Neda S  
Instruments: Flute
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Blues, Latin, Flamenco, Latin Jazz, Samba, Bossa Nova, Avant-garde

I first picked up a Yamaha flute at my public school in the 5th grade and it changed my life. I traversed conflict-countries carrying only my flute, I was welcomed to cities and performed alongside renowned musicians in places like Havana, Seattle, Ramallah and Beijing. Then, I picked up the pen in college, graduate school, and law school to learn how to organize, operate, and help fund artist-educators share this gift and language with the youth. I started teaching flute more than a decade ago, and hope to share the gift of learning this universal language for years to come. I have interned for leading intellectual property and entertainment lawyers, including the former director of business affairs for Sony, the late Steve Gordon. My volunteer management experiences were filled with helping artists educate children in their respective and diverse communities. Then, after law school working for two bay area nonprofit organizations, one that focused on nonprofit compliance on an international scale and the other that is formed to dismantle systems of oppression through organizing, advocacy, and litigation, I have dovetailed my skills and beliefs into both working for civil rights, and teaching flute in expanding the reach of music education nationwide.

I do not believe in a uniform approach for each person. Being in the right environment means everything for someone who is about to begin learning an instrument, be it his or her first encounter or not. This will manifest differently for each person. First impressions do mean everything in this case and that is why I am proud to say that anyone who has ever formally or informally attempted to find their embouchure with me or in front of me succeeded to find their voice. However long that may take, it is the most important step to feel the flute as a conduit of self expression.