Our Instructors and Staff
Mikey Lee Cannon
Musical Director and Instructor, Mikey Cannon, started playing drums at the age of 10. His earliest musical memories include jamming on Santana covers in the garage while his father rocked out on the guitar. Mikey has a Bachelor’s degree in Music from San Diego State University. He has been devoted to teaching music for over 15 years. Mikey has also toured around the U.S. and parts of Mexico with a group called The Bside Players. He’s opened up for bands such as War, The Wailers, Toots and the Maytals, Ozomatli, and more. Mikey is a highly sought after musician in Sonoma Valley, playing frequently with the Zydeco/Cajun Band, Gator Nation (formerly Gator Beat), Dan Martin and The Noma Rocksteady Band and The Sean Carscadden Trio. Mikey teaches piano, guitar, bass, drums and Band Camps.
Dan Martin
Dan Martin is a musician and songwriter from Sonoma, California with a love of music and the richness it can bring to life! His musical life began at a very young age, starting with family sing-alongs as far back as his memory goes. Dan’s parents are both creative types and were supportive of his explorations into the world of music, in addition to modeling the work and tenacity to make such endeavors a reality. Among countless blessings, he is thankful for his Dad sharing instruments and record stack access, and that his Mom let him listen to the Beastie Boys in the car.
Although he understands the absurdity of the term, Dan is primarily self-taught on multiple instruments and focuses on the rhythm section side of things (Guitar, Bass, Drums, Piano). To hone his skills and correct some bad habits, he studied drums, music theory, piano, and played in an audition based 13 piece band “Commercial Music Ensemble” while obtaining a certificate in commercial music production at Sacramento City College in the early 2000’s. While he had only rudimentary private lessons as a young child, he acknowledges his many teachers from Elementary School to College; Dan Thomasma at Kelly Elementary School, Bill Hungate choir at Jackson Hole Middle School, Audie Tatum at Sonoma Valley High School, Tony Dey drums at Sacramento City College, in addition to all the players and bandmates he has shared the stage with for shaping his musical sensibilities. He continued his education and obtained a BS in Psychology from Sonoma State University, with a focus on biofeedback and stress management.
Dan has been performing music with groups since 1996, when he formed his first band with friends upon moving to Sonoma Valley at age fifteen. His first piano recital performance of “Star Wars” at age 7 remains a favorite musical memory. His musical taste is extremely broad, favorites range from Folk and early Country to Punk, Funk, Hip-Hop and old school Soul and R&B. He has a bit of a fixation and longtime love of Jamaican music and will be excited if you ask about Ska, Rocksteady and/or Reggae. Currently he performs around the Bay Area both solo and with his own project Dan Martin and the Noma Rocksteady Band (Voted best Reggae in the North Bay in 2020!), as well as some freelance drumming with acts such as Jr. Boogie, Wingo Moon, and The No Buenos.
In addition to his seven years at Cannon School, his teaching experience includes teaching percussion seminars at Valley of the Moon Boys and Girls club, as well as many years as a swimming instructor for all ages and levels. Dan is excited to share musical knowledge, technique, and inspiration with students, and to be a part of the most excellent Cannon School of Music! What a joy to build confidence and camaraderie through music!
Cliff Zyskowski
Cliff Zyskowski’s career began in 6th grade with piano lessons from Sister Felice at St. Monica’s Parish Rec Hall on the Northwest side of Chicago. His first instrument was a cardboard keyboard as his parents couldn’t afford a real piano. He is mostly self-taught but honored to have studied under local jazz legend Walt Oster at SSU and taken the Ensemble Performance class from Bennett Freidman at SRJC.
He has played in a variety of bands in Sonoma County including the Smilin’ Iguanas, Tudo Bem, Murphy’s Garage, Early Warning System and the John Burdick Band. Currently he is the keyboardist for the Sonoma-based bands Full Circle and Plan Be. He is proud to report that I’m “Sammy the Centipede” on the audio CD accompanying the critically acclaimed children’s book, “The Jazz Fly.”
He’s been teaching piano for the past 15 years and has more recently joined the awesome team of instructors at Cannon School of Music, bringing a variety of musical styles and interests to his students.
