Nina is a gifted and talented Musician would recommend. She has a sensitivity that comes throughread more

My daughter has learned from Nina for three years, and she has made tremendous progress. It has…read morebeen an incredible experience. My daughter was a beginner, so it should have been like drawing on a blank page for Nina. She knew what was the most important and effective thing for a beginner like my daughter, understood her emotion and needs, and passionately communicated with her, showing her contagious love for music. Her lessons have always been very active, dense, and filled with high energy. In fact, my wife, who sat in the lesson, loved Nina's teaching style and often said she was fascinated to listen to Nina's frequent demo play for my daughter! Most importantly, we saw significant improvement in my daughter's play in each lesson. Regarding technique, her training in basic skills and intense focus on musicality was perfectly on the right level for my daughter. She picked up errors and pinpointed the source of errors, then gave clear instructions and the right advice for practice and improvement in musicality. Overall, we had a great time with Nina. I wholeheartedly recommend her violin lessons.

We have loved Kindermusik with Kathy. My daughter has gone to the different classes with Kathy and…read moreher instructors since she was 3 months old. I have watched her love of music grow and her natural rhythm develop. Kathy truly loves the children she teaches. Highly recommend Kindermusik for your little ones.

Kindermusik with Kathy has been such a huge blessing to my 3 boys and our family! They are eager…read moreto go to class each week because Kathy and her fellow teachers are engaging, knowledgeable, and make learning about music FUN! Each semester has wonderful, dynamic lessons and music to learn, and helps kids grow their love of music. I now have kids in the toddler, pre-k, and piano classes, and they all LOVE going to class! My oldest went to piano camp this summer and it was fantastic! I am so thankful that we have Kathy and Kindermusik in our town.

Kindermusik with Kathy is truly the best. I wish I had joined earlier! My almost three year old…read moreis in love with the classes, with Miss. Kathy, the songs, every part of the experience. My 5 1/2 year old is taking the Young Child 1 class and is having a blast while learning musical theory (although he doesn't know that's what he's doing!) piano, glockenspiel, note reading. The integration of movement into the class makes this truly special in that children are not just getting music classes, they are building body awareness, coordination, strength, and more. Kathy is genuinely wonderful and her teachers are also fantastic. She is warm, loving, inviting, understanding, and the kids can feel it and respond in kind. Lastly, money & schedule-wise this is by far the way to do music classes. You pay one monthly fee and then you can take your child to any of the classes (at any fo the locations!) for their age-group plus any of the family classes. Both my kids straddle the age between two different classes and Kathy has encouraged us to attend all of them when the timing is right. This is something special and personal. The music classes themselves are of the highest quality but what really makes Kindermusik with Kathy exceptional is Kathy herself. The way she runs the program makes it clear to all of us that she truly values each and every family and wants us to get the most out of the program. Plus, for the baby/toddler/[preschooler music classes there's no need to worry about make-up classes as you are able to go to any of all of them. Can't beat that!

My kids have been taking music with Kathy since they were 3 months old and recently finished the…read moreyear long young child program. There is no other program like it in Santa Barbara. They learn 4 instruments over the course of a year(recorder, piano, glockenspiel, and dulcimer) and they learn how to read notes and play songs as group with other kids playing different parts. They learn the music not in an academic way, but in a kinesthetic way. First they clap, sing or stomp the music out before they ever play a note. They act out songs and stories from all over the world. Kathy is so playful and engaging with an expert grasp on the method behind the music. Kathy is one of their all time favorite teachers and they have such a love for music because of Kinder Musik. There is something for every age group!

Charissa has been teaching my 5 year old child piano for the last 3 months. I am amazed at how much…read morehe has already learned. Charissa has instilled a love for piano that I think will be lifelong. He always looks forward to his lessons and is having a blast!

Charissa is skilled with her music, best teacher of piano ever! Her soft, and defined demeanor is…read moreinspiring, love it! Sam

The Aurora Ensemble provided the most delightful classical accompaniment to our wedding ceremony…read moreand poolside cocktail reception. From our first contact, they were professional and thorough. They assisted me in choosing the perfect processionals, recessional, featured compositions and executed each of them beautifully with flute, viola and cello. I highly recommend Bach's Jesu Joy, Clark's Trumpet Voluntary and Vivaldi's Spring. They also played a lovely assortment of pop and jazz and some special requests for our guests while they waited for our photos to be taken. The Prayer and Wonderful World were especially beautiful. Thanks to their attention to detail, I had confidence when the day arrived that it would be everything that I had dreamed of and it was.

