Private Music Lessons

Baritone/Tuba

Colleen Bayoneto

No information available

Kendra Gohr

Kendra Gohr received her bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Illinois in 1999. After teaching elementary and middle school band, she returned to school and earned her master’s degree in euphonium performance from Pennsylvania State University in May 2005.

She has participated in several competitions, including the 2004 International Tuba and Euphonium Conference held in Budapest, Hungary, where she was a semifinalist in two events. In the Chicago area, she has performed in numerous ensembles, including the Northshore Concert Band, for which she has served as the Festival of Music manager since 2006.

Gohr is a low brass instructor (euphonium and tuba) at Stevenson, Libertyville and Mundelein high schools.

Bass

Bassoon

Cello

Nazar Dzhuryn

A native of Lviv, Ukraine, cellist Nazar Dzhuryn graduated from Lviv Music School, where he studied with Evgeny Shpitzer, and he earned his Master of Music degree at Moscow State Conservatory under Igor Gavrysh. Upon graduation, Dzhuryn taught at the Moscow Conservatory as an assistant professor before moving to Chicago in 1998. Since then he has been in high demand as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, and teacher.

He has appeared as a soloist with several orchestras in the United States, Europe and Russia over the past decade, and his solo recitals for Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts and the PianoForte Salon Series have been broadcast live on 98.7 WFMT. In addition, Dzhuryn has given numerous solo recitals and master classes in Russia, Ukraine, Croatia, South America, South Korea and the U.S. As an orchestra musician, he has performed under conductors such as Georg Solti, Mstislav Rostropovich, Daniel Barenboim and Helmuth Rilling.

Dzhuryn serves on the faculties of Northeastern Illinois University and the Naperville School for the Performing Arts. He also has coached chamber ensembles for the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. His students have won prizes in numerous competitions, including the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Walgreens National Concerto Competition, and the Chicago Chamber Music Competition.

Morgan Little

As the child of two working classical musicians, Morgan Little has been attending rehearsals from a very young age. Born in Los Angeles, Morgan started his training exclusively as a modern cellist. Morgan caught the bug of historical performance while studying at DePaul University in Chicago, and has not recovered since. After a short stint in Boston, he continued his studies as a full-tuition scholarship student at the Juilliard School, where he maintained an active role as a chamber and orchestral musician, recently playing principal cellist with Juilliard 415 on tour in Scandinavia under the direction of David Hill, and playing continuo for the Juilliard production of Dido and Aeneas in New York, London, and Versailles under the direction of Avi Stein.

During 2020 Morgan discovered he had a passion for teaching as well as performing and is now the co-director of the Stevenson High School Baroque program in Chicago as well as the leader of the Stevenson Viola da gamba consort. As of now Morgan is splitting his time between Chicago and on the West coast.

Clarinet

Andrew Carpenter

Described as “…an artist of great skill and rare sensitivity,” Andrew Carpenter has performed extensively as a concert saxophonist. He has presented recitals at Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church and on Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series broadcast on WFMT-FM; appeared as a soloist with several bands and orchestras and on several Chicago-area new music concerts; and has performed numerous orchestral engagements, including concerts with the Rockford Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, and Elgin Symphony Orchestra.

Carpenter also has performed as a clarinetist in numerous orchestral, musical theater, and chamber music engagements. He is the saxophone instructor at Carthage College and teaches saxophone and clarinet students of all ages. Mr. Carpenter holds a bachelor of music from Ithaca College and a master of music from Northwestern University. His primary saxophone teachers are Dr. Steven Mauk and Dr. Frederick L. Hemke, and his primary clarinet teacher is Leslie Grimm. Visit Mr. Carpenter’s website here.

Howard Green

Howard Green brings more than 55 years of professional music experience as an active teacher and performing clarinetist, saxophonist and conductor to his students at Stevenson. His students have taken top honors in state solo and ensemble competitions, and many have distinguished themselves as ILMEA all-state musicians, some of who placed at the top of their sections there. Most students distinguish themselves at solo and ensemble competitions scoring top grades playing from the core literature for their instruments. Students range from beginners at the Middle School Level through High School and on to adults continuing to perform as hobbies and secondary careers.

