Alex Balmaceda · Music Educator & Musician
Martina Ayala, Ed.D. · Educator, Artist & Cultural Producer

La Playa Music School began in San Francisco in 2010 as a privately owned music education practice founded by Alex Balmaceda and Martina Ayala.

Today, La Playa continues primarily through private and small-group music lessons, while also providing educational and cultural programs in collaboration with schools, organizations, and communities.

Our approach begins with the individual: what you want to learn, what kind of music interests you, where you are in your musical development, and where you want to go.

We believe learning music should be an experience of playing, listening, exploring, understanding, and creating.

Alex Balmaceda
Music Educator · Musician · Music Director

Alex Balmaceda is a musician and educator with more than thirty years of experience teaching private lessons and working with small and large groups.

He teaches beginning through advanced students in piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, percussion, and drums, incorporating music fundamentals, harmony, theory, improvisation, and the practical experience of making music.

His musical background spans classical, blues, jazz, rock, pop, R&B, and improvisation. His approach to teaching begins with the music itself - often starting with something a student wants to play and using that experience as a doorway into technique, listening, harmony, theory, and deeper musical understanding.

Alex's own musical training began more than forty years ago. He has studied at the Southern California Conservatory of Music, Jamie Faunt Creative Music Courses, and the Dick Grove School of Music in Van Nuys, California.

His professional musical experience has included performing in working bands at Los Angeles venues including the House of Blues, the Troubadour, and Spruce Goose, as well as recording and writing music for film and live performance.

At the center of Alex's teaching is a simple idea: learning music should help you become a music maker.

Martina Ayala, Ed.D.
Educator · Artist · Cultural Producer

Martina Ayala, Ed.D., is an educator, artist, and cultural producer with more than thirty-five years of experience in education, school administration, and community-based learning.

Her work has included music, art education, early childhood education, and human development in private and public schools, nonprofit organizations, and colleges.

Martina is also an artist, performer, filmmaker, and dancer. Her work brings together education, creativity, culture, and community, with a particular interest in creating opportunities for people to learn through artistic and cultural experience.

She is a co-founder of La Playa Music School and has contributed to educational and cultural programming through radio, television, and other media.

She is also the founder of Aquí y Allá, a cultural platform exploring memory, creativity, cultural exchange, and the experiences of Mexican and Chicano artists across borders, generations, and communities.

Make Music With Us

Whether you're beginning your musical journey, returning to an instrument, or looking to deepen what you already know, we'd be happy to explore where music can take you