Sophie is a classically trained pianist, sousaphonist, accordionist and music educator based in Los Angeles. She got her start as a music educator at an elementary school in central Oregon. There, she provided music classes to students in kindergarten through 5th grade as part of their regular school day through a collaboration between the national service organization, AmeriCorps and Portland-based nonprofit, Ethos Music Center. While there, she led a tuition-free after-school music program which provided instrumental lessons to students in kindergarten through 8th grade. She also co-founded the Madras Children’s Choir which gave students in under-resourced schools opportunities to learn choral repertoire, develop vocal technique, and perform in their community.
Since then, Sophie has worked with the nonprofit organization, Music for Minors, in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she taught kindergarten through 5th grade classes in the San Mateo/Foster City Unified School District, the San José Unified School District, and the Castro Valley Unified School District. In addition to her work with the organization as an educator, Sophie collaborated with elementary school principals and the Music for Minors program manager to coordinate over fifty music educators in 900 elementary school classrooms each year. Sophie currently lives in Los Angeles, where teaches private piano lessons, as well as elementary school music classes in the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Lawndale Elementary School District through the nonprofit, P.S. ARTS.
Photo: Michelle Bates
SOPHIE PIPIA
Musician & Music Educator
Sophie studied music, psychology, and Spanish at Laney College in Oakland, where she graduated with Associate Degrees with highest honors in all three areas. She went on to study at UCLA, completing a major in Music Education at the Herb Alpert School of Music and a minor in Film, Television, and Digital Media at the School of Theater, Film and Television. She is currently pursuing her teaching credential in K-12 music through UCLA's Graduate School of Information and Education Studies.
Sophie is passionate about inspiring students to develop a lifelong love of learning and is dedicated to promoting equity and opportunity in music and the arts at the elementary level, where she is committed to providing students from every background and economic situation with an excellent musical foundation.