Many of those who have studied with Mr. Green have gone on as music majors/minors at schools including Loyola, Augustana, Northwestern, Northeastern, Case Western, Vanderbilt and University of Illinois. Others, while not music majors, continue to play through college and beyond at the schools listed above and others such as Beloit, Illinois State and Purdue placing at or near the tops of their sections. One student even went on to become the Bass Clarinet of the Indiana Symphony Orchestra after graduating from Northwestern.

Howard’s teaching philosophy is to work with each student’s strengths while improving areas needing improvement and stressing both the technical (tone production, breath support, articulation and rhythm) and musical/interpretive (phrasing, dynamics and accuracy of intonation) aspects of their instrument and performance. First and foremost, are the needs of the student’s band obligations – they need to be able to contribute to the group by being able to perform their parts and be admirable contributors to the music programs of their school. Above all, their study of music should be enjoyable and empowering.

Mr. Green is the principal clarinet for the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra and is the founding and current music director and conductor of the Buffalo Grove Symphonic and Jazz Bands. He is a former student of Chicago Symphony Orchestra members Walter Wollwage and Jerome Stowell. After completing his degree in clarinet performance from Roosevelt University, he became principal clarinet for the U.S. Air Force Band at Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois. Since leaving the Air Force in 1979, Green has been principal clarinet and concertmaster in numerous ensembles, including the North Shore Symphony, Chicago Symphonic Concert Band, and the Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect community bands. His extensive professional playing experience encompasses classical and jazz in orchestral and band settings as well as solos and as a recitalist. Examples of his playing can be found on his YouTube page.

Check out a few sample videos:

Claire Werling

Claire Werling is an active orchestral clarinetist and teacher in the Chicago area and throughout the Midwest. She is currently second clarinet of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed with the South Bend, Southwest Michigan, Northbrook, Racine, Peoria, Kankakee Valley, and Lima Symphony Orchestras. Claire has been teaching private clarinet lessons for over a decade, and has been a part of the PREP private lesson faculty since 2015. In 2018, Claire started the SHS Clarinet Ensemble and has worked to facilitate rehearsals and performances while creating a sense of community for SHS clarinet students of all levels. Claire’s private studio and group teaching extends not only through the halls of Stevenson, but across the city of Chicago and ranges from students as young as third grade up to adults honing their craft in community ensembles. Her students have gone on to be accepted at the ILMEA District and State Levels, Midwest Young Artist, and the Merit School of Music Conservatory Wind Symphony and Philharmonia. Claire holds degrees in music performance from Northwestern University and Bowling Green State University and won both schools’ concerto competitions. Her primary teachers include Steve Cohen, J Lawrie Bloom, Kevin Schempf, and Spencer Prewitt.

As a teacher, Claire strives to give each student an individual experience based on their needs. From building fundamentals that enhance and develop ease of playing, to preparing for competitive auditions and careers in music, to learning the simple delight of making loud noises; Claire wants each student to find their voice, trust their intuition, and learn how perseverance, focus, and joy can create success in not just music, but everything they pursue in life.

Drums/Percussion

Danielle Dileto

A native of the Joliet area, Danielle Dileto recently finished her bachelor’s degree in music education from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. Her primary instrument is percussion, and has had the opportunity to perform with many ensembles across the Chicagoland area. Miss Dileto will be working with the Stevenson High School percussionists in both marching band and concert band, while working individually with students to make them well-rounded musicians.

Euphonium

Kendra Gohr

Kendra Gohr received her bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Illinois in 1999. After teaching elementary and middle school band, she returned to school and earned her master’s degree in euphonium performance from Pennsylvania State University in May 2005.

She has participated in several competitions, including the 2004 International Tuba and Euphonium Conference held in Budapest, Hungary, where she was a semifinalist in two events. In the Chicago area, she has performed in numerous ensembles, including the Northshore Concert Band, for which she has served as the Festival of Music manager since 2006.

