Teaching Artists
Margaret Gonzalez, a musician and educator from Venezuela, is a product of El Sistema. She grew up in the capital city of Caracas in Venezuela where she learned the core values of El Sistema, and how it has the power to create social change. Through these life experiences, Margaret developed a deep sense of being valued and how to confidently face the challenges of life's journey. She knows first-hand what a difference this can make in one's life, and with a profound passion for teaching, is excited to share the same opportunities and experiences with the children of San Francisco.
Margaret earned a Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance and Minor in Violin and Piano from Shenandoah University (Virginia) where she was a student of violist Doris Lederer from the Audubon Quartet. Prior to her studies in the United States, she performed with the world-renowned Simon Bolivar Orchestra of Venezuela under Maestro Gustavo Dudamel. Additionally, she has worked with several professional chamber ensembles and symphonic orchestras in the United States, and continues to actively teach both children and adults on a variety of string instruments. At Music Mission San Francisco, Margaret serves as co-founder, artistic director and teaching artist.
The founder of El Sistema, Maestro Jose Antonio Abreu believes in the transformative power of music in making positive and lasting changes in the lives of all children. Continuing the legacy of the founder, Margaret uses music as a vehicle for social change, traveling locally and internationally to share her passion and vision with other Sistema inspired programs.
Violinist Fiona Cunninghame-Murray previously studied at the Peabody Pre-Conservatory in Baltimore (MD) with Lenelle Morse where she was concertmaster of both the Peabody Youth Orchestra and the Baltimore School for the Arts Orchestra. She then went on to earn her Bachelor's degree at The University of Michigan under Professor David Halen, concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony.
Fiona is currently pursuing her masters degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Chen Zhao of the San Francisco Symphony. From 2017 to 2019 she spent her summers at the Meadowmount School of Music studying with Gerardo Ribeiro and Sally Thomas for solo repertoire and Kikuei Ikeda of the Tokyo String Quartet for chamber music. Following Meadowmount, she attended the Aspen Music Festival under Robert Lipsett.
Most recently, Fiona accompanied Gil Shaham in the Aspen Festival Orchestra and Winton Marsalis with Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. She taught privately for three years in the Ann Arbor area as well as at the Aspen Music Festival as a student educator. Fiona has performed in master classes for Hilary Hahn, Midori Goto, Daniel Ashalamov of the American String Quartet and Daniel Philips of the Orion String Quartet.
Recently retired from a 30-year career teaching band, orchestra and jazz band at Presidio Middle School in the San Francisco Unified School District, Diana Wyneken Gomez is currently off the podium and performing on flute and piccolo. She received her Bachelor of Music from San Francisco State University in 1976, and continued studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, under Paul Renzi and Lloyd Gowen of the San Francisco Symphony, with masterclasses under Jean-Pierre Rampal, Julius Baker and Marcel Moyse. Her most recent work in large performing groups includes the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra, Oakland Municipal Band, San Francisco Civic Symphony, Golden Gate Park Band, San Francisco Wind Ensemble, and various freelance work around the Bay Area. She spends time playing chamber music with Zephyrus Woodwinds, and maintains musical relationships with churches and choirs around the Bay Area.
Born in San Francisco and raised in Santa Monica, California, Eleanor Hammersly is a violist, artist, and community organizer. Since picking up the viola for the first time at age nine, her musical endeavors have led her to perform throughout the United States, South America, and Europe, as an orchestral, chamber, and solo player. Since graduating from UT Austin's Butler School of Music in May 2023, she has enjoyed many performance opportunities, playing with the American Youth Symphony, California Young Artists Symphony, and the newly formed Civic Orchestra of Los Angeles. Ella was a finalist in the 2024 American Viola Society's Orchestral Audition Competition and has spent previous summers at the Napa, Round Top, Trentino, Green Mountain, and Tanglewood Institute festivals, holding principal positions.
