Faculty & Staff

Mr. Ochoa is the founding Executive Director of The Chicago High School for the Arts. Most recently he was the Superintendent of Cultural Arts for the Metro Parks and Recreation Department in Nashville, Tennessee, where he supervised the dance, music, theatre, and visual arts departments, two museums and the special events department.

As an educator, he has served as a private teacher and instructor in music, dance, and theatre and also taught in traditional school settings both in academic and arts areas. In addition, he was taught in charter schools in Texas and North Carolina as well as a bilingual private school in Honduras.

Besides his work in arts administration and in education, Mr. Ochoa has had a diverse career in the performing arts. As a musician, he has performed solo flute recitals including the Festival Internacional de Arte e Cultura de Suchitoto in Central America. In dance, he danced with several regional ballet companies and he was the choreographer for the official state play of Texas for three seasons. Mr. Ochoa also produced an arts festival Steinbeck on Stage...of words and dance which premiered his ballet La Perla based on the novel by John Steinbeck at West Texas A&M University and has directed/choreographed for theatres throughout the Southeast and in Central America.

Mr. Ochoa is a graduate of the North Carolina School for the Arts in music performance and has a master's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies-Dance, Music, Theatre, from West Texas A&M University. He is currently an honorary trustee for the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, a board of trustee for the National Guild of Community Schools for the Arts, and serves on the Advisory Board of Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts.

Ms. Milsap was a high school teacher for 11 years and a principal of a Chicago charter school for 2 years. Ms. Milsap has an MA in School Leadership from Concordia University, a BA in English Education from Governors State University and a BA in Speech Communications from Illinois State University. She is currently working toward her Ed. D in the nationally recognized Urban School Leadership program at the University of Illinois-Chicago. In addition to school leadership and teaching, Ms. Milsap has experience in school reform, charter renewal, curriculum development, and entrepreneurship. Ms. Milsap is a member of the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development and serves on the Board of the Arts School Network.

Ms. Orr joined The Chicago High School for the Arts in August 2011. Prior experience in the educational field includes: teaching, mentoring, coaching (track and dance), serving as an athletic director, dean, curriculum coordinator, lead teacher, assistant principal and principal. Ms. Orr holds a BS in Political Science from Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee, a MS in Human Services and an MEd in Educational Leadership from National Louis University, Chicago, IL. Ms. Orr is dedicated to exploring her passion and commitment to every student she encounters, as well as being a major force as it relates to educational policy and reform.

Dorothea Roque joined ChiArts in August 2009. Ms. Roque brings more than 20 years of financial experience, including work as a consultant and full time employee providing controllership and consulting services to various Fortune 500 companies and emerging small businesses. Her diverse background  includes working with companies such as Chicago Christian Industrial League, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, LaSalle Partners, Harris Bank, Foote Cone & Belding and more. Ms. Roque received her Bachelor degree in accounting and business information system from Western Michigan University and is a member of the National Notary Association.

An English teacher-leader who was on the founding team of Al Raby High School, Lori Birenberg has experience developing curriculum as well as presenting at College Board facilitating roundtable discussions and presenting workshops on designing and implementing a post-secondary course at national and regional forums. She completed her Master's degree at National-Louis University and obtained a double major in English and Communications at Indiana University. She completed her certification work at DePaul University.  As instructional coach, Ms. Birenberg will work with teachers on curriculum development and creation of rigorous lessons and will provide professional development programs.

Padraic O'Donnell earned his Bachelor of Arts from Northern Illinois University in Political Science (International Relations) and his Master's degree from St. John's College in Liberal Arts (Western Classical Studies). He holds a Type 9 Illinois teaching certification from North Park University in History & Mathematics. Mr. O'Donnell has 11 years of experience teaching high school students mathematics, history, and English, and is also Adjunt Faculty at North Park University.

Ms. Grube prides herself on individualizing her counseling practices and developing programs to meet the diverse needs of her students. Ms. Grube has designed several advisory program curriculums in Illinois helping to bring social and emotional support to students. In addition, she has experience providing parenting seminars and facilitating workshops of varies tops such as grief, depression, learning differences, anxiety, and coping with transition. She has a Master's Degree in guidance counseling and a Master's Degree in clinical psychotherapy from Saint Xavier University. In addition, Ms. Grube has an LCPC with advanced training adolescent development and crisis intervention. She enjoys performing with and is a member of the Beverly Art's Theatre Guild. She looks forward to assisting students in reaching their maximum individual potential, and providing the knowledge, skills, and support necessary to prepare students for the next stage of their academic and/or artistic journey!

Heather McCowen, Ph.D. is Post Secondary Counselor at ChiArts. Prior to this position, Dr. McCowen was the Asst Dean for Enrollment and Student Services for the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and served as Assoc. Dean for Admissions at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA.  Additionally she has been a member of the Music Faculty at Texas A&M University at Commerce in addition to running a private studio of 50+ bassoon students.  Dr. McCowen holds a Bachelor of Music in Bassoon Performance (with a concentration in Music Business) from Northwestern University, the Master of Music in Bassoon Performance from Southern Methodist University and the Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education (with a minor in Marketing) from the University of North Texas's College of Education. An Alum of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, she has performed with the Dallas, Fort Worth, Shreveport, Indian Hill Symphonies (among others) including a recent engagement with Opera Carolina, in Charlotte, NC. A native of Tacoma, WA, Dr. McCowen is thrilled to be a part of the staff of ChiArts, and is also looking forward to being a soloist in 2012 with the Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest.

Ms. Hardgrave was most recently at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts, serving as assistant dean for enrollment and student services, assistant director of admission, and clerk for the performance activities office. She has served as panelist on arts education for organizations including Gallery 37, South Shore School of the Arts, LaGuardia Arts High School, Center City (Philadelphia) High School, and the Chicago Cultural Center. Ms. Hardgrave also maintains an active performance career as a classical and cabaret musician. Her recent focus has been modern opera, performing as Mum/Sphinx in Greek (Chicago Opera Vanguard), Esther in Democracy (Vox3 w/Eclipse Theatre), and Estelle in No Exit (COV). She holds a Master of Music from Chicago College of Performing Arts/Roosevelt University and a Bachelor of Arts from Arkansas Tech University. Ms. Hardgrave is a proud member of Sandhill Theatre Company and a board member of VOX 3 Collective.

Christopher Smith is a native of Pampa, TX. He graduated summa cum laude from St. Edward's University in Austin, TX, where he majored inTheatre Performance and Arts Administration. While in Austin, Mr. Smith worked at the Mary Moody Northen Theatre. He also worked with SummerStock Austin and the Texas Arts Project, non-profits aimed at providing arts training for Austin area youth. Mr. Smith has served on the boards of community service organizations and the Woody Guthrie Folk Music Center. Since landing in Chicago, he has been fortunate enough to work with a number of theaters, and is the proud Managing Director of the EX-Pats Theatre Company.

Born and raised in Chicago, Hananne Hanafi earned her Bachelor's Degree from DePaul University in Anthropology and Media Art. While in college, Ms. Hanafi began working for the non-profit organization Enlace Chicago. Through the organization, she served as a visual arts instructor and mentor at Eli Whitney Elementary School in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago. With the encouragement of a passionate team of instructors and coordinators, she received numerous grants to initiate youth arts programs and projects that addressed the lack of arts support and outreach throughout the neighborhood. Recently, she spent nearly a year in Spain designing t-shirts and logos for a variety of clients. Ms. Hanafi's photographs, paintings, and sculptures have been featured in numerous publications and exhibited throughout local galleries.

Antina Redmond was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago. She's always had a love for literature, whether it was reading or writing. That passion prompted her to major in English and Journalism at Western Illinois University. Following college, Ms. Redmond spent five years fostering client and parent relations, as well as promoting usage for a private employee sponsored backup childcare facility. Moreover, she's a freelance writer with numerous columns in monthly publications. Ms. Redmond also runs her own blog and is in the process of penning her first book.

A teacher who has achieved National Board Certification, Meg Arbeiter received a grant from Facing History and Ourselves to travel to South Africa in order to build relationships with educators, community leaders, and students to enrich a human rights unit on the legacy of apartheid. She collaborated with What Kids Can Do to develop and publish curriculum and student work ("Mentors That Matter", 2007; "Fires in the Mind," 2010). Ms. Arbeiter has always been passionate about the value of arts education and wrote "Seeking Inner Truth," an article that was published in AIMprint (2008). She received a Master's of Education from DePaul University, a Master's of Industrial Relations from Loyola University Chicago, and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has served as Department Chair of English and Instructional Leader for Chicago Public Schools.

A creative English teacher who is in the process of revising her first novel, Ms. Brown holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing. She is an instructor at Story Studio Chicago, and has also worked in theatre and improvisation. She graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor's in Communication Studies with a focus on Rhetoric. She completed her teacher education coursework at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana.

A native of Western Kentucky, Dara Miller holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Education and an Honors Diploma from Murray State University. Ms. Miller is an avid traveler, and has studied in multiple countries. In 2008, she worked in the Ukraine with the University of Pereyaslav Khmel’nytsky to help establish the country’s first collegiate journalism program. The following year, she completed an international education experience in Belize, where she taught English at Corozal Community College. Ms. Miller is a Writing Fellow with the National Writing Project and has presented at and facilitated various conferences on behalf of the Kentucky Writing Project. She has served as a Technology Liaison for the Purchase Area Writing Project and as the Literacy Team Chair at her previous school, Hopkinsville High School, where she taught English, Drama, and Journalism.

Ian Morris is a dedicated English teacher and a certified reading specialist. His primary goal is to prepare students for post-secondary success while fostering their creativity, especially through reading, writing, and music. Mr. Morris has written, recorded, and toured with musical groups in a variety of genres. He has since moved from the stage to the studio and has written and recorded music for radio, television, and film. Morris previously worked at Olive-Harvey Middle College High School as English teacher and literacy coach. At Olive-Harvey, he founded Superculture Studios, a program in which students wrote, recorded, and produced a professional-quality record each year. Morris holds a BA in the Teaching of English from University of Illinois at Chicago and an MA in Reading Education from Saint Xavier University.

