Bethany Neese has a Master’s Degree in Music/Vocal Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Upon completion of the Master's Program she moved to Sonoma County/San Francisco Bay Area with her husband. She now has 2 small children. In her last year of graduate school at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music studying vocal performance (and aspiring to be a performer) she was offered a choir “job” that turned out to be a pivotal point in her musical career. She conducted and accompanied three choirs at a reputable arts high school close to where she lives, managing over 150 students. This high school teaching position made her realize that while she loves to perform, her true calling is to teach. And so, for the past ten years, she has thrived in being a music educator in Sonoma County, California.

The choir position at the high school led her to apply to the local Santa Rosa Junior College (which is known for its reputable music program) where she became an adjunct professor of vocal performance. Since she is very skilled as a pianist as well, she is always able to accompany her own classes/lessons. The part time work as an instructor at this point of her life was extremely helpful because she also had two small children to care for at home. After this teaching experience at Santa Rosa Junior College, she continued her teaching by building a vocal studio in her home, where she currently teaches vocal classes as well as private instruction in both piano and voice. She also became involved with the Santa Rosa Community Theatre and has been its music director for their summer program that involves over 50 cast members, both adults and children.

Her most current educational venture has been to pursue the ownership and direction of The Petaluma School of Music in Petaluma, California, where she teach numerous lessons/classes to children and adults spanning in age from as young as 3 months to as old as 82 years! She also administers over 8 teachers and 150 students. The school is expanding at a rapid rate - its numbers increasing every day. You can view the website at www.petalumaschoolofmusic.net

To keep abreast with the most updated teaching methods in singing, she joined NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) and has been a pro-active member for 2 years. She also has found it extremely inspiring to take weekly voice lessons with the founder of our chapter, Thelma Ahner. She feels that not only is she able to keep her own voice in vocal shape, but am able to pass on the much valued knowledge she gains weekly to her students, always learning and moving forward in new views, theories and ideas.

In addition to all of the above, she has also been the soloist at Hannah Boys Center in Sonoma, California, which is an accredited high school for impoverished/neglected boys. She guides the boys’ choir at mass each Sunday morning. As you might imagine, these commitments have been both rewarding and inspiring!