Faculty

Joey De Leon
Faculty, School of Music
Jazz: Latin Percussion
jdeleon@calarts.edu
661-253-7816
B322

Joey De Leon, Jr. was born sometime in the 1960’s in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City but was primarily raised in the Bronx and North Bergen, New Jersey, the oldest of 2 children. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where he was... Continue reading »

Ryan Dragon
Faculty, School of Music
Jazz Trombone
rdragon@calarts.edu
661-253-7816
B322

Ryan Dragon is a trombonist and a fixture on the LA jazz and studio scenes and avant-garde community.  After spending a number of years performing on the east coast where he attended the Berklee school of music and performed with Cirque du Soleil, Ryan moved to Los Angeles where he quickly... Continue reading »

Vinny Golia
Faculty, School of Music
Performer-Composer
vgolia@calarts.edu
661.253.7816 x2611
B201

Vinny Golia is a composer who fuses the rich heritage of Jazz, contemporary classical and world music into his own unique compositions. As a bandleader, Golia has presented his music to concert audiences in Europe, Canada, Mexico, Japan and the United States in ensembles varying dramatically in... Continue reading »

Javier Gonzalez
Faculty, School of Music
Jazz Trumpet
javiergonzalez@calarts.edu

Javier Gonzalez is a freelance trumpet player in the greater Los Angeles area. Born and raised in Los Angeles he earned his Bachelor of Music and Masters in Fine Arts degrees from California Institute of the Arts. Since 2016, Javier has been principal trumpet and orchestrator for Dancing with... Continue reading »

Larry Koonse
Faculty, School of Music
Jazz: Guitar
lkoonse@calarts.edu
661-255-1050 x2055
B212

Born into a musical family, Larry has been playing the guitar since he was seven years old. In his early years he studied with legendary guitar master Jimmy Wyble, and at the age of fifteen he recorded an album with his father, guitarist Dave Koonse, entitled Dave and Larry Koonse; father and... Continue reading »

Stephen Lehman
Faculty, School of Music
Performer-Composer, Jazz
slehman@calarts.edu
661-253-7816
B317

Described as “a state-of-the-art musical thinker” and a "dazzling saxophonist,” by The New York Times, Steve Lehman (b. New York City, 1978) is a composer, performer, educator, and scholar who works across a broad spectrum of experimental musical idioms. Lehman’s... Continue reading »

Paul Novros
Faculty, School of Music
Jazz: Saxophone
pnovros@calarts.edu
661-253-7816
B322

Paul Novros has been active in all areas of jazz - performing, arranging, composing and teaching. As a composer he has written music for a variety of projects including more than a dozen films, five of which were nominated for documentary Academy Awards. He is currently completing a text on... Continue reading »

* Faculty Emeritus
Part-time Faculty
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