Rob Schroeder is formerly an English Instructional Coach with Chicago Public Schools writing, developing and presenting professional workshops and advancing teacher best practice. He served on faculty at Roberto Clemente Community Academy where he built an effective arts-integrated English curriculum and award-winning theatre and spoken word programs through successful partnerships including Steppenwolf, the American Theatre Company Mosaic Program, The Goodman, and Chicago Dramatists. He consults on English and theatre curricula and contributed to the Office of Arts Education Chicago Guide for Teaching and Learning in the Arts. He will share his arts-integration experience with The National Council of Teachers of English at their national conference. Prior to teaching, Mr. Schroeder worked nationally as a theatre professional as an actor, singer, choreographer, director, teaching artist, administrator, and writer. He holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a double major in Theatre & Drama and Radio/TV/Film and an M.Ed. from DePaul University in Secondary English Education.

Abdel Shakur became a teacher to enable young people to bring positive change into their own lives, and the world. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a major in English and a minor in African-American Studies. He has a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Indiana University. Before entering teaching, Mr. Shakur worked as a Americorps Vista, a journalist, and an editor-in-chief of a literary magazine. He also taught as an Associate Instructor of undergraduate creative writing and composition at Indiana University. Most recently he taught 9th grade English at ACT Charter School.

This will be Mrs. Bartels's third year teaching Algebra at ChiArts. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois where she majored in Mathematics and minored in Computer Science. She completed her Master's of Education at DePaul University and received her certification in Secondary Mathematics in 2009. Prior to becoming a teacher, Mrs. Bartels worked as an analyst at a top consulting firm. Though she learned a lot in her former position, she is very happy with her decision to change careers and even happier with the opportunity to teach at ChiArts.

After earning his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education from NIU, Mr. Cappetta taught at Joliet Central High School for two years. Always drawn to the lights of the big city, he finally moved to Chicago. While completing a year of residency at Collins Academy High School on the west side, he earned his Master of Education in Instructional Leadership from UIC. Before coming to ChiArts, Mr. Cappetta was a teacher at Orr High School. He's also a regular presenter/teacher for the Golden Apple Scholars Program, which trains college students across the state to become excellent teachers.

Ms. Gudino earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics with a minor in Secondary Education from the University of Illinois.  After teaching two years at Curie High School and three years at Homewood-Flossmoor High School, she earned her Master’s of Arts in Teaching & Leadership from Saint Xavier University.  Ms. Gudino most recently taught algebra, geometry, geometry honors, algebra 2, and pre-calculus.  She is happy to be teaching in the city again, and looks forward to working at ChiArts.

Kristen Koh graduated from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana with a Bachelors in Science in Psychology.  Afterwards she spent one year at Northern Illinois University in a Developmental Psychology graduate program researching adolescent development.  She decided to leave the research field so that she could interact with adolescents.  She started tutoring and taught a variety of students in several subjects but soon found teaching math as her new passion.  As a result, she pursued and completed a Masters in Math Education at DePaul University with certification in Secondary Education.  In addition to having taught algebra, geometry, and trigonometry in the past four and a half years at the boarding school Choate in Connecticut, a public school in the Northwest suburbs nearby Chicago, and a charter school on the South Side of Chicago, she has also worked with the Urban Teacher Education Program (UTEP) to help new teachers grow and the Summer Accelerated Math Camp (SAMC) to help students and teachers learn about problem-solving through the University of Chicago.

Ryan Murphy earned his Bachelor of Arts from Ashford University in Liberal Arts with a Concentration in Science and an Endorsement to Teach Secondary Mathematics. This will be his seventh year teaching mathematics. Mr. Murphy most recently taught algebra, geometry, honors geometry, and pre-calculus in West Liberty, Iowa.

Bob Vavilis has been an educator since 1987 having taught at the high school and collegiate levels. He has 6 years of administrative experiences serving as a dean and mathematics department chair. His professional preparation includes a B.A. in Math from DePaul University, an M.A. in Educational Administration from Concordia University, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Bob has also published several articles in professional journals and is currently working on a children's book. His has type 09 and type 75 state certifications.

Phil Wacker joined ChiArts in 2011 to teach physics and chemistry. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a B.S. in Science Education. Mr. Wacker has taught a wide range of science classes (physics, robotics, engineering) at diverse urban schools in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and most recently in the Chicago area. 

Mike Wang has wanted to be a Biology Teacher since he was a freshman in high school. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology as well as his Type 09 Certification from Northeastern Illinois University. He is currently seeking his Master's Degree in DePaul University's Educational Leadership Graduate Program. Mr. Wang is currently in his fifth year of teaching.

Mr. Ykema is a creative chemistry teacher who earned his Master's of Education from DePaul University after completing his B.S. in Environmental Science from Calvin College. Mr. Ykema has spent the last five years working as an Environmental Engineer in the Chicago area and is also a bass player and studio musician.

Mr. McMurray entered the field of teaching to pursue a passion for history and working with youth. After completing his Bachelor’s degree in history at the University of Illinois at Urbana, Mr. McMurray achieved a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Illinois at Chicago where he completed practicum and student teaching in Chicago Public Schools. He comes to ChiArts with experience teaching social studies at William Fremd High School in Palatine, IL and working in corporate education for National Merit Scholarship Corporation in Evanston, IL. 

Julio Quintero will enter his seventh year of teaching and begin his second year at ChiArts teaching Human Geography. Mr. Quintero earned his Bachelor's of Arts in History and Type 9 certification from the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2009, he was awarded his Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University. Prior to joining ChiArts, he taught for five years at the Morton Freshman in Cicero, Illinois. Mr. Quintero is a proud graduate of the Chicago Public Schools, graduating from William J. Bogan High School.

Mr. Sermak earned his Masters degree in teaching at Brown University after completing his B.A. in American Studies at American University in Washington, DC. He comes to ChiArts after seven years experience teaching and developing curriculum in a wide variety of social studies and history courses at the Fishers Island and Plainedge school districts on Long Island in New York. He also spent three years working as an academic advisor at the Met School, a public urban charter school in Providence, RI.

Angela Christman received her Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education from Northwestern University with a concentration in Spanish and a teaching certification. She earned a Masters Degree in Linguistics from Northeastern Illinois University and is also certified in English as a Second Language instruction. Mrs. Christman has 6 years experience teaching all levels of Spanish, including AP, as well as ESL at St. Patrick High School on the city’s northwest side and looks forward to helping to develop curriculum for the upper levels of Spanish at ChiArts. Originally from Texas, Mrs. Christman has lived and worked in Chicago for over 15 years and has traveled extensively throughout Europe, Mexico and the Caribbean. She is also proficient in French and is currently pursuing a teaching endorsement in French as well.

While studying Latin and creative writing at City High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Leonard Hinds found inspiration in reading the poetry of Baudelaire and Rimbaud in translation.  At the University of Michigan, he decided to learn French intensively.  He then went to France and worked on an organic farm.  While earning his BA in Comparative Literature and Medieval and Renaissance Studies, he studied at the Université d’Aix-en-Provence for a year.  After having done research in the National Library of France in Paris and having attended seminars at the Collège de France and the Université de Paris VII – Jussieu for a year, he received his Ph.D. in French Language and Literature from Emory University.  He then taught French Language, Literature, and Culture at Emory, Indiana University, and Dominican University.  He also taught French to adults and French and Latin to children and teenagers in the Youth Enrichment Program at the College of DuPage for seven years.  Wanting to share his passion for French with young people, he earned his M.Ed. in Instructional Leadership at UIC and was certified to teach French and Latin.  Having filled in for a French teacher on sabbatical at Oak Park River Forest High School, he came to share his love for French and French-speaking cultures with students at ChiArts.

Jessica Lepore is a veteran teacher certified at the high school level in both Spanish and English and has experience teaching both subjects to high school students.  Ms. Lepore has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish Language and Literature from the University of Michigan.  She obtained her Master's of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction and has further studied curriculum development at National-Louis University.  Ms. Lepore also studied Spanish in Oaxaca, Mexico and has traveled to various locations in Mexico and most recently to Puerto Rico.  Ms. Lepore is a member of the Illinois New Teacher Collaborative Partnership Board.  She's also the coordinator of the mentoring program for new teachers at ChiArts.

Jenna Sigman (formerly Ms. Reid) received her Bachelor of Arts in the Teaching of French with a minor in English Literature from the University of Illinois-Chicago. She completed her student teaching in French at Benito Juarez Community Academy. Mrs. Sigman also studied abroad in Montpellier, France and attended the Université Paul Valéry to study French literature. She has toured many cities in France as well as several French-speaking countries. Mrs. Sigman holds Illinois state teaching certification with endorsements in French and English.  Mrs. Sigman is excited to enter her third year of teaching and looks forward to continuing to develop a rich French curriculum to meet the needs of all students at ChiArts.

Fiona Spence received her Bachelor of Arts in French from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. During her undergraduate studies, she spent one year at the University of Paris while also working as an au pair for a French family. After graduating, Ms. Spence worked with an intercultural training and language company for five years in Chicago and two years in Swindon, England. Soon after her return from England, she worked in Marketing with an architecture and engineering company while earning a Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning with a Certification to teach French from DePaul University, Chicago. Ms. Spence returned to France for the 2008 - 2009 academic year and taught English in elementary schools in Aix-les-Bains. Ms. Spence completed her M.Ed. and French certification in July 2010. She spent her first year teaching at Riverstone International School in Boise, Idaho. Ms. Spence is very excited to be part of the ChiArts Community!

