Education

Hermann Lara earned a Bachelor’s of Music from the Berklee College of Music in 1996 and graduated magna cum laude with studies in Professional Music emphasizing performance, arranging and composition.   Professionally, he has studied saxophone with Bill Pierce (Kevin Eubank’s group and an Art Blakey’s Jazz Messenger), Joe Viola (famed saxophone instructor), George Garzone (the Fringe) and briefly with famed improv instructor, Jerry Bergonzi.  He has studied flute with Matt Marvuglio, Marta Salazar-Rodriguez and Paul Renzi (NBC Orchestra under Toscanini and lead for 50 years with the SF Symphony).

Performing and Teaching Experience

He’s worked nationally with salsa legends Lalo Rodriguez, Paquito Guzman, Hector Rey and Pedro Arroyo. Locally, he’s worked and recorded with Stymie and the PJLO, Fito Reinso, Amelia Ray, JL Stiles, Tito y su Son de Cuba, and performed at many of the area’s local nightclubs, restaurants and festivals. Recent work has included working with local theatre companies such as Ray of Light and the Palo Alto Players performing in such musicals as Cole Porter’s Anything Goes, The Wiz, The Rocky Horror Show and, most recently, Pete & Keely. Hermann has been on staff at the New Mozart School of Music in Palo Alto since 2005 as an instructor and now joins CSMA to expand his reach as an instructor.

At CSMA

He teaches privately on saxophone, flute and clarinet, and particularly enjoys getting students started or introducing them to jazz improvisation. He also teaches interpretative styles in Brazilian music, afro-Caribbean styles connected to Cuba, Puerto Rico and Latin America and American styles such as jazz, R&B and blues.

Teaching Philosophy and Approach

Learning comes from being fully engaged and consistent. Little steps yield big results. I work with my students to be the best they can be and to be diligent in their pursuit for excellence.

Personal

Hermann dedicates his time to being a father, a business consultant at a prominent software firm in SF and playing music as much as he can. He continues to work on advancing his professional career as a musician through recording, composing, and performing. He’s an avid music collector and volunteers as President of the Wallenberg Community Foundation, with Villa Sinfonia and is a San Francisco Chapter Leader for the Berklee College of Music Alumni group.

On January 31, 2011, Hermann celebrated the release of his debut CD, New Mission. The CD is available on iTunes, Amazon, CDbaby and directly from Hermann at these websites:

http://hermannlara.com
http://myspace.com/hsax