Joshua Umaña-Santacruz is a Pianist, Composer, and Teacher based in the San

Francisco Bay Area. As a pianist, Joshua has experience performing classical music as a soloist and chamber musician, in addition to working as an accompanist for

instrumentalists, singers, choirs, and other small and large ensembles. His versatility

extends to jazz, as he has performed in a variety of settings including Latin jazz, jazz

combos, and jazz/rock bands. Joshua continues to perform regularly as a soloist and

accompanist in the Bay Area.

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As a composer, Joshua has written contemporary classical works featuring solo

piano and chamber ensembles, including string quartet, saxophone quartet, woodwind quintet, and many others, which have been premiered in recent years. Joshua has also arranged popular jazz standards, including “The Girl from Ipanema”, “All of Me”, and “Dearly Beloved”, for jazz combos and jazz big band. He has also composed, arranged, recorded, and mixed soundtrack music for film, most recently for the short film "The Woman of My Dreams" and the animations "Stuck-catto!" and “Multicultural Riot”.

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Joshua holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from San José State

University, where he graduated summa cum laude after completing piano studies with Dr. Gwendolyn Mok and music composition studies with Dr. Pablo Furman. He was a recipient of the Walker Endowment Scholarship, which covered full tuition during his piano studies, and was additionally selected for the Above and Beyond award. Joshua also holds an Associate in Arts in Music with an emphasis in Piano Performance from Ohlone College, as well as Certificates of Accomplishment in Piano Performance and Music Theory. Joshua has been teaching piano in the Bay Area since 2022 and is delighted to be teaching at SVCM