Gohr is a low brass instructor (euphonium and tuba) at Stevenson, Libertyville and Mundelein high schools.

Flute

Nancy Karlin

Nanci Karlin has been a private flute and piccolo instructor at Stevenson High School for 20 years, serving as its Flute Choir director for 11 years in addition to operating a busy home studio. She performs throughout the Chicago area and suburbs as a freelance musician. Her degrees in flute performance are from Indiana University and the University of Illinois, where she received the John Philip Sousa Award for musicianship. Karlin has been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra, and Northbrook Pops Orchestra. She invites all of her students to participate in a recital at the end of the school year, where they can perform a solo or duet and participate in Flute Choir along with her high school students.

Agatha Lee

Agatha Lee has been playing the flute for decades. She holds a degree from the University of Missouri and a masters from Northwestern University. Her long list of accomplishments include having performed with orchestras in Korea and the United States. In addition to being an accomplished flutist, she is an experienced teacher. She currently works at Stevenson and has years of teaching experience.

French Horn

Jeremiah Frederick

Jeremiah Frederick is currently a horn player in Chicago, holding the positions of second horn with the Lake Forest and Ars Viva symphonies, and associate principal horn with the South Bend Symphony. He also has played with the Lyric Opera, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and other ensembles.

As a soloist, Frederick was awarded third place in the American Horn Competition in 2001. An avid chamber musician, he is a member of the Über Quartet and the Millar Brass Ensemble. He is also a founding member of Quintet Attacca, a wind quintet, and winner of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition's Grand Prize in 2002.

Frederick is a frequent show performer in Chicago. He has performed in the pre-Broadway world premieres of The Addams Family and Big Fish. He also has performed with many Broadway in Chicago and Drury Lane productions, including The Phantom of the Opera, Shrek The Musical, Les Miserables, Sweeney Todd and Sunset Boulevard.

He graduated from Northwestern University in 2000 with a masters degree in horn performance and received his bachelor's in performance from Lawrence University. His teachers have included Gail Williams, Bill Barnewitz, Dale Clevenger, and James DeCorsey.

Guitar

Julie Goldberg

Julie Goldberg is the first guitarist to earn a doctorate in music performance from Northwestern University, and also holds degrees from the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University and College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.

An associate professor at VanderCook College of Music and NorthPark University, Dr. Goldberg directs the Chicago Community Classical Guitar Orchestra, and leads the Annual Day of Guitar Festival. She has taught clinics and master classes in Wisconsin and Vietnam, and is a frequent adjudicator of guitar contests and competitions.

In addition to teaching, Dr. Goldberg performs as a solo guitarist, and in the Avanti Guitar Trio. Her community outreach performances earned her the honor of being named Guitarist of the Year by Classical Guitar Alive magazine. Dr. Goldberg is the co-author of 100 Classical Guitar Lessons. Her educational guitar ensemble arrangements are published by Guitar Chamber Music Press and Guitar Class Resources.

Eric Sutz

Eric Sutz graduated with a bachelor of music from DePaul University. He has been a working musician, arranger, conductor and teacher for almost 40 years and supported his DePaul studies through playing a wide variety of engagements and teaching piano and guitar.

In addition to playing for singers, production companies and local groups, he also worked as a musical director and conductor for Chicago-area theaters and choirs. For 15 years Sutz took part- and full-time jobs as a rehearsal and audition pianist for several theaters.

Eric taught at Carmel High School as the associate and primary choral director and was the accompanist, rehearsal and solo pianist for the European tour of its concert choir. He has studied classical piano with Eloise Niwa, conducting with Dr. William Huber and Kevin Stites, and jazz piano with Judy Roberts, Howard Levy, Larry Novak, Willie Pickens, John Campbell, Joel Daley, Mike Kocour, and Joan Hickey. He studied the great Chicago boogie and blues artists with Erwin Helfer.

He has been an active member of the NSMTA (serving as president from 2006-2008) since 1978. His book, How to Play and Teach Popular Music Creatively, was published in 1986. Sutz also is a member of the faculty at the Music Institute of Chicago, where he teaches piano and guitar.

