Dr. Dan Castro is a lifelong music educator, who retired in 2020 after serving as Music Chair for 25 years at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA) at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA). During his tenure, the LACHSA Music Department became one of the top music programs in the country, becoming a Grammy Foundation “Gold” Signature School in 2006, winning countless honors and performing in numerous festivals throughout the country. In 2002, Dr. Castro was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as “Outstanding Educator” and he received the LACHSA Award of Distinction in 2013 in recognition of his outstanding leadership of the LACHSA Music Department. Along with his teaching career, Dr. Castro has also served as a Peer Counselor for the Academic Advancement Program at UCLA (1975-1978), tutor and mentor for the Upward Bound program at CSULB (1979-1981) and music theory instructor for the Saturday Conservatory of Music (SCM) at CSULA (1996-1999). Dr. Castro earned his Ph.D. at UCLA in 1992.