity to become a professional music educator and teaching artist.

Our fellowship has blossomed since launching in 2022 thanks, in part, to funding from the SNAP Foundation and the Hennings-Fischer Foundation. We are delighted to have welcomed Miki Garcia to our team as Teaching Fellowship Coordinator, who is refining the program to provide an even more impactful experience for our fellows.

After a very competitive application and selection process with more than 40 applicants, we are delighted to introduce our 2024/2025 Teaching Fellows (one of whom is also an alumna of Santa Monica High School):

Elemental Band
Dylan Cisneros, California Institute of the Arts

Elemental Choir
Ana Martinez, University of California, Los Angeles

Elemental Strings
Alessandra Cruz Rivera, Santa Monica College
Kyndall Runnels, California State University, Northridge

Fellows will work alongside our teaching artists for the entire season and be mentored by program directors, in addition to participating in training sessions with directors and special guests. We are looking forward to getting to know each fellow this season and are excited to see how each of their unique skills and experiences impact our programs and our students!