Harp

LeAnne Bennion

One of Chicago’s premiere professional harpists, LeAnne Bennion started playing the harp at the age of nine when her grandmother introduced her to the instrument. She earned a Master of Music degree from Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts and a Bachelor of Music in Harp Performance from the University of Utah. At Roosevelt she studied with Marguerite Lynn Williams, principal harpist of The Lyric Opera of Chicago. Her past teachers include Louise Vickerman, principal harpist of the Utah Symphony, Dr. Carrol McLaughlin, University of Arizona and Dr. Cathy Clayton, University of Utah. She has recently studied with world renowned harpist Maria Lusia Rayan.

LeAnne has created a performing career in Chicago by working with local orchestras as well as her new music ensemble, The Nightingale Ensemble. As a founding member of the ensemble, she has premiered multiple works by local and international composers. In order to further expand the harp repertoire, she frequently works one on one with composers advising them on writing for the harp.

As a freelance musician in Chicago, LeAnne has played for events of all kinds; weddings, baby showers, funerals, cocktail parties, birthdays, church services, business conferences etc. She regularly performs for teatime at the downtown Chicago Palmer House Hotel, the Langham Hotel and The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. She recently appeared in a national commercial produced by The Onion Network and on an episode of the television show Empire.

During the Covid-19 pandemic LeAnne has adapted by creating a regular concert series of solo harp music broadcasted from her living room. She continues to teach her students virtually and they have continued to progress. LeAnne is a full-time harp teacher with studios at Lake Forest College, The Chicago School of Music, Lane Tech High School and Niles West High School.

In addition to her harp accomplishments, LeAnne’s intense dedication to her sourdough starter won her bread first prize at the Chicago’s Best Baker competition.

Electric Bass/Jazz Bass

Sam Peters

Samuel Peters is jazz bassist and music educator based out of Chicago, Illinois. He completed his master’s degree in jazz studies at DePaul University, studying under Dennis Carroll and holds his bachelor’s degree in jazz studies from the University of Illinois where he studied with Larry Gray and Chip Stephens. Samuel maintains a busy performance schedule in the Chicago area performing jazz clubs including Andy’s, the Fulton Street Collective, Winter’s, Le Piano, and the Green Mill.

In addition to performance, Samuel has been active as a teacher for over 10 years. He has worked with students of all ages and abilities, teaching styles including jazz, salsa, rock, funk, pop and more on both the upright and electric bass.

Jazz Saxophone

Oboe

Piano

Krissy Han

Krissy Han holds a masters degree in music from Northwestern University and a bachelors degree in music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in piano performance, studying under James Giles, and Yoshikazu Nagai. She is an accomplished pianist and an accompanist performing across the country. She also has been a finalist and a prize winner at several competitions, including the MTAC Concerto Competition.

As an accompanist, she has worked for Northwestern University, DePaul University in Chicago, high school and community choirs in California. Currently, she accompanies for church, voice and instrument competitions, and several concerts. Han is also an experienced teacher and has worked with all ages and levels. Her students have accomplished and won prizes from ABRSM piano exams, and MTAC piano competitions.

Deborah Masloski

Deborah Masloski has won competitions here and abroad, and has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Chicago Civic Orchestra, New Mexico Symphony, Colorado Springs Orchestra, the UNC Symphony and the Carthage Wind Ensemble.

She has performed on WFMT radio as part of the Dame Myra Hess series and is an active chamber musician performing with members of the Chicago Symphony and Lyric Opera.

A graduate of the Juilliard School, she received a masters degree in performance. Her teachers included Nadia Reisenberg, Herbert Stessin, David Dubal and David Diamond. She received her doctoral degree from Northwestern University, where her research examined the influence of social and religious trends on the piano literature. While at Northwestern she coached and accompanied the opera productions and coached chamber music as well. Her primary teachers included David Kaiserman, Peter Webster and John Buccheri. Her pedagogy studies were with Francis Larimer.

