Jim is a pianist/instructor who is based in the greater Chicagoland area. Jim began his professional performing career since he was sixteen when he started playing the city's finest clubs. Jim has performed with seasoned greats such as: Ira sullivan, Mark Whitfeild, Cladio Roditi, Donald Harrison, Antonio Hart, Jimmy Owens, Abe Laboriel, Rodger Humphries, Cecil Bridgewater, Yotam Silberstein, Ron Affif, Alexander King, and John Moulder. His soon-to-be-released album is on the chicago jazz and blues label Delmark and features saxophone greats Frank Catalano and Richie Cole. Also Jim has recorded with Ira Sullivan
Jim has studied under two Art Blakey Jazz Messenger Alumni: Dr Nathan Davis--who's performed with everyone from Herbie Hancock to Benny Golson; and Dr. Leon Lee Dorsey who was an active member of Lional Hampton's big band for several years, recorded with the likes of Freddie Hubbard and is an active member of Hilton Cruiz's trio. Jim is the recipient of the...

I grew up in Palatine, IL and started piano when I was six years old. I earned my bachelor’s in music education at Illinois State University, graduating in 2008. At ISU, I accompanied 25 different instrumentalists and vocalists for their lessons, performances, and exams. I played in the jazz band and I played clarinet in the concert band and in the marching band, the Big Red Marching Machine. I also took private voice lessons and was a member of the Women’s Choir.
After graduating, I taught elementary music for three years. My first year of teaching was at St. Joseph Grade School, CCSD 169, in St. Joseph, IL. I taught kindergarten, first, third, and fourth grades, including an adaptive music class, a class catered to students with special needs. I presented Christmas programs for each grade and co-directed the spring musical for Hampshire Middle School. I privately taught piano lessons for 11 students and held a recital at the end of the school year. My second and third...

My studies in piano date back to when I turned 9 years old and have been playing ever since. I have been classically trained but also studied an assortment of other styles such as Jazz and Blues. While In college I attained a degree in Music Education but also studied music composition in the hopes of becoming a more accomplished song writer. During my studies in college I have gained sufficient knowledge in understanding music theory and music analysis. This is a benefit I have found extremely helpful in teaching, especially with students who are learning advanced literature. Under the tutelage of Dr. Kim at NIU I have become transformed in both educating and performing. It is with this knowledge that I hope I can pass on to all of my students

My name is Daniel. Composition is my major area of expertise and my major instruments are jazz piano and voice. I currently attend Vandercook College of Music due to the fact that it is a specialized school strictly devoted to music educators. Beyond its capacity for being used as entertainment, music aids in learning, helps develop advanced motor skills, increases memory function, and many other purposes for a well rounded education. It is my goal to help educate the next generation in traditional music practices as well as incorporate new techniques that are relevant to our current day and age.

My name is Brian, and I am a graduate of Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa. I am originally from Mount Prospect, Illinois, and moved to Dubuque to study Music Education. I have had original choral work published with Alliance Publications, Inc. (API), and had performances by the Singing City Choir of Philadelphia, Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI), as well as various ensembles at Clarke University (Brass Ensemble, Collegiate Singers, Schola, Cantabile, and the C. U. Jazz Ensemble).

Outside of school, I performed with a cover band based in Cascade, Iowa, and a jazz combo in Dubuque. In these ensembles I played keyboard, trumpet, bass, and sang a varied repertoire (rock, alternative, folk, blues, swing, bossa nova, etc.) I was also employed in Dubuque as a sales associate at Kephart’s Music Center, a show choir vocal coach at Mazzuchelli Catholic Middle School, a music librarian at Clarke University, and a substitute teacher for Dubuque Community School District and Holy Family...

I have a B.S. in Music Education. I have worked with several disabled students patiently guiding them, finding creative ways to make music accessible to them. I believe it is not about me or the parent, but the student. I work with children of all ages believing that we can find a way that works so that in a few months you see results. Anyone can learn to sing or play but not everyone is going to enjoy it without the right approach and teacher. I don't want to hear a student say that the teacher didn't listen to me, they wouldn't entertain my ideas.
I have in my studio a keyboard that attaches to my laptop for the young musical composer as well as a Baldwin Piano. I encourage the composer to the pop music player, from the classical artist to the Broadway singer.

