MUSIC DIRECTOR
& Music Specialists 

Evan Ilic

Director of Music 

Mr. Ilic serves as the Director of Music at Mesa Verde Middle School. Ilic received his B.A in Music Education from California State University Northridge. At CSUN Mr. Ilic played in a variety of ensembles including the CSUN Wind Ensemble where he held the position of principal Euphonium, CSUN Brass Ensemble, Studio Ensemble and the CSUN Tuba Euphonium quartet. At CSUN, Mr. Ilic played under the baton of Dr. Lawrence Stoffel and studied privately under professional studio musicians including Dr. P. Blake Cooper and Philip Keen. Prior to Mesa, Mr. Ilic served as the Assistant Director of Music at Cabrillo Middle School in Ventura, CA. Outside of CSUN, Mr. Ilic has performed with multiple Drum and Bugle Corps including Gold, Mandarins, and The Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps. Mr. Ilic actively teaches euphonium, trombone, and tuba lessons in the Ventura County area. He has also been a visual instructor at multiple marching band programs including Granada Hills Charter HS, Thousands Oaks HS, Arroyo HS, Santa Monica HS, Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps, and Gold Drum and Bugle Corps. Mr. Ilic is looking forward to continuing the success of the Mesa Verde Music program by shaping the lives of young musicians. 

Phone: 805-378-6309 Ext. 5316

E-mail- eilic@mrpk.org

_______________

Office Hours

• 8:00-8:50

• 3:20-4:00

• During 6th grade lunch or by appointment. 

Jin Taguchi 

Violin/Viola Specialist

Jin Taguchi is an LA-based violinist and music teacher with a B.A. in Music Education from California State University, Northridge. Over his years of experience, he has performed under the baton of Tomasz Golka, John Roscigno, and Richard Kaufmann; and has studied with Anna Kostyuchek, Tomasz Golka, Lorenz Gamma, and Petros Boyadzhyan. In addition to violin, Jin picked up the piano, viola, and cello along the way. 

Jin wishes to share music with the next generation in a way that caters to each student's individuality, lets them shine, and allows them to grow to realize their potential as musicians and as human beings. 

Grant Bubar

Percussion Specialist 

Grant Bubar is a freelance percussionist and educator based out of Southern California and has

taught and performed in a variety of settings throughout the region. Besides maintaining a diverse private teaching studio, Grant has worked as a front ensemble instructor for Dark Sky Percussion for the 2020 and 2022 seasons, as well as several High Schools and Middle Schools in the Ventura and LA counties. During the Fall 2020 semester, he also worked as an extended guest lecturer at California State University, Northridge –as well as a guest clinician on percussion pedagogy for the CSUN NAfME chapter in 2021.

As a performer, Grant enjoys playing in a wide variety of musical settings. He can regularly be found playing in orchestras, musicals, chamber ensembles, punk bands, and as a marimba soloist around the SoCal area. As an avid fan of contemporary music, Grant was thrilled to be a guest artist for the TEMPO New Music Ensemble during their 2018-2019 Season; as well as at Chamber Fest in 2019.

Grant received his bachelor’s degree in music education from California State University, Northridge and in Spring of 2020 was accepted into the Master’s Program for Percussion Performance at Boston University. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Grant decided to put his degree on hold in order to tour the country with the alternative-punk band, Sad Park.

Cavit Monezis 

Bassoon/Woodwind Specialist

Cavit Monezis graduated from UCLA with a degree in Bassoon Performance, and has studied with Charles Coker, Jack Marsh, Norman Herzberg, and Andy Radford.  After graduating, he worked with the woodwind chamber ensembles at UCLA, has been coaching woodwinds, brass and chamber ensembles for the Conejo Valley Unified School District since 2006.  Cavit also plays woodwinds for musical theater productions throughout the Los Angeles and Ventura areas.  Cavit is also a composer and has had compositions performed at UCLA, the Shrine Auditorium, Santa Monica College, Moorpark College, and the California Junior Philharmonic.  He has served as the assistant conductor for the Palisades Symphony and the Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic, and has appeared as a soloist with the Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra, Ventura Baroque Players, Santa Monica College, Moorpark College, the Goethe Institut, and the California Junior Philharmonic. Being equally familiar with many different instruments, in addition to working with our bassoon players, Mr. Monezis will also work with french horn, clarinet or oboe students when needed. 