She began her formal training at the Mozart Conservatory in Augsburg, Germany. She received a bachelor's degree (magna cum laude) from the University of Northern Colorado. She is on the piano faculty at Carthage College, Northwestern University Academy and the Rocky Mountain Summer Conservatory and has held teaching positions at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago State University and Lake Forest College.

Dr. Masloski founded and directed the Orchestra Program for Skokie school district 73/12 and has been a guest speaker at Northwestern’s Center for Talent Development.

Tatiana Naumova

Tatiana Naumova earned a master’s degree in music from Gorky State Conservatory in honor of Glinka. In Russia, she taught piano and music theory at Arhalgelsk Music College, composed music for the Arhalgesk Youth Theater, and taught piano at Gorky Music School.

Since moving to the United States in 2001, she has established a diverse and successful career, teaching piano at People’s Music School, Southport Performing Arts Conservatory and many private students. Naumova is an active performer; in 2012, she worked in music preparation with the Lyric Opera of Chicago on works such as Aida, Rinaldo, and Showboat.

She performs regularly as a collaborative pianist in a wide variety of styles, including recitals with saxophonist Andrew Carpenter and performances with folk singer Megon McDonough. She also works as a collaborative pianist with Joffrey Theater Academy and Visceral Dance Company, and enjoys performing in musical theater productions.

Eric Sutz

Eric Sutz graduated with a bachelor of music from DePaul University. He has been a working musician, arranger, conductor and teacher for almost 40 years and supported his DePaul studies through playing a wide variety of engagements and teaching piano and guitar.

In addition to playing for singers, production companies and local groups, he also worked as a musical director and conductor for Chicago-area theaters and choirs. For 15 years Sutz took part- and full-time jobs as a rehearsal and audition pianist for several theaters.

Eric taught at Carmel High School as the associate and primary choral director and was the accompanist, rehearsal and solo pianist for the European tour of its concert choir. He has studied classical piano with Eloise Niwa, conducting with Dr. William Huber and Kevin Stites, and jazz piano with Judy Roberts, Howard Levy, Larry Novak, Willie Pickens, John Campbell, Joel Daley, Mike Kocour, and Joan Hickey. He studied the great Chicago boogie and blues artists with Erwin Helfer.

He has been an active member of the NSMTA (serving as president from 2006-2008) since 1978. His book, How to Play and Teach Popular Music Creatively, was published in 1986. Sutz also is a member of the faculty at the Music Institute of Chicago, where he teaches piano and guitar.

Piccolo

Nancy Karlin

Nanci Karlin has been a private flute and piccolo instructor at Stevenson High School for 20 years, serving as its Flute Choir director for 11 years in addition to operating a busy home studio. She performs throughout the Chicago area and suburbs as a freelance musician. Her degrees in flute performance are from Indiana University and the University of Illinois, where she received the John Philip Sousa Award for musicianship. Karlin has been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra, and Northbrook Pops Orchestra. She invites all of her students to participate in a recital at the end of the school year, where they can perform a solo or duet and participate in Flute Choir along with her high school students.

Saxophone

Andrew Carpenter

Described as “…an artist of great skill and rare sensitivity,” Andrew Carpenter has performed extensively as a concert saxophonist. He has presented recitals at Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church and on Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series broadcast on WFMT-FM; appeared as a soloist with several bands and orchestras and on several Chicago-area new music concerts; and has performed numerous orchestral engagements, including concerts with the Rockford Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, and Elgin Symphony Orchestra.

Carpenter also has performed as a clarinetist in numerous orchestral, musical theater, and chamber music engagements. He is the saxophone instructor at Carthage College and teaches saxophone and clarinet students of all ages. Mr. Carpenter holds a bachelor of music from Ithaca College and a master of music from Northwestern University. His primary saxophone teachers are Dr. Steven Mauk and Dr. Frederick L. Hemke, and his primary clarinet teacher is Leslie Grimm. Visit Mr. Carpenter’s website here.

