Meet the Rice MS Private Teachers
Mr. Lemuel De La Cruz
violin440@gmail.com
Violin/Viola
Mr. De La Cruz’s teaching style focuses on innovative techniques, mental awareness, and creativity as a teacher. It aims to help students understand the process of learning and the message any piece of music conveys. He approaches each lesson fully committed to sparking a student’s imagination and musical understanding through the “Rules for Practicing,” which helps students know what to do when practicing in between lessons. Mr. De La Cruz’s enthusiastic approach to teaching helps the students have an enjoyable time in their studies. He also helps students become problem solvers and independent learners. He has held Masterclasses at various universities in the U.S and overseas throughout his teaching career. As a result, many of his students get into top universities and have won numerous competitions. For the last 13 years, Mr. De La Cruz has taught at Rice Middle School and his accomplished private studio here in Plano.
As a performer, Mr.De La Cruz has performed in numerous countries and has collaborated with many symphonies, including the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, Munich Symphony, Dominican Symphony Orchestra, and Sydney Opera.
Born in the Dominican Republic, Mr. De La Cruz moved to the U.S. in his teenage years and started training with Masao Kawasaki and Dorothy Delay at the Julliard School of Music in New York City. He also studied with Prof. Sergiu Schwartz and Prof. Max Zorin. He holds Bachelor’s Degree from Columbus State University and a Master’s degree in Performance from Penn State University.
On top of being a great pedagogue, Mr. De La Cruz is also a Chef. He often says: “music and food give me the greatest joy in life as we can not live without them.”
Mr. Daniel Golleher
info@thestringstudio.org
Violin/Viola
Mr. Golleher is in his eighth year with Plano ISD and holds over 20 years of teaching experience and nearly 30 years of professional performance experience.
As a Baroque and Modern violinist, Mr. Golleher resides in Dallas, Texas. Mr. Golleher began his formal music education in 1997 at The University of North Texas at Denton (UNT). At UNT, under the direction of Dr. Cecil Adkins and Dr. Lyle Nordstrom, Mr. Golleher started his Early Music endeavors. As a concerto competition winner in the Early Music Department of UNT he performed Vivaldi’s "Summer" from "The Four Seasons" with the UNT Collegium Musicum. Mr. Golleher held concert master duties of the UNT Collegium Musicum for two years. Traveling within the United States and abroad to pursue his musical studies has allowed him to train with Anshel Brusilow, Cynthia Roberts, David Douglass, Jeanne Lamon, Julianne Baird, Linda Melstead, Monica Huggett, Philip Lewis, Simon Standage and Timothy Haig. Mr. Golleher has also studied with Tafelmusik (Toronto, Canada) and has performed with the UNT Collegium at the Berkeley Early Music Festival (Berkeley, CA) and the Boston Early Music Festival (Boston, MA) Fringe Concerts.
Mr. Golleher’s professional career has taken him on tour both within the United States and abroad work with such musicians and ensembles as David Douglass, John Holloway, Monica Huggett, Lisa Loeb, James Richman, Cynthia Roberts, Amarillo Symphony, Atlanta Baroque, Baroque Band, Church of the Incarnation Music Series, Dallas Bach Society, East Texas Symphony, Fort Smith Symphony, The Helios Ensemble, New Trinity Baroque, OKC Philharmonic, Orchestra of New Spain, Richardson Symphony, Shreveport Symphony, Turtle Creek Choral and various ensembles throughout the DFW Metroplex.
Off the concert stage, Mr. Golleher keeps a full studio of private students eager to learn and compete in All-Region competitions and audition for All-State. Mr. Golleher enjoys educating young people in the concert hall through ‘The Young People's Concert’ with the symphonies in the DFW Metroplex and has also concert lectured at Georgia State University with New Trinity Baroque and Grinnell College with Baroque Band.
Daniel Golleher performs on a 2005 Timothy Johnson Baroque Violin, 1996 Bronek Cison Modern Violin, and two Ralph Ashmead Baroque Bows. On a flip side, Mr. Golleher’s best kept secret is a lifelong dream to be a Blue Man in the Blue Man Group.
Fun Fact: The first violin concert I fell in love with was the Beethoven Violin Concerto and remains to this day my favorite in the violin repertoire. It has been a 30 year love affair.
Dr. Kyungjin Yoo
cellist440@gmail.com
Cello
Dr. Kyungjin Yoo is an active performer and music teacher in the DFW area. She holds her Master's and Doctorate degrees in Cello Performance from the University of North Texas where she studied under Eugene Osadchy. While at UNT, Dr. Yoo served as a principal cellist of both Symphony and Concert Orchestras. She has also performed in various renowned international music festivals as well as throughout the United States. In addition to teaching at her studio, she currently plays regularly with orchestras such as Plano Symphony Orchestra, Richardson Symphony Orchestra, and Irving Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Yoo has a thriving studio where for the last 12 years, students regularly make all-region and all-state festivals and participate in GDYO and DAAYO Orchestras. Most of her students receive top results at Solo and Ensemble contests. Her teaching focuses on building a good foundation of technique, and good tone quality with her accelerating curriculum.
Mr. Jackson Benjamin
jacksoncbenjamin@gmail.com
Bass
Jackson Benjamin is an orchestral musician and teacher based in the DFW metroplex. A native of Dallas TX, Jackson graduated from Plano West Senior High School, performing in their nationally recognized Chamber Orchestra. Jackson holds Bachelor's degrees in both Double Bass Performance and Music Education from Southern Methodist University, studying under the guidance of Brian Perry. They are currently pursuing their Master's degree for Double Bass Performance, and served as principal bass for the SMU Meadows Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to their obligations at SMU, Jackson has attended the Brevard Music Center for three summers, where they performed alongside several top tier soloists and conductors. They have also performed with the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra and the Sherman Symphony Orchestra, and have participated in studio recordings for multiple independent games and movies.