Lucas Helfman

Bass/Rhythm Section Specialist

Lucas Helfman is proud to serve as artist-in-residence at Mesa Verde Middle School. Mr. Helfman is an emerging figure throughout music in Conejo Valley and the greater area of Los Angeles. As a bassist, educator, composer, and improviser, Mr. Helfman has performed at the Fred Cavli theatre in Thousand Oaks, the El Portal theater in North Hollywood, as well as regularly at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. A student of both Classical and Jazz Bass, Mr. Helfman holds a BA in Music from California Lutheran University, studying under Stephen Pfeifer, Uziel Colon, and Dr. Yoshika Masuda DMA. Mr. Helfman has also studied extensively in World Music while pursuing an MFA in Jazz Bass from the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, studying jazz with the likes of Darek Oles, Larry Koonse, and David Roitstein, African percussion with Andrew Grueschow, and Indian Music from Randy Gloss, Pandit padmashri Swapan Chaudhuri, and the late Ustad Aashish Khan. Mr. Helfman has also recorded at some of the great studios across LA, including EastWest Studios, CalArts, and USC. Mr. Helfman is excited to help the students at Mesa Verde build a talent and love for musics across the world and across genres. 

Cece Worrall Rubin 

Clarinet/Saxophone Specialist

Cece's musical repertoire is as dynamic as it is diverse, encompassing jazz combos, big bands, reggae, African-inspired genres, punk, new age, musicals, gospel, blues, and more. 

From 1991 to 1992, she toured with Guns N' Roses and has performed alongside iconic artists such as Lenny Kravitz, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones, Soundgarden, Elton John during the MTV Awards. Cece's talents shine prominently as a featured musician on "November Rain MTV," "November Rain, Paris," and "Live and Let Die," showcasing her mastery of both flute and piccolo. 

She toured independently as part of the horn ensembles for Diana Ross and Michael Bolton, highlighting her remarkable musical skills. Additionally, she was a featured artist, recording two CDs and a few MTV videos with the all-female group "The-Dayzs," produced by Morris Day, while also serving as a side musician for "Randy (Jackson) and the Gypsys," a group with ties to the Jackson family legacy.

When the iconic Motown legends, The Four Tops and The Temptations, came to town, she was a regular "on-call" musician for the Los Angeles-based horn section, providing stellar support for these renowned performers. 

She frequently appeared on reruns of *Whose Line Is It Anyway?*, hosted by Drew Carey, where she joined forces with Laura Hall and Linda Taylor to provide the musical backdrop for comedic talents like Wayne Brady, Ryan Stiles, and Colin Mochrie.

Cece regularly performed as a sideman for underground blues and roots icon Chuck E. Weiss. She also recorded several CDs produced by Johnny Depp, which featured a memorable appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Over the years, she amassed countless live performances at the legendary Viper Room (formerly The Central), solidifying her place in the vibrant music scene of the era.

Locally, Cece has served as a clinician and woodwind coach at numerous schools, including Newbury Park High School, Thousand Oaks High School, Westlake High School, Agoura High School, Oaks Christian School,  Lindero Canyon Middle School and Los Cerritos MS.  She teaches private lesson at her home studio in Westlake Village and has had numerous students selected to Ventura County. Southern California and All-State Honor Bands.  Also Spotlight Awards and the Los Angeles Jazz Society Workshops. 

She was privately mentored by a number of highly acclaimed Los Angeles studio musicians, such as Stan Seckler, Phil Sobel, Charlie Shoemake, Dave Boruff, and Bob Sheppard.

Visit her website at:  cwrmusic.com