Maria de los Angeles “Cuca” Esteves

was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She graduated from the Music Conservatory of San Martin, Buenos Aires, in 1991 with a degree on Piano and Music Education. In 1994 she continued her studies in Paris where she took classes in electroacoustic music, orchestration, composition and film composition. In 1997 she continued her composition studies at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, The Netherlands, graduating in 2001 with a Bachelors in Instrumental and Electronic Music Composition. In 2006 she graduated from UC Riverside with an MFA in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts.

Her teaching career

started when she was eighteen years old, teaching private piano students and also teaching music at elementary schools and kindergartens. Between 1991—1993 she taught at the Music Conservatory in Madariaga, Argentina, to children and adults. She was in charge of the piano classes, Music Education and Music Theory classes. Between 1993—1995 he taught at the Music Conservatory of San Martin, Argentina, where she was in charge of the Music Theory and Musicianship classes. Also between these years she taught Music History at the National Conservatory and Music Education at the Collegium Musicum of Buenos Aires. During her student years in Europe she taught private piano lessons and also Music Education at the Cecilia International Music School in The Hague. She lives in California since September 2001, where she is also a member of the California Music Teachers Association.

Her music

has been performed in Festivals in Europe and South America like Gaudeamus International Composers Competition in Holland, Bartok Seminar in Hungary, Donna in Musica in Italy, Buenos Aires No Duerme in Argentina, among others. Her works have also been broadcasted several times in the Concertzender, in Holland, in Radio Resononance, 104.4 FM in London, in ABC Australia, in Radio 100, in Amsterdam, and in KUCI, KUCR, KPFK, KUNM, and NPR in the United States.

As an improviser,

she had performed in different venues in Holland in duo with Gloribel Hernandez (Duo Glo+Cuca) and also produced three CDs, “Café y Mate,” “My Uninhibited Husband” and “Love Songs.” Also as improviser she has performed in Santa Ana, Los Angles, Venice Beach, San Diego, Buenos Aires, Big Sur, Riverside, with her group Wiperfluid, and guests as Boris Baltchum, Andy Nathan, Patricia Martinez, Lionel Kaplan, Diego Chamy, in duos with Tracy Leigh and Jeff Ridenour and as part of the collective “Adaptable Girl.”

Her latest works

include the sound design for “The Roman Forum Project,” (2003) and “Demotic” (2004), both created by Antoinette LaFarge and Robert Allen; the music for the choreography “Projection/Reflection” of Amber McCall, premiered in May 2004, the music for the short film by Robert McLendon “Transcendence,” and the music for Dmae Roberts’ Radio Documentary “Breast Cancer Monologues” broadcasted on NPR. Her last composition, “We’re all gonna be homeless — segue” which was commissioned by the California Ear Unit, was performed on November 8 2004, at LACMA. She also collaborated with the sound design for the piece “In Touch” presented in the 2005 Sygrpah conference in Los Angeles Convention Center. In August 2005, she participated in Rachel Rosenthal’s DbD experience workshop, and in November 2005 she was in charge of the Music Direction and performed in “Solaresque” at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum.

Since 2005,

she’s has performed some of her stories on the stage: “Bico: The Tekno—Tango Musical,” “Catholic Dating,” and “The Lucky Ladybug” at the Electric Lodge in Venice Beach, Koo’s in Long Beach, Riverside Metropolitan Museum, at the 411 with the Golden Mean Players. Also, she is the producer of “The Rise and Fall of Irvine Meadows West,” a film documentary about the trailer park at UCI, which obtained a grant from the California Council for the Humanities, California Stories project, and a grant from Art College of Design.

Her thesis piece,

“Identidad,” is a multimedia performance about self and memory, a combination of storytelling, video, interactive technology, music and dance, that takes you on a journey from Buenos Aires, to Paris to The Hague to Riverside, CA.

Her written work

has been published in “Crate” magazine, “Salty,” “Poemas al Paso,” and “Parte de la Fiction,” and in the online magazines “Umbrales,” “Perro Negro” and “Poesia Salvaje.”

Associate Teachers

Edward LaBarbera

is a prominent jazz and classical musician in Los Angeles. He studied both Piano and Acoustic Bass at Indiana University Bloomington and minored in Composition. After performing four years for Norwegian Cruise Line he settled in to teaching piano at the Redondo School of Dance and Music as well as privately in the town of Pasadena.

Gustavo Zdanovich

received his degree in piano performance and music education from the National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and has been providing instruction to students of all backgrounds since 1995. In his native Argentina, he prepared advanced students to successfully pass the entry examinations for the National Conservatory. Gustavo is also interested in the Baroque keyboard repertoire. After a concentration in harpsichord performance, and based particularly on his readings of J. S. Bach, he was offered a fellowship to study in Spain under the Aragonese maestro José Luis Gonzalez Uriol. Parallel interests in humanitarian assistance led him instead to South Asia, and later to a degree in intercultural studies from Fuller Seminary. While at Fuller, he served as music director for the First Presbyterian Church in Altadena, CA. Gustavo enjoys performing as soloist and chamber musician, and has collaborated extensively with eclectic ensembles and bands in Argentina, Australia, India and the U.S. His piano playing/teaching technique emphasizes complete muscle relaxation, based on the school of Vincenzo Scaramuzza.