for the joy of music
At Sarah Gettys Music Studio, we offer piano lessons, voice lessons, drum lessons, and guitar lessons to people of all ages and skill levels. Lessons are taught in-person at our physical location in Campbell, CA and anywhere in the world online.
Learn to play the music you love.
Here is our message for you: it’s never too late to learn, and now is the time to take action toward making your musical dreams a reality. We teach many genres and styles of music, including classical, jazz, R&B, pop, funk, blues, folk, new age, and rock music, and we would be honored to support you.
your child can grow as a musician and have fun.
We believe in building foundational skills, technique, and knowledge in a friendly, supportive environment, while having a great time—because fun and play are not distractions, but when properly directed, fun and play enhance learning and focus. (also, psst—fun & play are not just for kids!)
photo by Monica Semergiu
meet the founder
Sarah Gettys (she/her) currently teaches voice and piano in her academic year-long program, the Virtuoso Mentorship, which is designed to help musicians of all ages embody their highest excellence in technique, expression, and artistry.
After returning from music school in Iowa, and teaching in schools, community colleges, and universities for many years, she started this private music studio in 2015 with the support of her fellow alumni and colleagues Katie Linza, Mikki Boyd, Erin Fishler-Branam, and Brady Fishler.
By 2020, the size of the studio was expanding beyond her own personal teaching capacity, and she hired more teachers to join the team.
“the life i love is making music with my friends.”
— willie nelson
meet hannah levy
Hannah (she/her) teaches voice and piano lessons online only, and is accepting new students of all ages. Her warm and enthusiastic teaching style centers the joy of music, alongside cultivation of sustainable technique, knowledge of music theory, and authentic creative expression.
Though she has a special place in her heart for teenagers, she’s also excellent at supporting young students to have a positive musical beginning, and she loves working with adults, especially in the area of music and singing for stress relief.
Her musical background is quite diverse, ranging from jazz, funk, R&B, rock, pop, and musical theater and includes deep explorations of many different kinds of folk musics from around the world. She is trained in the Kodály method and Somatic Voicework, and holds a B.M. in Jazz Vocal Performance from the California Jazz Conservatory.
meet thomas gettys
Thomas (he/him) teaches drums and piano, and is currently accepting new students of all ages in-person in Campbell and online. Thomas teaches like he plays - joyfully, supportively, and never sacrificing groove for flashiness.
In lessons, Thomas focuses on mastery of the basics and establishing a foundational, ever-deepening connection to rhythm and time on all instruments. He encourages his students to explore what excites them about music, drawing out their own curiosity and delight.
Thomas has played in a wide range of musical styles, including classical piano, indie folk, salsa, country, musical theater, psych rock, pop, jazz, and orchestral percussion. He studied piano and drums at the School for Music Vocations in Creston, Iowa, and taught at the San Francisco Waldorf School before moving to private teaching.
Mikki (she/her) teaches voice and piano lessons in-person in Campbell and online, and is accepting new students of all ages. She has a teaching style that is simply her own, embracing her gospel roots, diverse education, training in both classical and jazz idioms, and her love of world music.
In lessons, Mikki has a particular passion for guiding students to develop a disciplined and solid technical foundation so that they can experience free expression, improvisation, and creativity at the piano and in singing. She brings an energy to her teaching that is nurturing, warm, directive, and filled with joy and celebration.
Mikki’s accolades are abundant - she studied classical and jazz piano and voice with Grammy nominated pianist Phil Mattson, she was named “Outstanding Jazz Vocalist” by Dianne Reeves, she’s studied with Ron Carter, and she’s recorded with Darmon Meader, Bobby McFerrin, and Cedric Dent.
meet mikki boyd
Meet Rowan Katz
Rowan (she/they/he) teaches voice, guitar, and songwriting, and is currently accepting new students of all ages in-person in Campbell, online, and in-home lessons in the East Bay. Rowan’s holistic approach is both irreverently playful and gently nurturing, encouraging students to use music as a tool for becoming wholly and fully who they are.