Ella holds a Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance from the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied with Roger Myers. This fall, she will begin her Masters degree program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Jonathan Vinocour.
In addition to her classical background, Ella is skilled in playing and teaching pop, jazz, and improvisatory music styles, and has performed with international superstars Rick Springfield and Michael Buble.
Ella has eight years of experience teaching violin and viola, from ages 6 through 16. Most recently, she has taught at Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA), an El Sistema music education program of Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic that provides free instruments and group instruction to students throughout the city. She firmly believes that studying music has intersected with and empowered her in all areas of her life, particularly her passion for climate activism. Ella wants to make the field and study of music more joyous and accessible to everyone, and she is excited to return to the city she was born in as both a teacher and student.
Catherine Heusner is a member of the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera, Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra and for 10 years, she was Assistant Concertmaster of the Stockton Symphony Orchestra. She currently works as a substitute teacher in the Davis Unified School District (Davis, CA) and maintains an active private studio.
Her education includes studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of Southern California where she earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance. Her private teachers at SFCM and USC included Eudice Shapiro and Isadore Tinkleman.
Catherine is the proud mother of two sons; both graduates of the University of California-Santa Barbara. At Music Mission San Francisco, Catherine teaches violin.
Fabiola Marinero began playing violin as a member of El Sistema in El Salvador. She has served as a teaching artist for the Oakland Unified School District and Harmony Project, the largest music education organization in Los Angeles dedicated to low-income families and under-resourced communities. Fabiola previously served as Concertmaster of the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA) and has performed as a substitute with the New World Symphony (Miami). She also performed in the video “Happier Than Ever; A Love Letter to Los Angeles” featuring Billie Ellish. Fabiola currently attends the University of California-Berkeley with plans to graduate with a music degree in May 2025.
Federico Strand Ramirez is a San Francisco-based cellist and native San Franciscan. He began learning cello at the age of 11 in his public middle school, and obtained degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Mannes School of Music in New York City. His major teachers include Bonnie Hampton, Jean-Michel Fonteneau, Fred Sherry, and Louella Hasbun.
Federico currently works as a cellist for the Berkeley Ballet Theater and is a founding member of the Sixth Station Piano Trio, which performs regularly at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral.
Federico has performed at venues such as Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, The DiMenna Center, SF Jazz’s Miner Auditorium, Davies Symphony Hall, the Asian Art Museum, Center for New Music, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
A passionate teacher, Federico maintains a private studio and serves as faculty for the Golden Gate Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. Federico’s music festival appearances include Yellow Barn Young Artists Program, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Festival Napa Valley’s Blackburn Academy.
Trombonist Miriam Snyder lives in San Francisco, California, where she recently
completed a master’s degree in trombone performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of
Music. Before moving to San Francisco, Miriam lived in Rochester, New York, where she earned a bachelor’s degree and performer’s certificate from the Eastman School of Music. Her primary teachers have included Dr. David Hamilton, Larry Zalkind, and Paul Welcomer.
Miriam currently teaches private lessons and freelances in several Bay Area orchestras
including symphonies in Stockton, Santa Rosa, Marin, and Monterey. As a passionate solo and
chamber musician, Miriam has succeeded in several competitions, with the most recent
including being a finalist in the 2023 SFCM Winds, Brass Percussion, and Harp Concerto
Competition, runner-up in the 2022 SFCM Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition, placing first
in the 2021 American Trombone Workshop’s Quartet Competition, and placing third in the
national level of the 2017 MTNA Senior Brass Competition.
As an educator, Miriam holds positions as instructor of brass and piano at Vibo Music School, brass instructor at Music Mission San Francisco, and general and instrumental music teacher at Sunset Elementary School. Throughout spring 2024, Miriam will be performing in elementary schools across San Francisco as a member of Gusto Winds for the San Francisco Symphony’s Adventures In Music program.
Through a unique partnership with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, select Conservatory students are now working as Bridge to Arts and Music (BAM) teaching artists at Music Mission San Francisco.