Instrumental Music Staff
At College Park High School, the Instrumental Music Program is directed by a team of credentialed music teachers and Bay Area professional musicians. Students receive daily instruction from Mr. Jiménez & Mr. White as well as instruction once per week from our coaches listed below. Scroll down to read about our instrumental music staff at College Park High School.
The 2024-2025 academic year is Mr. Jiménez’ 14th year at College Park High School and 20th year as a public school music educator.
Mr. Jiménez holds a Bachelor of Music degree in choral & instrumental music education from California State University, Stanislaus as well as a California single-subject teaching credential in music. Before coming to College Park, Mr. Jiménez taught choral & instrumental music at all levels, K-12 in the River Delta Unified School District and the Woodland Joint Unified School District.
Since he arrived in Fall 2011, Mr. Jiménez has helped oversee significant growth in the CPHS Instrumental Music Program which now offers three concert bands, two jazz bands, three orchestras, guitar classes, piano classes, AP music theory and music technology. He is also involved in the College Park school community by currently serving on the board for the Contra Costa County Band Directors Association and is on the district-wide VAPA Captains Team as high school instrumental music lead for Mt. Diablo Unified School District.
Professionally, Mr. Jiménez has experience playing and performing with the Modesto & Stockton Symphony Orchestras, the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchesta, One Found Sound (a San Francisco based chamber orchestra), the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra and the San Francisco Wind Ensemble. He has also conducted summer camp bands at the Hayward-La Honda Music Camp and Summer Music at Stanislaus.
Mitchell White
Associate Director of Instrumental Music
whitem@mdusd.org | Room: A-2 | (925) 682-7670 x3243
Mr. White is a music educator and researcher passionate about advocating for robust music programs in our Bay Area high schools and colleges. Before CPHS, he was the band director at Alameda High School, where he taught concert bands, orchestras, jazz bands, guitar ensembles, and marching bands that performed constantly throughout the school year. Currently, he juggles both teaching and ensemble directing roles at Saint Mary’s College of California (SMC), and plans to continue his SMC work in addition to teaching at CPHS. Originally from San Diego, Mr. White now lives in San Francisco where he enjoys the rich music scene (SF Jazz is a personal favorite) and opportunities to camp around coastal Northern California. Mr. White is ecstatic to begin teaching at CPHS and supporting Mr. Jiménez in shaping the CPHS Instrumental Music Program to deliver musical opportunities students will remember for a lifetime!
Mr. White holds a Bachelor of Music degree in saxophone performance from the University of Southern California (USC), a Master's degree in music education from Chapman University, and will be graduating from Saint Mary's College of California (SMC) with his doctorate in educational leadership in May 2024. Coincidentally, his dissertation investigates the experiences of music educators and their music programs within the secondary curriculum.
Laura Jeannin
Violin/Viola Coach
Laura Jeannin performs regularly on period and modern instruments in the US, Europe, New Zealand and Asia. She was a scholarship student at Juilliard’s Baroque Performance Program, and has appeared with Juilliard415 and with New York Baroque Inc. On the West Coast, she performs with Bach Collegium San Diego, Archetti Baroque String Ensemble, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Galax Quartet, San Jose Baroque Orchestra, and San Francisco Bach Choir. As an educator, Ms. Jeannin has been teaching privately in the Bay Area for over a decade and coaches the Sacramento Youth Symphony Chamber Music Workshop. When not playing the violin, she enjoys knitting, baking, exploring nature with her husband and playing with her cat Sherbert.
Kyle Wright
Woodwind Coach