Marcella Trahan received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in English Literature and also studied French as an undergraduate student. After graduating, Ms. Trahan taught English in Carcassonne, France for a year; it was there that she decided to teach languages. Upon her return from France, she began her graduate studies in Second Language Acquisition and Education with a focus on French and Spanish at Northern Arizona University. Prior to beginning her Master's degree, she completed two Spanish immersion programs while living in Cuernavaca, Mexico and Flagstaff, Arizona. While completing her graduate degree, she taught Navajo high school students Spanish and attained grant funding to take a cultural exchange trip with those students to Mexico with an emphasis on indigenous cultures. Ms. Trahan has experience teaching French and Spanish at a bilingual high school in Tucson, Arizona and also at Steinmetz Academic Centre in Chicago, Illinois.

Oscar Muñoz is a first year teacher from Streamwood, IL.  He graduated in December 2009 from Northern Illinois University with a BSEd in Physical Education, certified grades K-12.  He was one of the founders of the triathlon team at NIU.  He previously worked at an elementary school in Glenview where he founded a running club.  He is always aiming to provide many opportunities for students to be fit.  Mr. Muñoz also has a Spanish bi-lingual endorsement.  He will be teaching Physical Education I & II.

James Salazar is a second year teacher out of Villa Park, IL. He graduated in December 2009 from Northern Illinois University with a BSEd in Physical Education, certified grades K-12, with a minor in secondary Health Education. After student teaching at York High School in Elmhurst, IL,  Mr. Salazar stayed on the staff to fulfill a full-time substitute position for the Spring semester. He will be teaching Health Education this year as well as assisting with the physical education classes.

Mr. Steger graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Physical Education. He received his Driver Education and Safety endorsement from Northern Illinois University. This will be his fifth year of teaching. Mr. Steger previously taught two years at Downers Grove South High School and one year at York High School.

Ms. Walker’s passion to advocate for special needs students began during her teenage years when she served as a volunteer for an autistic child. She has a Master's Degree in Educational Administration from Governor's State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education from Illinois State University. Ms. Walker served in the United States Army Reserve for 8 years, during which time her unit was activated for duty during Operation Desert Storm. She has over 10 years experience in teaching and administration, including four years as a CPS Vice Principal. Ms. Walker holds type 10 and  type 75 principal’s certificates.

Dr. Ali has been teaching at the secondary, high school level for 13 years. He earned his Doctorate in Educational Administration from Roosevelt University, holds a type 75 Principal's Certificate, Type 9 Social Science Certificate, and LBS1 Special Education Certificate Endorsement. Dr. Ali has taught a variety of college prep, honors and AP History classes. He is also an adjunct History Professor at Northeastern Illinois University.

Born in San Francisco, Ms. Carter is a certified counselor since 2008 and worked at the Southwood Interventions treatment facility for 3 ½ years. Ms. Carter has an Associate degree in Applied Behavioral Science from Kennedy King College and plans to attend National-Louis University to pursue a Bachelor's degree. As part of her duties at ChiArts, Ms. Carter monitors student behavior and gives them alternative ways to cope with their issues. The 2011-12 school year will be her second year at ChiArts.

Tara Donnelly received her bachelor’s degree in English literature from Ithaca College and her master’s degree in secondary education from Johnson State College. Ms. Donnelly began her career in the classroom, teaching all levels of high school English. She then moved into special education and has served as an inclusion specialist, reading intervention teacher, case manager, and behavior specialist. She was also coordinator of school wide assessments and literacy intervention. She is thrilled to be back home in Chicago and part of the ChiArts team.

Beth Wangelin received her bachelor's of Arts in Psychology from The University of St. Mary's in Winona, Minnesota in 1996. In 1999 she received her Masters of Arts in Teaching in Special Education from National Louis University and holds a type 10 certificate. Ms. Wangelin has taught special education for 7 years and this is her third year at ChiArts.

Ms. McGregory earned her Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Illinois. Prior to working in the field of education, she worked as a Mortgage Underwriter. There she acquired many skills, but discovered a passion for children in education. From there, she became a Guest Teacher in the Western Suburbs and is very happy to be on staff at ChiArts.

Born and raised in Chicago, Ms. Stezalski received her B.F.A. in Film and Television from the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University in 1994. In 1996, she enrolled at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy to study classical drawing and painting. She returned to Chicago in 2000, where she became an instructor at the School of the Art Institute (SAIC) and the Urban Gateways Center for the Arts. She also served as the SAIC resident teaching artist in Advanced Placement Drawing and Painting at the Chicago Public Schools/Gallery 37 Advanced Arts Education Program. Ms. Stezalski continues to paint and is a recipient of a grant from the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and received recognition as a teacher from the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts. Her work has been exhibited in the United States, England, Sweden, and Italy. http://www.DianaStezalski.net.

Casey McGonagle was born in 1977 and grew up in Los Angeles, California.  After attending the L.A. County High School for the Arts, he worked for over ten years as a commercial artist in the fashion and entertainment industries. In 2008 he set this career aside to pursue an interest in fine art photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he earned his BFA in 2011. Since 2008, his work has been exhibited in group shows internationally and in solo exhibitions at Chicago’s Hungryman Gallery and Kokoro Studio in San Francisco.  He is the recipient of the Lee Moyne Mark Scholarship, The SAIC Distinguished Scholars Grant, The World Less Traveled Grant and the Fred Endsley Memorial Fellowship. caseymcgonagle.com

Ms. Araujo was born and raised in Recife, a culturally rich metropolis in northeastern Brazil. She moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma in 2002 where she studied at Oklahoma State University. In 2006 she received her B.F.A in Broadcast Journalism Video Production with a Minor in Art History.  Shortly after finishing her undergrad, she moved to Chicago where she continues her education at DePaul University working towards a M.A. in Art Education. Ms. Araujo received her Illinois teaching certificate in Secondary Education in the Field of Visual Arts in January 2012. She uses art as a medium to give back to the community and has volunteered at the Art Institute of Chicago. Ms. Araujo had been awarded federal grants to support the arts in Centro Romero’s after school arts and literacy program. Aside from teaching, she enjoys working with water-colors and wheel throwing.  Her website is https://sites.google.com/a/catarinarteacher.com/catarinarte-com/.

Monica Balc was born and raised in Bucharest, Romania. She attended “Liceul Nicolae Tonitza,” an art high school. A year after her admittance to Universitatea de Arta in Bucharest, she moved to Arizona. She obtained a B.F.A. from Arizona State University in 1996. A year later, Ms. Balc moved to Chicago where she obtained an M.F.A. from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her selected exhibits include: Juried Shows: Knoxville Art Museum (TN); Old Town Art Fair (IL); Women Made Gallery (IL); Beverly Arts Center (IL); Suburban Fine Arts Center (IL); Three Arts Club (IL); Solo Shows: Galeria 003 (Bucharest); Lee Dulgar Gallery (IL); Selected Group Shows: North Park University (IL), Artemisia Gallery (IL); ARC Gallery (IL); Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago (IL); School of the Art Institute of Chicago (IL). Currently, Ms. Balc teaches art and works as an independent artist. http://www.chicagosculpture.com.

A native of Buffalo, NY, Megan Greene graduated with honors from the University of Notre Dame in 1998, receiving the Emil Jacques Gold Medal of Fine Art and the Mabel Mountain Award for Achievement in Painting. She earned an MFA degree from Rutgers University in 2002 and was awarded the Dean Bettenbender Memorial Performance Award. In recent years, she has lived in Brooklyn and Los Angeles as well as in New Zealand on a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship. Ms. Greene shows with Carrie Secrist Gallery in Chicago and Kinz Tillou Fine Art in New York. Recent solo exhibitions of her work include Secrist gallery, Kinz Tillou, Hallwalls in Buffalo, Katharine Mulherin in Toronto and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Maine. Her work is held in the permanent collections of the Albright Knox Art Gallery and the Burchfield Penney Art Center. In addition, Ms. Greene is a jewelry designer. She runs a small self-titled label and sells to stores nationwide. http://www.megangreene.com

Born in Vermont, Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford received his M.F.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2009. He has taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the British Institute and co-directed the Children's Expressive Arts Project, a not-for-profit that works domestically and internationally to effect change through the arts. Recently he spent a year living and working in Sicily as a Fulbright Scholar where he carried out a project that spanned teaching art to underprivileged teens, studying traditional boat building, and staging a reenactment of Ulysses escaping from the Cyclops Polyphemus on a large-scale floating sculpture. His work has been exhibited at the Hyde Park Art Center, Mess Hall and Gallery 400, among other spaces. http://www.jspofford.com

A son of several places, Devin Mawdsley is proud to now call Chicago home. He is a painter and a drawer who received his B.A. at the College of William and Mary in Chinese and an M.F.A in Studio Painting from Indiana University. He has experience in the visual arts, including drawing and digital photography, as well as language instruction, both Chinese and English. His recent exhibition history includes the Momenta Art Gallery in New York, Buy Art Not People in Chicago, as well as the Department of State, Art in Embassies program (Suva). You can find his work at www.devinmawdsley.com.