The Aurora Ensemble made our dream wedding music come to life! They were great to work with-…read moreknowledgeable, flexible, responsive, and very professional. We highly recommend them!

What can I say about the FUNK BROTHERS! Eric and Corey made my 50th birthday party THE PLACE TO BE…read more My guests are still raving about how awesome the music was and how Eric and Corey got everyone dancing and enjoying themselves. I cannot imagine having another DJ help celebrate any occasion. Eric and Corey seriously made the evening amazing and will recommend them over and over to anyone looking for a fabulous DJ for their special occasion.

Eric and Corey were so awesome! We had the BEST time at our wedding. These two are not your…read moreordinary DJs- they really know how to have a good time with the crowd. When your DJs seem like they are having a good time, it really makes the experience that much better. I speak for the 150 guests at our wedding when I say, they kept the party jumpin'! They were scheduled to play from 3pm-10pm...we asked them to stay 3 extra hours because the dance floor was still packed...needless to say, we were over the moon about our choice in DJs. Do yourself a favor and book these two for your next event; you won't regret it!!   xx

I can't tell you how fortunate I feel to have basically stumbled upon the Southern California Piano…read moreAcademy in Goleta. My teacher Emmanuel Fratianni is a pianist, composer, conductor, and a fantastic teacher! He always knows what is needed to help me continue to learn and enjoy the process. The method they teach at the Academy helps me to understand the structure and principles of music which I am so grateful for, I believe I am getting the best education I could have possibly found!

I started taking lessons with Emmanuel Fratianni in late 2023 as a senior in college, and it's been…read moreone of the most rewarding parts of my week ever since. He's great at pushing you just enough to grow without ever making things feel overwhelming. We've worked on everything from Chopin to Bill Evans, and he's helped me to actually understand the theory behind the music--not just play the notes. He also got me into listening to jazz, reading about music, and just thinking about it in a deeper way. Even with a packed schedule, I always looked forward to lessons and made progress fast. This school isn't just about piano--it's about becoming part of a creative, curious music community. Highly recommend.

Kelsey is an absolutely amazing photographer and human being. Our wedding was originally scheduled…read morefor April 2020 which of course did not happen due to COVID, and we tried to reschedule it several times but bad things kept happening to us including our first baby being stillborn, so it was a super long and dragged out process to finally get the wedding in the books. Kelsey was not only patient and responsive throughout the almost 2 year planning process, but she also helped us out with other things, like recommendations for a spa to get a gift card to thank our amazing planner. We came down to Santa Barbara for a weekend a couple months before the wedding, to meet our vendors and scope things out, and Kelsey provided a TON of input and guidance on places to do our First Look and other photos. She was just so amazingly helpful and kind. But where her kindness really shone through was on our wedding day. She went SO FAR above and beyond to give us the special day she felt we deserved after all our loss (we also had an 11 week miscarriage 8 months after our first baby was stillborn, and my mom was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in the height of our grief). She truly wanted our day to be as perfect as possible and she really delivered. My husband and I are both pretty shy, awkward people so we were super nervous for the photoshoot as we hate people looking at us and being the center of attention. Not only did Kelsey (and our wonderful videographer Jennie from Riviera Productions) make us feel completely at ease, but somehow, magically, she actually made it fun?!?!? Taking the photos between the ceremony and the reception was the most fun part of our wedding day, we had a blast and the photos are absolutely BREATHTAKING. Like straight out of a magazine. I don't know how she did it but she made everything look so beautiful and we could not be more thrilled with the photos. We knew she was good, because I'm the type of person who reads a million reviews and does a ton of research before I book anything or go anywhere, but Kelsey is next level. The photos are far better than anything we could have ever imagined. Even though we live in the Bay Area, we will be using Kelsey as our family photographer forever. She is worth 9 hours in the car round trip. Heck, I'd drive days to see her! If you're trying to decide who to book, stop wasting your time wading through reviews and just book Kelsey already. She is fantastic and we feel so, so, so fortunate to know her.

So hands down Kelsey is the BEST photographer in the Santa Barbara area! I may be biased since she…read morecaptured the most gorgeous photos from my husband and our wedding day at the Fess Parker this June, but honestly, she is the best. Our initial contact, I immediately knew that I wanted KELSEY, because I knew we would click, and we did! She met us when we came down to SB for a visit, as we don't live in the area, and gave me SO many recommendations, including my videographer, sweetheart cake, Flowers! Honestly, I credit her for the amazing vendors! Each photo is gorgeous and I would not have changed anything! She's so generous and provided my husband with some special stuff out of the kindness of her heart. Kelsey Crews is the best!