Howard Green

Howard Green brings more than 55 years of professional music experience as an active teacher and performing clarinetist, saxophonist and conductor to his students at Stevenson. His students have taken top honors in state solo and ensemble competitions, and many have distinguished themselves as ILMEA all-state musicians, some of who placed at the top of their sections there. Most students distinguish themselves at solo and ensemble competitions scoring top grades playing from the core literature for their instruments. Students range from beginners at the Middle School Level through High School and on to adults continuing to perform as hobbies and secondary careers.

Many of those who have studied with Mr. Green have gone on as music majors/minors at schools including Loyola, Augustana, Northwestern, Northeastern, Case Western, Vanderbilt and University of Illinois. Others, while not music majors, continue to play through college and beyond at the schools listed above and others such as Beloit, Illinois State and Purdue placing at or near the tops of their sections. One student even went on to become the Bass Clarinet of the Indiana Symphony Orchestra after graduating from Northwestern.

Howard’s teaching philosophy is to work with each student’s strengths while improving areas needing improvement and stressing both the technical (tone production, breath support, articulation and rhythm) and musical/interpretive (phrasing, dynamics and accuracy of intonation) aspects of their instrument and performance. First and foremost, are the needs of the student’s band obligations – they need to be able to contribute to the group by being able to perform their parts and be admirable contributors to the music programs of their school. Above all, their study of music should be enjoyable and empowering.

Mr. Green is the principal clarinet for the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra and is the founding and current music director and conductor of the Buffalo Grove Symphonic and Jazz Bands. He is a former student of Chicago Symphony Orchestra members Walter Wollwage and Jerome Stowell. After completing his degree in clarinet performance from Roosevelt University, he became principal clarinet for the U.S. Air Force Band at Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois. Since leaving the Air Force in 1979, Green has been principal clarinet and concertmaster in numerous ensembles, including the North Shore Symphony, Chicago Symphonic Concert Band, and the Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect community bands. His extensive professional playing experience encompasses classical and jazz in orchestral and band settings as well as solos and as a recitalist. Examples of his playing can be found on his YouTube page.

Check out a few sample videos:

Claire Werling

Claire Werling is an active orchestral clarinetist and teacher in the Chicago area and throughout the Midwest. Born and raised in Ohio, Werling is currently second clarinet of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed with several other symphony orchestras.

She also has won concerto competitions at Northwestern University and Bowling Green State University, where she earned her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in music performance. Her primary teachers include Steve Cohen, J Lawrie Bloom, and Kevin Schempf.

She is a woodwind sectional instructor for the Merit School of Music’s Bridges Program, where she teaches beginner techniques on clarinet, saxophone and flute for Chicago Public Schools.

Trombone

Trumpet

Joshua Jern

Joshua Jern is a trumpet/flugelhorn player, composer, arranger, and teacher living and working in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Oak Forest High School in Oak Forest and received a B.A. in Trumpet Performance from Millikin University in Decatur, IL and an M.M. in Jazz Studies from the Chicago College Of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in Chicago. Jern has studied with such noteworthy teachers as Bobby Shew, Roger Ingram, Rob Parton, Tito Carrillo, Tom Garling, and Ray Sasaki.

Joshua Jern has performed with numerous acts and ensembles, including the Buddy Rich Big Band, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Florence Henderson, The Temptations, The Drifters, Patti Page, the Rob Parton Big Band, Shout Section Big Band, the John Burnett Orchestra, Chicago Skyliner’s (Bill O’Connell) Big Band, Heritage Jazz Orchestra, and Alan Gresik’s Swing Shift Orchestra, to name a few. He has played trumpet on international rock tours for Pritam Chakraborty (Bollywood) and Amanda Y Diego Verdaguer (Latin America). He has played for two Chicago mayors (Rahm Emanuel and Richard M. Daley), London mayor Sadiq Khan, former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell, and former U.K. Prime Minister John Major . He’s played in countless venues throughout the Chicagoland area- the many theaters in the city and outlying suburbs, ballrooms of the wonderful hotels and convention centers on Michigan Avenue, and nightclubs in all parts of town such as Fitzgerald’s in the west suburbs, Andy’s Jazz Club in downtown Chicago, and the famous Green Mill on the north side. An accomplished veteran of the orchestra pit, Joshua Jern has played trumpet for countless local Chicago and national Broadway tour musical theater productions. Jern has traveled to all seven continents performing on numerous cruise ships for major and boutique cruise lines. A prolific recording artist, Joshua Jern has recorded in numerous studios throughout the Chicago-land area for many creative and commercial projects.

