by Bailey Porter
LV Life Editor
A warm, engaging smile lifts her entire face as she sits in front of the piano that takes up most of the small office she shares with other part-time instructors in the University of La Verne’s music department.
Jacqueline Petitto has been a part-time instructor at the University for three semesters, teaching group piano workshops and private lessons. She also taught music appreciation this semester.
Music has been a part of Petitto’s life since she was four years old when she began piano lessons with her cousin, who, at 15, was just starting to teach piano to Petito’s family members.
Her cousin remained a big influence in Petitto’s life and even directed her to a class with a favorite professor at Santa Clara University where Petitto earned her bachelor’s degree.
Petito graduated from the University of Southern California in 2002 with a master’s and a doctorate in piano performance.
It was at USC where Petitto first took on a part-time position in music instruction while she was a student.
She is currently teaching seven classes at three college campuses: Pasadena City College, L.A. City College and ULV.
Her goal is to obtain a full-time position so that she can be in one place and not have to commute to many locations, she said.
Still, she enjoys ULV and the small Music Department that is similar to the one at Santa Clara.
“I feel like I can relate to the students in this kind of environment, you know, I’ve been there. And I like the fact that you get to know the students a little bit more,” she said.
As a teacher, Petitto tries to positively encourage her students, preferring to promote a good work ethic – good attendance and hard work, she said. “More times than not, the enjoyment comes from hard work.”
Petitto was born in San Jose, Calif. in 1979. She moved with her parents to Cordoba, Argentina, northwest of Buenos Aires, and went to elementary school through her first half of high school there.
She sang in a choir beginning in second grade and traveled to places like Brazil to perform.
When she returned to San Jose and went to college, she went on tours with her choir to places like Russia and Italy.
She said the energy found in a group and the sense of being part of a whole is what made choir important to her.
Choir and piano were the main elements that led Petitto to seek music as a career, she said.
Petitto decided she wanted to pursue teaching at the college level because of her belief that university atmospheres allow learning at any age.
“I wanted to be a professor at a university because I liked school so much and I wanted to stay. Even if I just teach at universities I can still grow and learn, so it’s invigorating,” she said.
In fact, she would still like to take art and foreign language classes, subjects she would have focused on if music had not been her priority, she said.
Aside from her passion for music and teaching, Petitto visits museums or indulges in her newest hobby, cooking.
“I watch all those food channel shows and swap recipes,” Petitto said. “My mom was a really good cook, so I’ll call her and ask her questions.”
Among Petitto’s favorite composers are Mozart and Schubert, she said, but she will play anything and whatever piece she is working with that day becomes her favorite.
“I like almost everything. Bach, Beethoven, Chopin. They’re all amazing,” she said.
Petitto would rather spend her time reading a new piece than composing. She has tried her hands at it, but she still considers herself to be an amateur. She’d rather write for special occasions like an anniversary gift for her husband of one and a half years, she said.
Growing up, Petitto was the only musician in her family. While attending Santa Clara, she met her future husband Casper who was in all her music classes as a music major and trombone player.
Seeing in her students the same appreciation and love for music that she has convinces her that she is doing a good job as a teacher.
“Sometimes you can see something click in a student. You might show them something at the piano or you might say something to make them change,” she said.
“But other times, it might just be me watching them play something at a test or in class, and it’s so nice to see them enjoy themselves and play it with such joy.”
Petitto is constantly encouraging others to share in her love for music.
New to the music department is a recruitment position, which Petitto took on this semester.
Although she only works a few hours a week on recruitment, the job entails contacting people who have showed an interest in the Music Department from forms available on the department Web site and putting together recruitment packages for individuals and community colleges.
A few successful auditions resulted from this new process, but, said Petitto, most of the students are used to auditioning in the spring.
Danielle Cummins, a junior music major who takes classes with Petitto said, “She’s really dedicated to her students. She sees how we are progressing and tells us how we’re progressing, so she encourages us.
“She sets very high standards for her students and really cares to know that the students are learning.”
