Val Jamora is a well established music educator in Southern California, having taught high school and middle school music since 1995.  He received a dual bachelors degree in psychology and music education from CSU San Bernardino and a M.M. in instrumental conducting from CSU Los Angeles.  He studied conducting with Dr. Thomas Verrier, Allan McMurray and Dr. Luis Gonzales. He also received training in saxophone performance with Jack Fuesler, Charles Richard and Dr. Jeff Benedict.

Prior to working at Corona del Mar, Mr. Jamora was the director of bands at Bloomington High School and Ruth O Harris Middle School in Bloomington CA.  He is also a long time staff member and conductor at Arrowbear Music Camp, and was one of the primary conductors with the Four Seasons Youth Orchestra.  His honors and distinctions include the PTA Honorary Service Award, The Bill Boyer Excellence in Teaching Award and was recognized as the High School Teacher of the Year for Newport-Mesa Unified School District.  Mr. Jamora has performed in locations all over the world, including venues in Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest, Venice, Rome, as well as the Opera House in Sydney, Australia.

This is Matt Gilbert's 1st year at CdM and 7th year teaching Secondary Instrumental Music. Matt Gilbert attended the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at CSU Long Beach, graduating in 2016 with a Bachelors of Music in Instrumental Music Education with an emphasis in Percussion. Matt formerly was the Director of Bands at Glen A. Wilson High School in Hacienda Heights, CA (2017-2018), the Instrumental Music Director at Claremont High School in Claremont, CA (2018-2020) and Music History teacher and Arts department head at California Virtual Academies (2020-2023). Outside of academia, Matt Gilbert was a director for the Pulse Percussion Organization, two independent WGI world-class competitive marching percussion ensembles Pulse Percussion and POW Percussion (2018-2023) 

Simeon Brown is a violinist and educator based in Southern California, currently serving as concertmaster of the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (ICYOLA), assistant concertmaster of the Southern California Philharmonic, and a member of the Reno Philharmonic. He recently released his debut album and has appeared on recordings with numerous artists, including singer-songwriter Hannah Lynne Miller and America’s Got Talent semi-finalists We Three.

Simeon’s musical journey began in Southern California, where he co-founded the professional A SQUARE String Quartet and trained at the internationally renowned Idyllwild Arts Academy, studying with Martin Chalifour, concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He went on to earn his Master’s in Music Performance at the University of Oregon, where he frequently led the UO Symphony Orchestra as concertmaster and performed with ensembles spanning classical to new music. Festival appearances include Marrowstone Music Festival—working with Dale Clevenger, Ronald Patterson, and Lauren Roth—and Brevard Music Festival, where he performed onstage with Itzhak Perlman.

With over a decade of teaching experience, Simeon is passionate about mentoring the next generation of musicians while continuing to perform across the West Coast. His playing combines technical refinement with expressive depth, making him sought after both on stage and in the recording studio.