Jern started the Joshua Jern Jazz Orchestra in 2019, which features the top jazz and big band musicians in Chicago. The JJ Jazz Orchestra has released two albums of original music to critical acclaim, Midnight Stroll (2019) and Lockdown (2021).

While maintaining a rigorous performance schedule, Joshua Jern also finds time to focus on music education. As an educator, clinician, and adjudicator in suburban Chicago, he has the opportunity to present practical knowledge of pro-level performance in accessible ways to help students along their path of ultimately experiencing the enjoyment of creating music. Jern also maintains trumpet studios at several schools in the Chicagoland area, teaching students from beginners up through collegiate level.

Viola da Gamba

Morgan Little

As the child of two working classical musicians, Morgan Little has been attending rehearsals from a very young age. Born in Los Angeles, Morgan started his training exclusively as a modern cellist. Morgan caught the bug of historical performance while studying at DePaul University in Chicago, and has not recovered since. After a short stint in Boston, he continued his studies as a full-tuition scholarship student at the Juilliard School, where he maintained an active role as a chamber and orchestral musician, recently playing principal cellist with Juilliard 415 on tour in Scandinavia under the direction of David Hill, and playing continuo for the Juilliard production of Dido and Aeneas in New York, London, and Versailles under the direction of Avi Stein.

During 2020 Morgan discovered he had a passion for teaching as well as performing and is now the co-director of the Stevenson High School Baroque program in Chicago as well as the leader of the Stevenson Viola da gamba consort. As of now Morgan is splitting his time between Chicago and on the West coast.

Violin/Viola

Janis Sakai

Janis Sakai has performed orchestral, chamber music, and solo works internationally. She has been studying the violin since the age of 5, winning numerous awards in competitions, and has performed with world-renowned artists such as Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Herbie Hancock, James Ehnes, Lang Lang, Radu Lupu, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Vadim Repin, and Har Mar Superstar.

Janis currently serves as Concertmaster of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony, Concertmaster of Lakeview Orchestra, Associate Principal Second Violin of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, and Section First Violin with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra. Janis also served as Co-Concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Prior to this, she performed with the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra in Japan for three years. Since moving back to the U.S., Janis has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, Music of the Baroque, Ensemble Dal Niente, the New World Symphony, and the Madison Symphony Orchestra, among others. Janis holds degrees from the University of Denver and The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where her primary teachers were Yumi-Hwang Williams and Detlef Hahn.

Voice

Liz Fauntleroy

Liz Fauntleroy has been teaching voice for more than 15 years. Her students have gone on to appear in productions at Drury Lane Oakbrook, Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre, Light Opera Works and Northlight. As a performer, Fauntleroy’s career includes more than 30 operas with The Lyric Opera of Chicago and other groups. Her credits include: Mame, Evita, Pirates of Penzance, Beauty and the Beast, My Emperor’s New Clothes, Phantom of the Opera, Kismet, Carousel, Madame Butterfly, Don Giovanni, My Fair Lady, Phantom of the Country Palace, Nutcracker Now and The Sound of Music.

She also has performed in numerous industrials, film and print as a featured singer/dancer. Fauntleroy was the children’s musical director for the 2009 Chicago tour of the The Wizard of Oz, and helped cast the Chicago cast of the acclaimed TV series “The Glee Project.

