Rebecca (Tout) d’Alessio – Instrumental Music - rebecca.dalessio@gmail.com
BM (summa cum laude), Bradley University; MM, Arizona State University.  d’Alessio served as Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay from 2002-2006, where she taught Applied Clarinet, Symphonic Band and Music Education courses. She has presented master classes and clinics in China, Turkey, Wisconsin, Illinois, Arizona and California and has served on the faculty at the UW-Green Bay Summer Music Camps and at Donner Mine Music Camp in Bear Valley, California.

As an active chamber musician, d’Alessio has performed with symphonies and opera orchestras in Illinois, Arizona and Wisconsin and performed in a concert tour of Turkey with the Trio Academe.  She has been featured on Wisconsin Public Radio in its "Live from the Elvehjem" series and has performed as a clarinet soloist throughout the United States as well as China, Turkey and France. 

A strong supporter of contemporary solo clarinet literature, d’Alessio was recognized by the Concert Artists Guild and the International Clarinet Association with semi-finalist and finalist rankings in both institutions' international competitions.  She is currently completing her doctoral dissertation on Eric Mandat, a contemporary composer and clarinetist.

Janet Matranga – Vocal Music - jmatranga@nusd.org

Sue Sommer – Creative Writing - ssommertime@sbcglobal.net
Sue Sommer connected with the muse years ago and has been involved with the writing process ever since as a writer, editor, and bookstore manager. A staff member of the Semester at Sea shipboard campus, she has traveled extensively and shares a myriad of colorful experiences with her students as part of her curriculum. She graduated from Chapman University in Southern California and considers it a privilege to weave the ideas of young minds into a creative and vibrant written fabric.

Ms. Sommer has written a light-hearted compendium of the mistakes that people use in everyday conversation and writing called The Bugaboo Review, and is working on a novelette about a "posse" of characters who assist youngsters with learning English. She has completed the Notorious Nemeses, a packet she uses to teach parts of speech and punctuation to her classes, and is developing a course for instructors in teaching vocabulary, which she plans to introduce on the educational lecture circuit.

Ms. Sommer currently chaperones students to Europe on a cultural/educational excursion during summer breaks, continuing her penchant for imparting knowledge to travelers, as she did lecturing aboard Semester at Sea on in-port activities for three years. Ms. Sommer is knowledgeable about the arts – opera, ballet, Broadway plays, visual arts, and often takes her students on local field trips to visit these venues. She owns a design company, Sommertime Creations, for which she creates hand-painted items to sell to exclusive clients.

Holly Howard – Dance - holly_howard@comcast.net
Holly Howard has been working as a professional dancer, choreographer and dance educator for over 25 years, since her graduation as a dance major from University of Michigan. Her early modern dance training included study with Twyla Tharp and members of the Alvin Ailey, Merce Cunningham and Alwin Nikolais companies.

Her eclectic career as a professional dancer and choreographer showcased Holly in many styles of dance including tap, jazz, rock, African, historical, modern and show dance. Holly's love of diversity in dance brought her to musical theater about 12 years ago and since then she has choreographed 17 different musicals and many revues.

As an educator, Holly has worked with staff development, the CA arts standards and as an artist in residence with ‘Youth in Arts’ of Marin County. Holly feels strongly that excellent training must be paired with versatility in today's dancers. Toward that end, she is committed to augmenting her program with the best ballet teachers available and guest residencies by Bay Area and national dance professionals.

Rodney Franz – Theater Arts - rfranz@nusd.org
Rodney Franz has successfully coached his students to numerous state and national awards for excellence in theater – including the Grand Prize in Bravo Television’s National High School Theater Competition.

Drawing on renowned professional techniques, Mr. Franz fosters college-level craft, collaboration and discipline in the high school classroom. He teaches the methods of Edith Skinner (voice and text interpretation), Sanford Meisner (acting technique), Jacques Lecoq (actor-created physical theatre) and Ilsa Middendorf (breath work for the stage). He takes pride in connecting students to the contemporary relevance of the timeless masterworks of Shakespeare and the Classics.

Mr. Franz was the artistic director of the Iowa Theatre Company for over nineteen years. He has directed and designed over 50 productions and has acted in films and television in London, Rome, New York and Los Angeles. On the other side of the camera, he produced print advertising and television commercials in New York City. He has authored three plays and a screenplay and is a published poet. He has lectured and held acting workshops as far away as Australia.

Rodney Franz majored in theater at UCLA and graduated summa cum laude from Maharishi University with a BA in literature and a MAT in secondary education.

Film director David Lynch said of Mr. Franz’s students’ work: “I have never seen acting which was so natural – without affectation or any falseness – genuinely honest.”

Dyane Goldman – Visual Arts - dgoldman@nusd.org

Dana Tamura – Film/Video, Digital Arts & Photography - dtamura@mac.com
Dana, a traveler at heart, has settled back into her native California and into MSA after a nearly twenty year sojourn to Europe, Japan and New York. Her work in television and media led her to careers in freelance writing in Europe and film and video production in New York. Her impressive list of credentials include stints with Dateline NBC, Day One and Fox T.V.’s A Current Affair. She also worked on several specials for ABC’s Barbara Walters. Her personal credits include Heartstrings, Body Language, Steppin’ Out, and On the Edge.

Ms. Tamura received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts from Sonoma State University and a Masters Degree in Instructional Technology from San Jose State University. Her Credentials include; K-12 Multiple Subject Credential, a California Community College Credential in communications, a New York State credential in Television Production and Graphics and an Honorary Secondary Teaching Credential in Japan. This year, MSA film students Keith Tonini and Tucker Forbes won the “Best of the Best” award for student films at the Mill Valley Film Festival.

Rick Tucker – Film and Video - rtucker@nusd.org

Gray Douglas – 3-D Visual Art - gdouglas@nusd.org
Gray has been exploring the visual arts with public school students for over twelve years. Before settling into schools, Gray shared her love of wilderness and nature-as-teacher by leading special needs, disabled and youth trips as a whitewater rafting, sea kayaking and cross-country ski guide. She continues this outlet as a volunteer. Her belief in experiential education led her to live abroad in Oaxaca and Guatemala, study in Europe, sojourns to Baja, and into the wild. Graduating summa cum laude, she holds degrees in both Art and Spanish Literature, as well as her teaching credential from Humboldt State University.

In 2001 Gray was honored as a Fulbright Scholar to India and Nepal, and upon return shared the experience through seminars at the San Francisco Museum of Craft and Folk Art and the California Art Educator's Association's Annual Conference. In 2006, she was also honored for her excellence in public art education with the annual, Bay Area wide 'Fund for Artists Arts Teacher Fellowship'. Gray creates musically as well, playing the djembe drum and percussion. She is a founding member of Tandamanzi Rhythm Ensemble, a Bay Area African rhythm ensemble. She is thrilled to work with Novato and MSA students.

Marin School of the Arts at Novato High School, 625 Arthur Street, Novato, California 94947 (415) 892-7915 fax: (415) 898-2418

MSA is a Non-Profit Tax Exempt 501(c)3 corporation: Tax ID No: 51-0490730