Candace Fazzio
Gilroy, California
Added 4/22/05

Candace Fazzio heads up the Monterey Street Music Academy, located in the center of historic downtown Gilroy, CA in a building that once  housed a pool hall and tobacco shop. Her Academy now serves as a center of musical activity for the area, providing intimate performances and lectures by Candace and other artists and hosting the South Bay’s new “Open Piano Society,” which Candace formed this year.

Candace is applauded for her exquisite and lyrical playing style. She is a regular participant in San Juan Bautista’s Living History Days, playing on the saloon piano and the museum’s parlor grand. She also serves as an accompanist and chamber musician in her area and has prepared several works for performance, including "The Story of Babar," a suite to accompany the reading of Francis Poulenc's famous children's book by that title. In the ragtime community, she is appreciated for her highly sensitive interpretations of the classic rags of Scott Joplin and Joseph Lamb and the gorgeous works of contemporary composers such as Hal Isbitz. We especially applaud Candace for her determination and efforts to convince other music teachers to introduce youngsters to ragtime.

Candace hails from Los Gatos, CA where she received her BA and MA degrees in music from San Jose State University. For 19 years she taught for the Yamaha Music Schools in Saratoga and San Jose. After relocating to the Gilroy area in 1987, she provided piano instruction in her home until 1995, when she opened the Academy.