Tim Filliman

Timothy Filliman has maintained dual careers as a professional singer and a voice teacher of note in the Chicago area. In his academic career he was most fortunate to work with master teachers and coaches in performance and pedagogy. Most notably at Southern Methodist University with Dr. Berton Coffin, one of the most important voice teachers of the twentieth century and author of Word by Word Translations of Songs and Arias, Overtones of Bel Canto, Sounds of Singing, Phonetic Readings of Songs and Arias, and The Singer’s Repertoire series and as soloist with noted conductor and composer Dr. Lloyd Pfautsch. At Simpson College in Iowa, Mr. Filliman coached and performed with Dr. Robert Larsen, editor of the G. Schirmer Opera Anthology series and founder/General Director of the Des Moines Metro Opera, one of the premier opera festivals in the country. While obtaining his Master’s degree at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Mr. Filliman designed an independent study course in which he taught voice lessons to undergraduate students.

Mr. Filliman’s professional career highlights include a solo appearance on WFMT radio under the direction of British conductor Sir David Willcocks. In addition, he was seen in hundreds of performances with Lyric Opera of Chicago from 1990-2005 including a national television appearance for PBS’s “Great Performances” series and two Grammy nominated recordings. While with Lyric, Mr. Filliman was privileged to perform on the same stage with the greatest singers of our time as well as be directed by legendary directors and conductors including Placido Domingo, Zubin Mehta and Arthur Miller.

Mr. Filliman’s solo engagements include regional opera companies and symphony orchestras. Most notably: Chamber Opera Chicago, Peoria Civic Opera, Northwest Chicago Symphony, Dallas Public Opera, Harper Festival Symphony, Fox Valley Orchestra and the Metropolitan Chamber Ensemble of Chicago.

Timothy Filliman is also a frequent lecturer, adjudicator and clinician. Most recently, he was an adjudicator for the Chicago chapter and the Northern Illinois chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and judged the Elgin Opera competition twice. Mr. Filliman has served as Guest Lecturer for Hamilton Wings, the artist in residence program at Elgin Community College. He has also judged the IMEA and IHSA vocal competitions and has been a guest clinician for one of the University of Illinois’ a cappella groups, the “Extension Chords”.

Currently, Timothy Filliman maintains a flourishing private voice studio, where his students are or have gone on to be professional singers, television and movie actors, music educators, voice
teachers, and conductors. His students have sung at Houston Grand Opera, Miami Lyric Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Austin Lyric Opera, Music Academy of the West, Virginia Opera, San Francisco Conservatory, Chicago Opera Theater and as back up singers for Josh Grobin. Mr. Filliman is a member of The National Association of Teachers of Singing, The American Guild of Musical Artists, and The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Mr. Filliman is currently on the voice faculties of William Rainey Harper College and Aurora University.

Sarah Hibbard

Sarah Hibbard is a masterful musician whose voice has been described as a shimmering soprano with a resounding quality reminiscent of the golden age of singing. She has performed throughout the United States, Germany, Italy and Israel. In addition to her performance credentials, Hibbard completed her doctorate in performance, and teaches at Stevenson High School and the College of Lake County. Many of her students have gone on to professional singing careers.

Jung Kim

Jung Kim has been a member of Chicago Symphony Chorus since 1995. She also is a director of the children's choir, Little ol Korea, presenting Korean Culture by singing and dancing. She also directs the Korean Cultural Center choir as well. She has a lot of voice teaching experience from small children at 8 years old, to adults of 70 years. She has started adjudication at ILMEA of district 1 and 7 since 2015. She graduated from the Art high school in Seoul, Korea with a major in vocals and finished her B.M. degree at North Park University in Chicago with a minor in piano.

Ellen Singer

Ellen Singer received her Bachelor of Science degree in Choral Music Education from the University of Illinois, and her Master of Music degree from DePaul University. Singer has more than 20 years experience teaching private voice lessons as well as choir in the public schools. She has been associated with Stevenson High School since 1995 directing the Madrigal Singers, and has directed the show choir (Syncopation), served as vocal coach for the musical theater class, and assistant directed the Stevenson choirs while serving as a maternity leave substitute teacher. Currently Singer serves as the District Eight Chairperson for the Illinois Grade School Music Association which runs solo and ensemble contests and organization contests for band, orchestra and choir in the north and northwest suburbs. In addition, she works as an adjudicator and clinician for middle and high school choirs, and plays flute and piccolo in the Deerfield Community Band.

2022-23 Music Lesson Rates

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