Iain Muirhead is a contemporary visual artist and an entrepreneur. He received his B.F.A. in 1996 from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) with emphasis in studio arts, design, and exhibition studies. He is a founding partner at NFA SPACE, a pioneering artist run space programming curated exhibits of contemporary emerging artists from 1996 through 2002. The project has received critical attention in leading art industry publications such as Art Forum, Art in America, Art Papers, and Sculpture Magazine and was featured in the 2009 Hyde Park Art Center exhibit Artists Run Chicago. Mr. Muirhead maintains a contemporary studio practice with roots in painting and performance. He was awarded professional artist residencies at The Cliff Dwellers Club in 2006 and The Ragdale Foundation in 2008. He works both individually and collaboratively, recently creating site specific installations with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and an ongoing project titled Chon Ji Dojang, an environment devoted to the study of Korean martial arts and violence prevention located in Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood. In Chicago, he exhibited at Northern Illinois University, Evanston Art Center, Beacon Street Gallery and Performance Space, Dogmatic Gallery, and Deluxe Projects, among others. http://www.iainmuirhead.com

Brian Robson was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the United Kingdom, where he studied Art and Design at the College of Arts and Technology in Bath Lane. Relocating to London and working out of Covent Garden, he divided his time between painting hyper-realistic illustrative scenes for major advertising agencies across the European Union and creating his large expressive canvas paintings for private collectors. His work took him overseas to a variety of places including California, Australia and New Zealand. Completing an MFA at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and obtaining a pass with highest honors, Brian currently alternates between teaching, painting and the riggers of commercial design and illustration. www.brianrobson.com

Ryan Swanson is a visual artist and designer. He received a BFA degree from Savannah College of Art and Design and an MFA degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His exhibition history includes the Chicago Cultural Center, The Shelburne Museum in Vermont, Rowland Contemporary Gallery, and the Hyde Park Art Center. Mr. Swanson has also worked as a graphic designer for over ten years. He currently designs in web and print, for a variety of clients, in addition to his art practice and teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. http://ryanswansondesign.com

Carl Sweets is an artist, educator and technology specialist. Skilled both in the arts and sciences, he received his B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from Kent State University in 1999 and his B.F.A. in Photography from Columbia College Chicago in 2005. He received his M.F.A. from Pratt Institute in 2007. Carl has worked in the Technology sector for dot com, engineering, and fortune 500 consulting. Amalgamating his backgrounds in Technology and Arts, Carl was the Coordinator of Technology at Marwen until 2010 and has instructed courses in Photography, Video, Stop-Motion, and Computer Arts at SAIC, South Suburban College, CAPE, and Lillstreet Art Center. Carl is an internationally exhibiting artist working primarily in Photography and Video.

Betsy Ko, flutist, has been an active performer and teacher in Chicago since moving to the area in 1991. She joined the faculty at Merit School of Music in 1994, where she teaches individuals and groups of all levels. During the 2008-09 school year, she coached the Lewis Weinberg Honors Flute Quartet which was one of the winning ensembles in Midwest Young Artists’ 2009 Chamber Music Competition. She was also a member of Merit's administrative staff, serving as Director of Bridges: Partners in Music from 2006 to 2009. As a performer, Ms. Ko freelances in a wide variety of settings. Performance resume highlights include being a soloist on “Live from Studio One” on WFMT and at the National Flute Association’s annual convention. She can also be heard performing on the compact disc “Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano”, a collection of Jewish cabaret music released in 2002 by Cedille Records. Ms. Ko received her M.M. in Flute Performance from DePaul University, where she studied with Mary Stolper, and she holds an undergraduate degree in Pure Mathematics from Brown University. She is currently completing her Illinois Type 10 certification in music at DePaul University.

Flutist Alicia Poot is an active performer in orchestral and chamber music in and around Chicago. She is a core member of the "Palomar Ensemble" of Accessible Contemporary Music (ACM), and the Chicago Composers' Orchestra. She has also performed with the Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Southwest Michigan, and Northwest Indiana Symphonies, as well as the Pine Mountain Music Festival, the Lira Ensemble, The Irish Tenors, and Chicago-based chamber groups Anaphora and International Chamber Artists. Ms. Poot is also a faculty member at Merit School of Music and has worked with student composers through the Young Composers' Program at Cleveland Institute of Music and ACM's High School Composers' Workshop. She has been a winner or finalist in several competitions and has performed in festivals in Canada and Italy: Orford Arts Centre, Symphony Orchestra Academy of the Pacific, Rome Festival, and the Julius Baker Masterclasses. She has studied at DePaul University, The University of Akron (MM), Western Michigan University (BM), and The Catholic University of America.

A 2008 graduate of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Mr. Beach is principal violin for Chicago Folk Operetta. He began studying the violin at the age of 12 and holds a B.M. in violin performance from the University of Memphis. Mr. Beach is currently completing his thesis requirements for a M.M.E. with a concentration in Violin Pedagogy from Indiana University. He is on faculty at the Merit School of Music in Chicago and performs with a variety of orchestras and ensembles throughout Illinois and Indiana. He has performed in orchestras and chamber groups throughout United States and Europe. In Chicago he has performed with a diverse set of ensembles which include the Millennium Chamber Players, the Anaphoria Quartet, New Philharmonic, Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony, and duo recital with pianist Toshiko Suzuki for the Peace Concert series. Mr. Beach has worked with distinguished conductors Cliff Colnot, David Effron, Sir Mark Elder, Alan Gilbert, Bernard Haitink, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Michael Stern, and Leonard Slatkin. His major teachers have included Susanna Perry-Gilmore, Susan Waterbury, and Mimi Zweig.

Anthony Bruno is a gifted saxophonist, clarinetist, and flutist working in Chicago and throughout the country.  He has dedicated his life to learning the styles of jazz and R&B but still carries a deep passion for performing all music, especially classical.  Currently Anthony teaches a full schedule at ChiArts and also teaches the Wood Wind Techniques class at DePaul University School of Music.  Anthony's latest and most exciting project involves his band Vertikal, an audio journey into uncharted territory exploring soul, R&B, hip-hop, and jazz: Urban Fusion.  Anthony holds a B.M. in Music Education from DePaul University.

Originally from Costa Rica, Mr. Campos was a member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra. He also performs for the Joffrey Ballet and the Chicago Sinfonietta. He has performed with a variety of orchestras in the area including the Milwaukee Symphony and the Elgin Symphony, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica and the World Youth Symphony. Mr. Campos received a Master of Music Degree from Roosevelt University and his Bachelors Degree from Conservatoire de Musique de Quebec. His trumpet teachers include Adolph Herseth of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Marc Ridenour of the CSO, Channing Philbrick of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Jean Louis Chatel of the Montreal Symphony and Robert Platt from the Berlin Philharmonic. The Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation awarded him with a second prize in National Competition in Cadada and third prize in the International Brass Quintet Competition in Narbon France.

Natalie Chami is a composer, performer, and music educator. She holds a Bachelor's in Music with an emphasis in Music Education from Northwestern University. While at Northwestern, she concentrated on classical voice, opera performance, and choral conducting with renowned professors Robert A. Harris, soprano Pamela Hinchman, and music educators and researchers Bennett Reimer and Maud Hickey. During her time at Northwestern, she acted as director of many volunteer music outreach groups including the Music Learning Community (MLC) and UpBeat!, which organized free music lessons in the Evanston and Chicago area. In addition to her degree, she is also Illinois Teacher Certified for grades K-12 music. Ms. Chami is also an active member of Chicago's ambient and experimental music scene. Her two person ensemble, l'éternèbre, is currently in production on their second album with Chicago's Plustapes label. She continues to record and perform under the solo name TAL with many of Chicago's best experimental and improvisational musicians, new composers, and video artists. Ms. Chami is one of ChiArts' founding teachers and curriculum authors. She hopes for ChiArts students to leave the classroom with a connection to how music affects every individual, and the tools to cultivate their passion for the arts and share it with others. Her work is featured on http://www.talsounds.com and http://www.leternebre.com.

Thomas Clippert indulges the wide variety of music available for the guitar, from the early Renaissance to the present day. He frequently performs as both soloist and chamber musician throughout the Chicago area. He has appeared with a variety of ensembles including L’Opera Piccola, Heartland Voices, CUBE, The University Of Chicago New Music Ensemble, the Yale Guitar Orchestra, and the Northwest Chicago String Quartet. Mr. Clippert is a graduate of the Yale School of Music where he studied with Benjamin Verdery and was awarded the Eliot Fisk Guitar Prize. Additional studies include Phillip de Fremery at the the Mount Holyoke Guitar Master Class and Patrick Roux at the Domaine Forget Music and Dance Academy in Quebec. Mr. Clippert currently teaches guitar, jazz guitar, and chamber music, at The Merit School of Music, Oakton Community College, Wilbur Wright College, and The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.

John Elmquist received his DMA in composition from the University of Memphis, and his MM in piano performance from Virginia Commonwealth University. He serves on the faculties the Chicago High School of the Arts, the Merit School of Music and the People's Music School. He is also the Music Director at Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Chicago and works in and around Chicago as a bass player. In 1999, Mr. Elmquist formed HardArt groop as a vehicle for performing his music. This ad hoc ensemble, ranging in size from 3-20 players, has produced 14 recordings and currently performs at various venues in Chicago. The group has performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, the Green Mill and Northeastern Illinois University. In January 2011, Mr. Elmquist won first prize in the Rapido! composition competition held by the Atlanta Chamber players, receiving a commission to be performed in the 2011-12 seasons of the Atlanta Chamber Players, Boston Musica Viva and Chicago's Fifth House Ensemble. Also in 2011 he will hold a fellowship at Georgia's Hambidge Creative Residency Program.

hardartgroop.com

Ms. Fernando, a native of Sri Lanka, has lived in Chicago since 1981, except for the past 7 years when she temporarily ‘migrated’ to New York and Switzerland. She holds piano performance diplomas from the Royal Schools of Music and Trinity College of Music, a bachelors degree in piano performance from the American Conservatory of Music, and a masters degree in musicology from the University of Chicago. She is also a certified teacher of English as a second language. Ms. Fernando considers herself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to teach both piano and theory, as well as to have performed widely as soloist and accompanist, in Sri Lanka, India, Chicago, New York and most recently in Switzerland, where she was on the piano faculty of the International School of Geneva. Prior to leaving Chicago in 2003, she was on the faculty and administrative staff of the Merit School of Music, St. Therese Chinese Catholic School in Chicago, and was the Midwest representative for the Royal Schools of Music. In New York, she was the pianist for the United Nations choir, and briefly had her own music school, the Taprobane Academy of Music in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. In addition to teaching at ChiArts, Ms. Fernando is back on the faculty of St. Therese, as their choral director and general music teacher. The daughter of a musician, she is the mother of three children, two of whom are professional musicians themselves. Ms. Fernando looks forward to accompanying the students at ChiArts on their journey towards their artistic goals. 