In lessons, Rowan focuses on healthy and expansive technique, as well as singing for stress-relief and nervous system regulation, singing in community as a way of healing the world, and songwriting as a way of finding meaning and hope.
A true lover of folk music from all over the world, Rowan also comes from an extensive background in jazz, gospel, classical, and pop performance, which they have studied and performed for over 16 years.
For Dereck, music has always been a source of joy. It’s this sense of freedom, playfulness and enjoyment – and a deep desire to share it – that drives his work as a teacher.
Dereck first discovered his love of music as a young child when his elementary school music teacher introduced him to the violin. After a few years of violin, he began to explore the piano, which soon became his primary instrument. As a pianist, Dereck explored a wide range of musical styles and genres, and developed a particular soft spot for contemporary, pop, and musical theater. It was also through the piano that he discovered Sarah Gettys Studio, and began studying with Sarah at the age of 13.
After almost a decade under Sarah’s guidance, Dereck embodies the studio’s core value of playing for joy, and he is excited to share his experience and passion for music with his students. As an educator, Dereck brings a compassionate, gentle, and collaborative teaching style. He specializes in helping students explore the piano from a place of curiosity and fun, and uses his robust foundation of technical skills and theoretical knowledge as tools to help students enhance their creative expression. Dereck is particularly passionate about working with youth and teens, and has a unique skill for helping young students build a playful, stress-free (and even stress-relieving!) relationship with music.
Meet Dereck Orellana
Susanna (she/her) teaches guitar and songwriting, and is accepting new students of all ages in-person in Campbell, online, and in-home lessons in the East Bay. Her experimental and creative teaching style centers music fundamentals while also championing the importance of following one’s own creative interests and individual artistic identity.
Along with her enthusiasm for guitar notation, chord charts, and tablature, she is a strong believer in the practice of ear training as a method to gain intuitive understanding of the guitar. She believes that music theory is a helpful tool to explore the world of music, opening the doors to playing and writing that foster curious, passionate self-expression as a musician.
Susanna has been performing professionally for the last 6 years as a lead singer and guitarist in her rock band, Sour Widows. She’s done over 10 national tours and most recently played Outside Lands Music Festival in 2023. She is deeply influenced by Joni Mitchell, 90’s slowcore/post-hardcore bands such as Duster and Unwound, and contemporary Americana guitarists such as Adrienne Lenker and Buck Meek of Big Thief.
Meet Susanna Thomson
subscribe to our newsletter for musical inspiration
studio celebrations, a “did you know?” blurb with fun facts about music history & listening, and practical musical tips to help you grow as a musician
photo by Angela Morris Media
On the first & third Tuesdays of every month, I send out a newsletter called “A Note from Sarah.”
It’s a personal message from me - I like to think of it as a giant boost of encouragement for you on your musical journey, and nourishment for your creative spirit.
Studio celebrations & highlights, because negativity bias is real and we’re mostly way too hard on ourselves, which makes it all the more important to celebrate successes and acknowledge positive outcomes, whether they’re yours or someone else’s
A “did you know?” blurb that includes music listening suggestions and music history insights to inspire you, activate flow, and awaken your mind to new possibilities (and also ‘cause it’s fun to learn about new music that you might not have heard before)
A practical musical tip to help you grow and develop as a musician. I’ve been teaching privately for a really long time now (almost two decades), I know what works and what doesn’t, and this section is about very practical tools and mindset shifts to help you get where you want to go musically. It’s also geared toward parents who want to support their children in their musical growth and development.
for more information, see the “ABOUT” tab at the top navigation
Or book your first free lesson below with Hannah (voice, piano) or Thomas (drums, piano). If you need help figuring out where to start, book a 20-minute phone call with Sarah and she will be happy to talk you through your options.