Peninsula Youth Orchestra Artistic Staff

Mitchell Sardou Klien, is in his thirteenth season as music director and conductor of the Peninsula Youth Orchestra. He is also Music Director of the Peninsula Symphony, and regularly guest conducts orchestras throughout the United States and Europe. Maestro Klein is a winner of many prestigious awards, including the 2000 ASCAP Award for Programming of American Music on Foreign Tour (with PYO). Mr. Klein was born in New York City into a musical family that included members of the Claremont and Budapest String Quartets. He began cello studies at age four with his father, Irving Klein, founder of the Claremont Quartet. His mother, Elaine Hartong Klein, danced with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. He now lives in Oakland with his wife, violist Patricia Whaley, and his daughter Elizabeth, who was a PYO percussion section member for five seasons, and is now in college

Sara Salsbury, PYO co-founder, serves as General Manager for PYO, and is, Director of the Preparatory Orchestras, Music Camp, and Chamber Music. She has previously been part of the Instrumental Music Team for the Redwood City School District and a string specialist for the Mountain View CSMA, the Sunnyvale and Mountain View School Districts, Woodside Priory School, and the El Camino Youth Symphony. She is a member of Mu Phi Epsilon, Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO), The League of American Ochestras, MENC, CMEA and ASTA/CODA. She also serves on the ACSO Board of Directors. Sara was one of the 1994 recipients of the CAPA Arts Award (Council for the Arts of Palo Alto) for her dedication to music education and youth symphony work. Sara grew up in Michigan where she attended the National Music Camp at Interlochen for many summers. Sara received her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music Degrees from DePauw University and her Master of Arts Degree in Music Education from Stanford University. Sara and her husband Phillip live in Palo Alto where they have raised four sons, all of whom were music majors in college.

Don Couch , professional trombonist and teacher, is a graduate of USC. He has played under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas in the Los Angeles based Debut Orchestra of Young Musicians, and was principal trombone with the Symphony Orchestra of the State of Mexico for four years. Don has appeared with the San Francisco Opera, San Jose Symphony, and Symphony Silicon Valley. Don and his wife Marilu live in Fremont where he maintains a studio of private students. He has two sons, both are PYO graduates.

Matt Germano is the newly appointed percussion coach for the preparatory orchestras. He received his Bachelor of Music Degree from Cal State University Long Beach, where he majored in Percussion Performance. He has performed with the Long Beach Symphony, the Peninsula Symphony, Pacific Brass Ensemble, and the Saddleback Civic Light Opera. Currently he is a faculty member at Drum World in San Mateo, CA. In addition to teaching, he is also a member of the band Livewire, the CSM Panhandlers, and performs with many other groups in the Bay Area.

Troy E. Davis is Director of Bands at Aragon High School in San Mateo. He is also guest conductor at the Cazadero Performing Arts Camp, and has worked at many other summer music programs as conductor and educator. He earned his Master’s Degree in music education from Notre Dame de Namur University, and his Bachelor of Music in oboe performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In addition to teaching and conducting, Mr. Davis freelances around the Bay Area as a woodwind player and vocalist, and has performed with many celebrated ensembles including Robin Williams, The Grateful Dead, The Drifters, Michael Tilson Thomas, and the San Francisco Symphony. He is listed in the national biographical publication, Marquis’ “Who’s Who in America” and is on the board of the California Association for Music Education (CMEA), Bay Section.

Calisa Hildebrand, our new Director of Flute Ensembles, received her Bachelor's of Music in Performance and Music Education from California State University, Long Beach. While at Long Beach, she had the opportunity to coach various elementary, middle, and high school flute programs throughout Southern California. This past June she received her Master's of Music in Flute Performance from the University of California, Santa Barbara. As a teaching assistant at Santa Barbara, Calisa maintained a private flute studio, led the university flute choir, performed numerous solo and chamber music recitals, and was given the "Distinguished Performer" award. She has recently relocated to San Francisco where she will attend the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She is a candidate for the Professional Studies Diploma in which she will be studying with Timothy Day, principal flute with the San Francisco Symphony.

Barbara Bateman, professional bassoonist, is our Woodwind Specialist Emeritus. She has served as Wind Specialist for the Palo Alto Unified School District and the El Camino Youth Symphony. She played bassoon in the Peninsula Symphony for 30 years, and enjoys teaching private bassoon lessons and coaching woodwind chamber music ensembles. Barbara received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from San Jose State University and her Master's Degree in Music Education from Columbia University. She studied bassoon with Simon Kovar at the Juilliard School of Music.