Raised in Taiwan and a licensed pharmacist there, Hsing-Huei Huang came to the United States to purse higher musical education. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University as a piano performance major with both College and University Honors and was a recipient for Piano Project Scholarship at the University of Texas at Austin where she received her Masters of Piano Performance. Her piano teachers include David DeVeau, Earl Wild, Enrique Graf, Danielle Martin and Brian Connelly. She has accompanied numerous recitals, choirs, and competitions around the United States and Taiwan. She also was the choir director at the Hyde Park Presbyterian Church while pursing her graduate degree. She is certified in piano pedagogy under the instruction of Professor Hanni Li and taught secondary piano studies for non-piano majors and at the preparatory school program at Carnegie Mellon University. She is a frequent judicator for festivals and competitions. She was on the piano faculty at St. John’s School at Houston, is currently on the piano faulty at the Chicago High School for the Arts, and is the chairperson for the SonataSonatina Festival for the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association. Ms. Huang also maintains a private piano studio in Hyde Park and is an active piano accompanist for choirs and instrumentalists.

Jeff Kelly has played and studied drum set and percussion for more than two decades. He was fortunate to have received a large part of his training from the late Alan Dawson, who mentored such drum set luminaries as Tony Williams and Vinnie Colaiuta. He studied Music at Boston University, and went on to earn his Masters Degree in Jazz from The Berklee College of Music & Boston Conservatory. There he continued his drum set work under the fine tutelage of Ron Savage, and Jon Hazilla, who was a student of Max Roach's. He studied Brazilian and Afro-Cuban music with Ed Uribe, Sa Davis, and Bobby Sanabria (Dizzy Gillespe) and West African drumming with Joe Galeota (maker of JAG drums). He traveled to Ghana for additional study with Emanuel, Rueben, and Victor Agbeli, sons of Master Drummer Godwin Agbeli. Jeff is an experienced, enthusiastic, and dedicated Drum Teacher and an active performer in genres including jazz, funk, folk, rock, r&b, pop, and "other". In addition to his work as a Professional Musician, he is a Producer, a Recording Engineer with major label credits, a Songwriter whose works have gotten international airplay, and a Composer for clients such as Twentieth Century Fox Searchlight, MTV, Frito Lay, and Pepsi. Having worked on production teams with Grammy Nominees and Oscar Winners, he brings to his classroom an understanding of the type of professionalism it takes to succeed in the Music Industry. Jeff is a big fan of science, history, football, and loves to fish, having recently caught a ferociously bellicose 45 inch Northern Pike.

An avid soloist, choral singer, accompanist, and conductor, Daniel Kenworthy is proud to have joined the faculty of music at ChiArts. Having studied voice with Ellen Hargis and Aaron Sheehan, he has performed with Chicago's Music of the Baroque, Apollo's Fire (the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra), and Philadelphia's Vox Ama Deus ensemble, among others. Daniel studied conducting with Luis Biava, Lawrence Wagner, and William Silvester. His trombone teachers have included Blair Bollinger (Phila. Orch.) and Donald Harwood (NYPO), and he studied piano under the guidance of David Pasbrig. He holds a firm belief that music, as a liberal art and a window to the world, should be explored from every angle. Mr. Kenworthy has taught high school and middle school orchestras, choruses, and a host of private students for the past decade. Originally from the Philadelphia area, Mr. Kenworthy earned his Master of Arts degree from Case Western Reserve University in a joint program with the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied music history and vocal performance. There, he completed his thesis on the compositional rhetoric of Baroque composer Heinrich Schütz. He has also studied trombone and piano performance at Temple University's Esther Boyer College of Music, and The College of New Jersey, where he earned his degree in Music Education.

Gaye Klopack has taught vocal music in the Chicago Public Schools for over 15 years and has been a private voice teacher for over 20 years. She also has taught choral methods and vocal music education at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago.  Ms. Klopack has been a soloist with Ars Musica Chicago, is a former member of Grant Park Symphony Chorus and Chicago Choral Artists and has performed as a recitalist in the Chicago area for many years. As a jazz vocalist, she has performed with Oscar Brown Jr., Clark Terry, Erwin Helfer and Johnny Frigo. She has also been a member of Unified Jazzvocal jazz group and Old Town Cool, directed by Mark Burnell. She holds memberships in The Society of American Musicians, Internos and NATS (National Association of Singing), where her private voice students have won places in Chicago and Regional Chapter Auditions.  In 2009 she was honored by the United States Department of Education as a "Distinguished Teacher" for mentoring her student, Julian Cook, who became Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Her students have also won places in Monastero's Bel Canto Opera Contest, the Society of American Musicians Auditions and have been featured on WFMT radio's Introductions, a program for exceptionally talented young artists. Ms. Klopack has served on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, is a member of the Jazz Institute of Chicago, and is the North Chicago Representative for the Chicago Chapter of National Association of Teachers of Singing. Most recently, Ms. Klopack was featured on the front cover of Choral Director Magazine in the November 2010 issue. This was followed by the May/June 2011 issue which featured a cover photo of some of her students from her Choir.

Denise Knowlton received her DMA in vocal music performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, an Artist’s Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music and her MM from Bowling Green State University. She is a Program Assistant for the Chicago Children’s Choir and the children’s Music Director at Old St. Patrick’s Church. She is a supplemental member of the Grant Park Festival Chorus and the Chicago Symphony Chorus. She has been performing with regional opera and musical theater companies for 10 years, most recently performing with St. Louis’ Union Avenue Opera and Muddy River Opera in Quincy, IL as Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance. She has dabbled in musical theater most notably performing as Aunt March in Little Women and Nettie Fowler in Carousel. As a soloist Denise has sung with the Kansas City Civic Orchestra, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra. She was a Teaching Artist for Lyric Opera Kansas City for 3 seasons, traveling to 35 elementary schools as the “Wicked Wolf of the West” and an “Ugly Stepsister” in original children’s operas and was a regular member of the KC Lyric opera chorus for 3 seasons. She stage managed an all-girl opera, One False Move which tackles the subject of bullying, for 6 performances with the KC Lyric and acted as a Teaching Counselor at LOKC’s Opera Camp for 4 seasons. Dr. Knowlton taught applied lessons through Musical Bridges with UMKC’s Community Music and Dance Academy, aimed at providing music lessons to underserved schools in Kansas City and maintained a studio of 15 private students as an instructor for CMDA. She will portray the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors this fall with Petite Opera Productions in Park Ridge.

Thomas Kociela is currently the Winds and Brass Coach and Assistant Conductor for the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra's Debut Orchestra and was previously an instructor for the CYSO's Music Pathways program. Mr. Kociela coaches the low brass section at the University of Chicago, works individually with brass students at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, and maintains his own private studio. He has taught rhythm classes to beginning and intermediate instrumental music students at the Triton College Preparatory Music School and was the acting band director at Rhodes Elementary School (K-8) in River Grove during the fall of 2007. Thomas has given one of his custom masterclasses titled Fitting In - Thoughts on Becoming a Welcome Addition to Any Ensemble; A Move Towards Becoming Your Own Best Teacher; or Component Counting - Enough Gimmicks! A Counting System that Actually Works at Merit School of Music and at many other school music programs. He will soon launch TKBB Press, a music education publishing company dedicated to providing creative new ideas for musicians and music educators. More information is available at TKBBPress.com.

Mr. Kociela is a frequent substitute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on tenor trombone and has been featured on the euphonium and bass trumpet within the orchestra. Over the past four years he has shared the stage with conductors and artists such as: Bernard Haitink, Michael Tilson Thomas, James Conlon,Yo-Yo Ma, Michelle DeYoung, Sir James Galway, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Sir Patrick Stewart. He has traveled to Carnegie Hall with the CSO three times, performing under Pierre Boulez and Riccardo Muti. He also performed with the CSO for Festa Muti! A Free Concert for Chicago in Millennium Park. Mr. Kociela has performed with the Ars Viva Symphony of Skokie, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, West Michigan Symphony, Chicago Composers Orchestra, Kenosha Symphony, Gaudete Brass Quintet, Racine Symphony, Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra and his own Chicago Trombone Project - a trombone quartet that is a constant work In progress. Thomas is featured with horn player Matt Bronstein overdubbing a six part brass choir in arrangements by composer Mike Cunningham. Thus far the brass choir has been heard along with saxophonist Steve Cole, pianist Russ Ferrante, singer/songwriter Brandon McHose and a holiday release in 2012 will feature jazz legend and trombonist Curtis Fuller. Thomas is also the producer for the Gaudete Brass Quintet's upcoming brass and organ album. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Music Education from Roosevelt University, Chicago College of Performing Arts, and studied music education with Charles Groeling and trombone with Jay Friedman.

Kevin Korschgen, jazz drummer and music educator, first moved to Chicago in 1980 to join a band called "Rush Hour". He began teaching jazz in 1983 as band director at Notre Dame High School for Boys, where he led the school's award-winning jazz ensemble. He later developed a dynamic multi-cultural Latin Jazz Ensemble at Lake View High School in Chicago, and has instructed jazz combos at Shell Lake Arts Center, Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association, and New Mexico School of Music. Mr. Korschgen recently served as the Artistic Director of the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association and Director of Bands at Santa Fe High School in New Mexico. He returned to Chicago in 2007 and is presently the Principal Conductor of the Chicago Public Schools All-City High School Jazz Ensemble and teaches music at Harlan Community Academy High School. He is an Illinois certified teacher (Fine Arts K-12) with degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (BME) and VanderCook College of Music (MME). As a musician, Mr. Korschgen has performed with many of Chicago's finest jazz artists, toured with trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, and worked with pianists Lyle Mays and Dave Grusin. In collaboration with The Jazz Institute of Chicago, he has presented workshops in jazz arranging for CPS band and choral instructors. His compositions and arranging skills are also displayed on the recording First Session by The Kevin Korschgen Jazz Quartet.