My name is Alex. I have a B.A. in Music Composition with a minor in music theory from Roosevelt University's CCPA. I have privately studied guitar for 10+ years and have studied piano with Glenna Sprague and Sevgi Giles. I am also highly competent in music history as well as electroacoustic music composition. I am very familiar with programs such as Pro Tools and Max/MSP. Aside from western music, I have been studying and performing Javanese Gamelan for over 4 years and have had the opportunity to study from Gamelan masters in Java, Indonesia such as Mas Midiyanto, Mas Joko Sutrisno, and Mas Darsono. I have also performed at various places such as Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park, Chicago Cultural Center, and the Chicago Club. I have been commissioned by groups such as Friends of the Gamelan and Con Brio.

I have been teaching private lessons for over 5 years now. I have also led several class workshop sessions on javanese gamelan with Friends of the Gamelan and at the...

I have been playing piano and flute for the past 16 years and I have been a piano teacher for the past 9 years and a flute teacher for 2 years. I have worked with students of all ages, both beginner and advanced.

I enjoy teaching students the "classical music" repertoire. However, I also want my students to really love playing the piano (and/or flute) and so I strongly encourage my students to learn to play the music that they love. I believe balance is key, so I generally teach students to play classical music as well as music from other genres (such as film music, pop music, and video game music).

I've been playing jazz professionally in the Chicago area since 1979. I have loved the sound of the piano since hearing it on jazz records as a teenager. I grew up in Michigan and after spending a year at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, I started playing in jazz clubs around Lansing. Since coming to Chicago, I've played in all its major clubs including the Jazz Showcase, the Green Mill, Pops for Champagne, Leslee's, Green Dolphin Street, Pete Miller's, Rick's Cafe Americain, and others. I recently released my first CD, which includes two of my own jazz compositions.

Learning to play music can change your life. It is a marvelous way to develop creativity, coordination, intellectual abilities, and self-esteem. Learning to play a stringed instrument is particularly satisfying since violin and viola players can perform in so many different musical styles.

Jeannette has over 20 years experience teaching in a private lesson setting, over 10 years experience teaching orchestra at high school level, and is presently String Orchestra Director at Lindop Public School District 92 in Broadview, IL. Jeannette attended Interlochen Arts Academy and Indiana University, Bloomington majoring in music performance while studying jazz with Dave Baker. She has been associate principal violist with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and presently plays violin with Bella Vita String Quartet, Synchronicity and Candy Town.

Jeannette knows the strengths and weaknesses of a strictly classical musical education and brings that knowledge to her teaching, creating a...

Born of humble beginnings and an indomitable spirit of curiosity and good will, I first came into music as an old man, teaching myself to play the piano at the ripe age of sixteen.

My studies have taken me to Kalamazoo College under full scholarship, where I graduated with BAs in Chemistry and in Music, and to Nice to refine my (now-rusty) French. Following graduation, I studied piano under a masterful professor at the University of Montana and then again at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. I worked full time as a chemist for several years until I decided to take a chance on living a life in music and began teaching piano full time.

My students stay with me for years, and many of my first students I still teach to this day. Many of my students say I know more about music than anyone they know, and that's probably because I view [music] education as a never-ending process of discovery, assimilation, forgetting, relearning and fun. I'm patient and demand the same patience...

Michael, a baritone hailing from Brodhead, WI, is a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning his Master’s degree in Opera. Michael played the title role in Don Giovanni, Marcello in La Bohème, John Sorel in The Consul, and Marco in Gianni Schicchi under the direction of William Farlow. In addition to University Opera, Michael has been an apprentice artist at Des Moines Metro Opera, and was also a frequent young artist at La Music Lirica, performing under the baton of Joseph Rescigno. Michael is excited to play the role of Bill Bobstay in H.M.S. Pinafore with Light Opera Works in June.

In concert, Michael has performed Handel’s Messiah with Janesville Orchestra, as a concerto competition winner at UW-Madison and UW-Whitewater, and as Adam in Haydn’s Creation with the Wisconsin Chamber Choir led by Dr. Robert Gehrenbeck. Michael was scholarship soloist/section leader at Bethel Lutheran Church in Madison, WI and is currently a section leader at...