He enjoys working with students of all ages and look forward to sharing his enthusiasm and appreciation of music! “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind and flight to the imagination,” Plato.
Deirdre Egan
Deirdre Egan has been teaching piano and harp to students of all ages and skill levels for 13 years. Born into a musical family, with her father having been a part of the New York Folk scene in the 1960’s and 70’s, she started receiving guitar lessons at age 7, adding piano at age 8, and the Celtic harp when she was 17. Deirdre is a board-certified Music Therapist after receiving her BS in Music Therapy from SUNY New Paltz.
Deirdre has been a performer in the local music scene for over 15 years, as a featured performer of the Bowie Forever series of tribute shows in Sonoma , as well as with other acts, such as The Moon Lights, Uni and her Ukulele, Eve of Eden and her solo shows. She has recorded 4 albums of original music, composed music for documentary films, and podcasts, and has worked as a music therapist in the Sonoma Developmental Center, Kaiser Permanente, Veterans Home of Yountville. She currently works as a Rehabilitation Therapist-Music at Napa State Hospital.
Aidan Eljumaily
Aidan Eljumaily had a musical childhood, and has been playing instruments and singing for as long as he can remember. The majority of his classical training was spent as a singer at Loyola University of New Orleans, as well as Santa Rosa Junior College.
Although singing has always seemed to be his forte, every kind of instrument has caught his attention at some point. Guitar, Piano, Drums, Bass, Trumpet, and even vocal percussion have been considered secondary “main instruments” at different times in his musical career.
His biggest loves though, are songwriting and musical production. At different times he has played in groups that play funk, jazz, soul, zydeco, hip-hop, and blues, to name a few. His biggest musical influences are Dangelo, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, And John Mayer.
David Brin
David Brin earned a BA in music theory and composition from Haverford College, where he studied with John Davison, and an MA in music from Mills College, where he studied with Terry Riley. David’s principal cello teachers were Colin Hampton and Margaret Rowell. He performed with the Berkeley Symphony, under the direction of Kent Nagano, from 1980–2000 and has performed with other Bay Area orchestras including the Alameda Mozart Festival Orchestra and the Vallejo Symphony. He was also the conductor and music director of the West Marin Community Orchestra. David is the former editor of both Strings magazine, for players and makers of bowed instruments, and KDFC’s ClassicNotes, the listener guide for San Francisco’s classical music station. He works for Delos Productions, the classical music recording label based in Sonoma, and he teaches cello and piano in Napa and Sonoma. He enjoys writing pieces for his students and says, “I know exactly what they need to focus on at their current level of study, so I can write the ideal teaching piece for them—a piece that is challenging, interesting, and fun.”
Alex Garcia
Alex Garcia is a Sonoma Valley musician who teaches Saxophone, guitar, piano, flute and keyboard. He is currently performing in many high level groups in the Bay Area such as Pete Floyd, Boombox Rocks, Invincible Star Jazz and T Luke and the Tight Suits. Recently he has performed in Oahu, Hawaii, Portland, Oregon, and has headlined Music festivals and sold out Theatre shows in the North Bay.
Alex enjoys hiking, traveling, cooking and watching the Golden State Warriors in his spare time, and feels very fortunate to be a music teacher training the new generation of musicians and artists.
Aparna Sinha
Aparna Sinha is the Cannon Music School program assistant and scheduler.
She is an artist and graphic designer. Trained classically in Hindustani Music back in the day, her love for Music continues. Her daughter is a student at the School as well.
Aparna is a schedule extraordinaire and manages all of our instructor and student schedules. She also assists with recruiting and onboarding new students.
We are grateful to have her on board at Cannon School of Music!
Roxanne Robledo
Roxanne Robledo is the Cannon School of Music business manager and assists with billing and program development. Roxanne has her Master's Degree in Social Work and lives in Sonoma with her partner, Mikey Cannon, and their two children, Diego and Nyema. Roxanne is honored to support students and their families in their musical pursuits. Whether it's through grant writing or developing new programs, Roxanne is always looking for ways to make music education accessible for everyone!