Tina Laughlin was born in Elgin, Illinois and attended high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan.  She received both her B.M. and M.M. in Percussion Performance with a minor in Art History from DePaul University.  Her training also included eight years with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, where she performed under the direction of Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez and Sir Georg Solti.  As a freelance artist, Laughlin performs with many orchestras and theaters in the Chicagoland area including the Lyric Opera Orchestra, Grant Park Orchestra, Lake Forest Symphony, San Francisco Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, Chicago Sinfonietta, Light Opera Works, Drury Lane Oak Brook and the Elgin Symphony.  She is a strong advocate of new music and appears regularly on the New Music DePaul concert series, performs with CUBE, and has performed several of John Eaton's operas as well as many other projects.  In 2000, Laughlin became a core member of the Fulcrum Point New Music Project.  In the fall of 2003 Laughlin performed in the Midwest Premiere of the Philip Glass operas "The Sound of a Voice" and "Hotel of Dreams" at the Court Theatre in Chicago.  In May of 2009 Laughlin recorded Michael Abels’ “Aquadia” which is currently playing at the Shedd Aquarium as accompaniment to  the live show “Fantasea”.  She appeared live on WFMT radio in January of 2010, performing with CUBE new music ensemble. In March of 2010, Laughlin premiered “Charged and Calm Surfaces”  by Chicago composer George Flynn. “Charged and Calm Surfaces” was written for and dedicated to Laughlin and clarinetist Christie Miller. Laughlin has recorded with Millar Brass Ensemble, The Elgin Symphony and the Center for Black Music Research of Columbia College. Laughlin is also seen in the film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York  as the cymbal player in Carnegie Hall. Laughlin teaches at DePaul University, Merit Music and ChiArts. She also really likes to salsa dance.

Jennifer McCabe has more than 25 years of solo and collaborative performance experience. She is the managing and artistic director/pianist for Opera on Tap Chicago, a non-profit organization bringing opera to the masses that has been televised on WCIU and Chicago Tonight. She has a thriving piano studio in Morton Grove and is on the faculty of The Musical Offering in Evanston where she is a private teacher and instructor of musicianship classes for ages 5-10 as well as GLEE, Opera and Comprehensive Music camps.

As a collaborative pianist and music director, she has worked with notable organizations such as the Music Institute of Chicago, The Opera Divas, North Shore Opera Hour, Northwestern University Music Theater program, Chicago NATS, Actors Training Center, JCC Young Actor’s Ensemble, Big Shot’s and Davenport’s Piano Bars, DePaul University, the Chicago Waldorf School and Lincoln Park High School choirs.

She is honored to regularly perform with distinguished singers who are affiliated with the Grant Park and CSO Choruses, faculty at Loyola and Roosevelt Universities, Northwestern University graduates and more. 

She holds her BA in Piano from Northern Illinois University and pursued graduate studies in Music Education and Performance at NIU and MTSU. Piano studies with Dr. William Koehler, Mr. Donald Walker and Ms. Charlene Harb. Composition studies with Mr. Mike O’Mara. Voice studies with Ms. Diane Schoff and Ms. Marley Dzis.  Additional instrumental expertise: steel pan, clarinet, saxophone, harpsichord.

Devvora Papatheodorou has an M.M. in Piano Performance from DePaul University, a B.M. in Piano Performance from Nikos Skalkotas Conservatory and a Degree in Harmony from Model Conservatory. In addition, she studied piano technique and chamber music for five years with Deborah Sobol of the Chicago Chamber Musicians. She has had master classes with Mary Stolper, Yehuda Hanani, Jerry Grossman, William Cernota, and Christopher Costanza, among others. Ms. Papatheodorou has extensive experience in teaching piano, piano ensemble and theory. She has had training and certification in YAMAHA's Clavinova lab and trained piano faculty in group class repertoire, class management and methodologies. Ms. Papatheodorou has coached one‐piano four‐hand and two‐piano ensembles, as well as mixed chamber groups for several years and currently teaches at Dominican University. She has had several years of solo, chamber music and one-piano found-hands performing experience, as well as accompanying other instrumentalists and vocalists.

A native of Chicago, Jeffrey Gabriel Silva began studying classical guitar at the Merit School of Music and received a BM degree from DePaul University, majoring in classical guitar and composition with Mark Maxwell and Juan Campoverde. He is a recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where he studied composition with Mara Helmuth, Michael Fiday, and Joel Hoffman. Mr. Silva has also participated in numerous summer festivals as a classical guitarist and/or composer including the Domaine Forget Summer Academy, Mount Orford Summer Electronic Music Workshop, and June in Buffalo. Mr. Silva is currently a faculty member at Wilbur Wright College and the Chicago High School for the Arts. He is also a founding member of the Avanti Guitar Trio.http://www.jeffreysilva.com

Ms. Wester is a very active Stage Director and Acting teacher in the Chicago area. Currently she serves as the Stage Director for the newly created Opera Music Theater Ensemble which is part of the Reneé Flemming Solo Voice initiative program between the Merit School of Music and Lyric Opera of Chicago for teenage singers in the Chicago-land area. Ms. Wester was the Stage Director/Vocal Coach for Chicago Opera Theater’s ‘Chicago Opera Theater for Teens' – a paid apprenticeship program sponsored by the City of Chicago with Chicago Opera Theater. She has been active in Music Theater education for teens as well being the Stage Director of the Summer Musical Theater Workshop with Light Opera Works for four seasons as well as leading the DePaul Community Music’s Music Theater Workshop for Teens. Ms. Wester is also very active stage director. She recently returned from St. Petersburg Florida after having directed their season opener of A Little Night Music. Ms. Wester has developed a strong relationship with The St. Petersburg Opera in Florida.  She began with their 2009 spring production of La Traviata and the Fall Production of Into the Woods to rave reviews from both audiences and critics alike. Ms. Wester also has led productions at the Bay View Music Festival (The Magic Flute), Intimate Opera (La Traviata and Cosí fan Tutte) and Opera Company Brooklyn (Roméo et Juliette).  She will lead the Fall production at Savoyaires in Evanston, IL of three Gilbert and Sullivan one-acts (The Zoo, Eyes and No Eyes and Trial by Jury).   Ms. Wester has been an Assistant Director for Chicago Opera Theater, Utah Opera, Indianapolis Opera and San Diego Opera. As a classical singer, Ms. Wester was a Studio Artist with Utah Opera. She has also appeared as a featured soloist in the Welcome Yule Christmas concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Dabeeb in the North American Premiere of Marriages between Zones 3, 4 and 5 by Phillip Glass as well as productions with Chicago Opera Theater, Court Theater, Porchlight Theater, DePaul Opera Theater, Intermezzo Opera in Hartford, CT, American Opera Group, Elgin Opera and multiple productions with Light Opera Works in Evanston, IL. Ms. Wester holds a B.Mus. from Roosevelt University and an M.Mus from DePaul University. ajwester.com 

Reginald Harris began his dance training at the age of five with his uncle and mentor Marshall Lindsey. He began his classical ballet training at age twelve with former Dance Theatre of Harlem principal dancer Homer Bryant. After high school, Mr. Harris studied year round as a professional division student at The Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. He has danced professionally with the River North Chicago Dance Company, Dances Patrelle, and Ballet Austin, dancing the works of Marius Petipa, George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Stephen Mills, Thang Dao, Thaddeus Davis, Viktor Kabaniev, Sidra Bell, Gina Patterson, Frank Chaves, Harrison McEldwoney, and Kevin Iega Jeff. Mr. Harris has taught at the Ballet Austin Academy and various studios around the country. As a choreographer, he was commissioned to create five ballets for Ballet Austin II and was named Resident Choreographer for the Ballet Conservatory of South Texas for the 2006-2008 seasons. He was the 2008 winner of the Gem City Balletʼs choreographic competition. Mr. Harris is also a regular guest teacher for the River North Chicago Dance Company.

Originally from Georgetown, Kentucky, Ms. Ford began her dance training at age 8 at the Lexington Ballet under the direction of Karl Kaufman. She went on to earn her B.F.A. in Dance from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. While studying at CCM, she trained with James Truitte and fell in love with the Horton Technique and modern dance. After relocating to Chicago, Ms. Ford danced for 9 years as a company member with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater and self-produced several dance concerts as Nucleus Dance Collective. Currently, Ms. Ford serves as Associate Artistic Director to Hyde Park School of Dance, Tyego Dance Project and Tyego Next Generation. She is the director of Hyde Park School of Dance's outreach program for the community and director of the modern dance department. She is delighted to be returning to ChiArts for a second year in the dance department. Ms. Ford is also a certified Kundalini Yoga Instructor, certified group fitness instructor and Clinical Exercise Specialist.

A former dancer with the Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre, Zineb Chraibi grew up in Casablanca, Morocco where she first started training. She later returned to her native city of Paris to study ballet, modern, and jazz, then to Montreal to pursue her training at Les ballets Jazz De Montreal. In 1991, she completed her BA in Dance Magna Cum Laude at Point Park College in Pittsburgh, PA while performing with the Playhouse Dance Theatre. Since moving to Chicago, Ms. Chraibi has performed with with the Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre, Winifred Haun and Dancers as well as with various independent choreographers. She has served on the faculty of the Conservatory of Dance at Barat College, The Chicago Academy for The Arts, The Joel Hall Dance Center and taught at the Lou Conte Dance Studio. She is currently on the faculty at the Dance Center of Columbia College, the Joffrey Ballet and guest teaches in the U.S. and abroad.

Nicky Chronopoulos is a graduate of the Chicago Academy for the Arts. She continued her studies with Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater, Chicago Multi Cultural Dance Center, Deeply Rooted Productions and Lisa Johnson-Willingham. She has danced professionally with Bryant Ballet, Randy Duncan, The Joel Hall Dancers and Dallas Black Dance Theater. Ms. Chronopoulos has most recently danced with the Willingham Project, where she also served as rehearsal director and was a part of the creative process behind "A Bronzeville Nutcracker". She was invited in January 2011 to become the Artistic Director of AileyCamp Chicago, where she worked as the Administrative Director for the past 7 years. In addition to her professional dance career, Ms. Chronopoulos is a graduate of The Chicago School of Massage Therapy, a certified Gyrotonic® and Gyrokinesis® Instructor, as well as a Level I Gyrotonic® Pre Tainer. Having twice completed the McEntire Pilates Comprehensive Professional Track, she was invited by Trent McEntire to become a Master Teacher in the fall of 2009. It is this combined experience and love of teaching dance and movement that she brings to her students at ChiArts.

Ms. Davis is a native of St. Louis, Missouri, where she danced with the Saint Louis Muny Opera and trained in ballet, lyrical, jazz, and tap. At the "Muny," she served as assistant to directors Matt Lenz, Peter Flynn, and Ed Hastings on their productions of Aida, Gypsy, and Oliver, and was exposed to such choreographers as Liza Gennaro, Darren Lee, and Gemze de Lappe. She received her B.A. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University, focusing on the adaptation of literature to the stage with an emphasis on French theater. Shortly thereafter, Ms. Davis worked as the Assistant Dramaturg and Development Associate for Greasy Joan & Co, a former Chicago theater that produced modern interpretations of classic plays. Most recently, Ms. Davis received her Master's in Education in Communication Arts from Webster University, and continues to pursue her love of dance. As an arts educator, Ms. Davis has worked with Variety Club of St. Louis and St. Louis Metro Theater Company's Young Artists' Theater Lab. She currently teaches at Francis W. Parker School as well as at ChiArts.

Maliwan Diemer began her dance training in Columbus, Ohio at the age of three. She continued her studies with RAD certified teacher, Ng Siew Fong while her family lived abroad. Ballet became her passion and by the age of thirteen she had been invited to study and perform with Indiana University’s Ballet Theater, where she trained with Violette Verdy, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Patricia McBride, Jacques and Virginia Cesbron, Leslie Peck and Doricha Sales, along with notable guest choreographers and directors. A long time instructor for Indiana University’s Pre-College Ballet Program, she also spent a year as Associate Instructor for the African American Dance Company under the direction of Iris Rosa. She is now on faculty at the Lou Conte Dance Studio, serves as faculty member and Performance Project Director for Chicago Ballet Arts, is on the faculty at Soul2Sole, guest teaches for the University of Chicago’s UBallet and has taught company class for DanceWorks Chicago. She is pleased to join the dance faculty at ChiArts this fall, teaching ballet and pointe. Maliwan is currently a professional ballroom dancer, specializing in International Latin. She has recently won Rising Star and Open events and works with primary coaches Donald Johnson, Ray Rivers and Sam Sodano. Maliwan holds a M.A. in Arts Administration and a B.S.O.F. in Ballet and Political Science, magna cum laude, both from Indiana University.

Ricardo J. Garcia (Mayaguez, Puerto Rico) began his training at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, where he earned a BA in Dance. Upon graduating, he joined the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, under the direction of founder Jeraldine Blunden and subsequently Kevin Ward. At DCDC, he had the honor to work with acclaimed choreographers Bill T. Jones, Doug Verone, Donald McKayle, Ronald K. Brown and Dwight Rhoden, among others. Additionally, he was the recipient of the Josie Award for Outstanding Male Dancer of the Year in 2002. Mr. Garcia has also performed with Walt Disney World, Illinois Ballet, Peoria Ballet, Rhythm in Shoes and most recently with Luna Negra Dance Theater. He has conducted classes throughout the US and Russia and his choreography has been performed by Luna Negra Dance Theater, Dayton Contemporary second Company, South Dayton Dance Theater, Stivers School for the Arts and Piel Morena Contemporary Dance, where he serves as resident choreographer. Mr. Garcia is currently completing his Masters of Science in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy.

Suzanne Lopez was born and raised in Summit, New Jersey, and trained at the Garden State Ballet School, New Jersey School of Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet School in New York. Upon graduating from high school, she was asked to join the Joffrey II Dancers. After one year, she was invited to join the Joffrey Ballet. Ms. Lopez retired from the Joffrey in June 2010, after a 20-year career with the company. She danced principal roles in ballets by such choreographers as Gerald Arpino, Robert Joffrey, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Alonzo King, John Cranko, José Limón, Antony Tudor, Twyla Tharp, Lar Lubovitch, and Frederick Ashton. Ms. Lopez has worked as a ballet master for the Joffrey, and has rehearsed and staged works for the company. She has also been a guest teacher and coach at various schools around the country. Currently Ms. Lopez teaches at Chicago Ballet Arts, as well as company class for Luna Negra Dance Theater, and is thrilled to be on the faculty at ChiArts.

Lizzie MacKenzie has spent 6 years dancing and touring with Rivernorth Chicago Dance Company and 5 years doing the same with Giordano Dance Chicago.  For the past 12 holiday seasons she has been a featured dancer with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s “Welcome Yule” and has also been a guest artist with the Dance Chicago touring company (“Stars Of Dance Chicago”), Lehrer Dance, Black Box Dance Company, the Boston Youth Ballet, and the Michigan Classic Ballet.  She has had the pleasure of working with many of  todays biggest names in choreography including, Robert Battle, Sidra Bell, Frank Chaves, Randy Duncan, Ron De Jesus, Liz Imperio, Kevin Iega Jeff, Harrison Mceldowny, Mia Michaels, Eddy Ocampo, Tony Powell,  Davis Robertson, Laurie Stallings and Lynn Taylor Corbit.   In August of 2002 she was featured on the cover of DANCE magazine and has since been featured in various magazines as a model for Leo’s Dancewear and Illinois Theatrical.  Lizzie spends most of her free time teaching and choreographing all over the U.S and her jazz class has been listed in Dancespirit magazine as one of the top 3 dance classes to take in Chicago.  She has been given various awards for her choreography, including the “New Voice” honor from Dance Chicago in 2006 and the Dance Chicago Choreographer of the Year award in 2008, sponsored by the Cliff Dwellers association.  Most Recently Lizzie was accepted as a preliminary finalist for the A.W.A.R.D show!, Chicago 2009 for her piece entitled “Altered Interactions” on Nomi Lamad Dance Company.  Always on the move, Lizzie has taken her love of teaching to another level and founded Extensions Dance Company, a Chicago based, Not For Profit dance company for young people dedicated to creating well rounded, free thinking artists.

Mike Przygoda is a freelance composer and multi-instrumentalist. As a composer he has written an opera, numerous works for orchestra and chamber ensembles (some of which were performed at Orchestra Hall), film and theatre scores, and rock and jazz songs. He has toured the United States several times with bands and as a music director for Second City. He has accompanied dance classes at the Joffrey Ballet, Columbia College, Northwestern University, River North, and Giorodano. Mr. Przygoda is a company member with Barrel Of Monkeys which is an educational arts-ensemble that teaches creative writing to kids at Chicago Public Schools, as well as Strawdog Theatre where he works as a composer and music director. Currently, he is very active composing music for storefront theatre around Chicago, teaching private instrumental lessons, performing with bands, and producing recording sessions.

Kim Sagami's professional background began with American Ballet Theater II, then joined the Joffrey Ballet under the directorship of Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino and completed her career with the National Tour of ‘Phantom of the Opera'. With the Joffrey Ballet for fourteen years, Ms. Sagami participated in many significant historical dance restorations, revivals, as well as newly commissioned works by a wide range of choreographers such as Ashton, Arpino, Cranko, Kudelka, King, Nijinsky, Nijinska, Massine, Tudor, Taylor, Dean, Moulton, Pucci, Kylian, Morris, Sander, Joffrey, and Balanchine. Presently, Ms. Sagami teaches at ChiArts, the Joffrey Academy, and Chicago Ballet Arts. During the summer months, she conducts master classes and teaches at Interlochen Center for the Arts and Fort Wayne Ballet. Ms. Sagami also holds a Bachelor's degree in Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. She maintains time between both architecture and dance.

Michael Snipe Jr. was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended the Baltimore School for the Arts  and received his B.F.A from The Juilliard School. Upon graduation he won The Hector Zaraspe award for Choreographic honors. He has performed with Ailey 2, The David Parson Dance Company and Robert Battle's company Battle Works. Throughout his career he has worked with Hinton Battle, Paul Taylor, Jiří Kylián, Hans Van Manon, and Twyla Tharp. He has also performed in Swing! The Musical and Movin' Out. He was in the original cast for the first national tour of Movin' Out, and later went back to New York to perform with the Broadway Cast. Michael has spent the last few summers touring through various cities in Japan. When he isn't touring he is teaching, choreographing and mentoring kids at AileyCamp. Michael is currently a member of the Irish Modern Dance Theater, and is on faculty at Columbia College, Roosevelt University, The Joffrey Academy, and ChiArts.

Rob Chambers has more than twenty-five years of professional theater experience as a director, actor, educator and administrator. He is the founding Artistic Director of Theatre Mir and directed the company's productions of "Beautiful City," "The Arab-Israeli Cookbook," and "The Prisoner's Dilemma. He has taught acting, directing, playwrighting and theatre history and literature courses at The Theatre School at DePaul University. Mr. Chambers is a guest artist faculty member of The Second City Training Center where he was formerly President of Training and Education for The Second City. While at The Second City, he oversaw programs in the United States and Canada, growing the division into one of the largest actor training programs in the world. At Second City, he also served as Producer of The Second City Detroit, Producer of “The Laugh Track” television program, and Board member of The Second City Foundation. He has held staff positions at Hartford Stage Company, Goodman Theatre, League of Chicago Theatres, Melanie Stewart Dance and South Jersey Regional Theatre, and has served as a consultant, board member, and volunteer for numerous arts and service organizations. As a director, he has worked with Common Ground Stage & Film in New York, and with The Second City Educational Touring Company, Silk Road, Circle, Live Bait, City Lit, Bailiwick, Public Trust, Donny's Skybox, Chicago Dramatists, Women's Theatre Alliance The Theatre School at DePaul University, and Barat College in Chicago. He earned an M.F.A. in Directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University, and a B.A. in Radio-TV-Film from Temple University.

Scott Westerman is a Chicago-based actor, director, and teacher. As an actor, he has worked with numerous theatre companies in the Chicago area, including Chicago Shakespeare, Northlight, Apple Tree, Chicago Dramatists, Strawdog, Lifeline, Stage Left, Crew of Patches, Mary Arrchie, Festival Theatre of Oak Park, Pegasis Players, Incognito, Borealis, and Reverie Theatre Company, of which he is a co-founder and co-Artistic Director. Nationally, he has worked with The Shakespeare Theatre Company and Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.; with Everyman Theatre in Baltimore; with The Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, South Carolina; and with The Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. Mr. Westerman has done several commercials and has appeared in the television show Prison Break on FOX, as well as a pilot for HBO's The Washingtonienne. He received his MFA from The Shakespeare Theatre Company's Academy for Classical Acting at the George Washington University.

Annie Calhoun is a Chicago native who received her undergrad degree in Theatre Arts and English Education from Taylor University in Indiana, then went on to receive her Masters in Fine Arts in Acting from DePaul University's Theatre School. While attending DePaul, she fell in love with improvisation and has since then completed the iO Training Program and performs there with her group Almost ATLANTa. As an actor, Ms. Calhoun was most recently in *Anne Frank* at Metropolis Performing Arts Center. She is an avid writer and has also composed music for Northlight Theatre Academy, where she directs and teaches in the summer. Ms. Calhoun recently had five short pieces she wrote and directed performed in a festival at A Red Orchid Theatre this June. She is thrilled to be coaching the ChiArts Improv Team and feels blessed to teach such amazing students.

Erin Crowley earned her Master of Arts in Teaching from Tufts University in 2003 and her yoga certification at the Temple of Kriya Yoga in 2001. She has been teaching yoga, movement, theatre, and writing to youth for 14 years in the public and private schools of Chicago, Boston, New York, and San Francisco. Her love of invention and creative movement landed her at summer camps in New Hampshire and Colorado, teaching yoga and theatre performance to young people and touring original youth theatre productions along the New England Coast. Ms. Crowley has over 10 years experience teaching yoga to adults and, in addition to teaching at ChiArts, teaches yoga for the youth-based organizations Our Common Threads and Mindful Practices. She continues to study yoga with her mentor, Gabriel Halpern, at the Yoga Circle in Chicago.

Ms. Davis is a native of St. Louis, Missouri, where she danced with the Saint Louis Muny Opera and trained in ballet, lyrical, jazz, and tap. At the "Muny," she served as assistant to directors Matt Lenz, Peter Flynn, and Ed Hastings on their productions of Aida, Gypsy, and Oliver, and was exposed to such choreographers as Liza Gennaro, Darren Lee, and Gemze de Lappe. She received her B.A. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University, focusing on the adaptation of literature to the stage with an emphasis on French theater. Shortly thereafter, Ms. Davis worked as the Assistant Dramaturg and Development Associate for Greasy Joan & Co, a former Chicago theater that produced modern interpretations of classic plays. Most recently, Ms. Davis received her Master's in Education in Communication Arts from Webster University, and continues to pursue her love of dance. As an arts educator, Ms. Davis has worked with Variety Club of St. Louis and St. Louis Metro Theater Company's Young Artists' Theater Lab. She currently teaches at Francis W. Parker School as well as at ChiArts.

Devon de Mayo is a director, devisor and teacher. She currently serves as the Director of Education for Northlight Theatre, co-teaches the Agnes Nixon class at Northwestern University and teaches every summer at the National High School Institute. Most recently, she devised and directed "The Twins Would Like To Say" for Dog & Pony Theatre at Steppenwolf Theatre. Ms. de Mayo has taught theatre in London, Sydney (Australia), Albuquerque and Chicago, and is one of the founders and Co-Artistic Director of Dog & Pony Theatre Company. She has also worked at the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, American Conservatory Theatre and South Coast Repertory Theatre. Ms. de Mayo received her MFA in Theatre Directing from Middlesex University in London and her BA in Drama and Political Science from Kenyon College. She did further studies at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts(GITIS) in Moscow and the Indonesian Institute for the Arts in Bali.

Lawrence Grimm has been both a freelance and full-time arts educator for over 15 years. A graduate of DePaul University's School of Education, he most recently taught for three years at Stevenson High School as an English and Drama teacher. Other teaching endeavors with young people include co-director and founder of A Red Orchid's Youth Ensemble, the Illinois Arts Council, Urban Gateways, Second City, Piven Theater Workshop, Audition Studio, CAPE, Lookingglass, Steppenwolf for Young Adults and Second CIty. For seven years, Mr. Grimm directed the Thresholds Theatre Arts Project, a program designed to give adults with mental illness a theatrical voice for their personal stories. Currently he is the Director of Erasing The Distance's "What's Behind our Eyes": a high school touring show on mental health issues for young people. He served in a similar capacity with Omni Youth Services' REALITY Troupe in Buffalo Grove. In New York, Mr. Grimm taught at the Lincoln Center Institute, Roundabout Theatre, Arts Connection and Theatre for a New Audience. His acting credits include work with A Red Orchid Theater (co-founder and ensemble member), Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Raven, Collaboraction, Piven Theatre and Famous Door among many others. He is the recipient of Joseph Jefferson Citation.

Jeremy is a professional actor living in Chicago. He co-founded several performance ensembles over the past 20 years in Barcelona, Seattle, St. Louis, Montana and France.  He's performed and trained in disciplines from classical theatre to Japanese dance, often with multi-national casts.  In Chicago, he has performed with Writers' Theatre, The Neo-Futurists at the Goodman, Next Theatre, Collaboraction, Stage Left, Redmoon (After Dark Award) and the Building Stage.  Regionally, he's performed at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Shakespeare Theatre D. C., among others.  Off-Broadway: New Victory Theatre.  He has trained in Suzuki and Viewpoints with Anne Bogard and SITI Company in New York and Chicago, and has led many training groups over the past 11 years in: Seattle, St. Louis, Montana, Vancouver, Paris and Chicago.  He has also taught Devising, Improvisation and Movement workshops at several universities and training centers across the country.

Rachel Slavick is in her third year as a teacher in the theatre program at Chiarts. She also teaches acting at The Theatre School of DePaul University. She is the Artistic Director of Theatre Mir. Ms. Slavick was most recently seen in Caucasian Chalk Circle, Beautiful City, Arab-Israeli Cookbook and The Prisoners Dilemma and will direct the Chicago premiere of Carson Kreitzers' Slither this fall.  She has directed a number of plays including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Exonerated and The Glory of Living.

Roger Smart was born and received his early education in England. Initially trained with a specialism in Theatre in Education, he has a Bachelor’s degree in Multi-Cultural Education from the University of Central England and an MFA in Directing from the University of California, Irvine. In addition to being Chair of the Drama and Theatre Arts Department in an inner-city high school for 12 years, Roger has taught at conservatory and university training programs in The UK and USA., including the University of North Carolina, Greensboro; Oklahoma State University and Millikin University. Roger has also taught at the Centre for Performance Research in Aberystwyth, Wales; at the London Academy of Dramatic Art and at the Institut Del Teatre in Barcelona. He continues to teach professional workshops in Chicago and London.

Roger has a particular interested in psycho-physical modalities of training and rehearsing actors, and is currently completing his PhD research in this area through Goldsmiths College, The University of London. Roger is a certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework. 

Roger’s professional credits include Director for A Streetcar Named Desire; Talk Radio; Saint Joan; The Road to Mecca; The Trial; In a Pig’s Valise; Œdipus; Scenes From an Execution; The Life of Galileo; The Women; Road; subUrbia; A Map of the World and Duet For One; Six Characters in Search of an Author; Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet. In Chicago, Roger has been nominated for two Joseph Jefferson Citations for direction, and his production of Dylan won the 2002 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Leading Role. Roger is currently Artistic Director of Shattered Globe Theatre, a twenty year veteran of Chicago’s Off-Loop theatre scene.

Jason Sperling works as an actor, singer, teacher, and director around Chicago.  He is an original company member of Barrel of Monkeys, a children’s writing and theater program, and has worked with them for over thirteen years.  Mr. Sperling created and teaches the drama program at St. Juliana school, now in its fifth year, and directs there as well; he has taught and directed with the CAST program in Oak Park for six years; he is a poet/educator with the Chicago Park District/Chicago Humanities Festival’s Words@Play program; and he has also taught or music directed for Beverly Arts Center, Raven Theatre, and Prologue Theatre.  Additionally, Mr. Sperling has taught, directed, and music directed with Elmhurst Children’s Theatre, and directed the student-authored sketch comedy show at Chicago Improv Festival’s Summer Theatre Camp in 2009.  He has worked as a performer at theatres including Marriott, Drury Lane, Apple Tree, Northlight, Theatre at the Center, Noble Fool, and Ravinia, and can often be seen in BOM’s hit show That’s Weird, Grandma, now in its tenth year at the Neo-Futurist Theatre (www.barrelofmonkeys.org).

Ms. Wester is a very active Stage Director and Acting teacher in the Chicago area. Currently she serves as the Stage Director for the newly created Opera Music Theater Ensemble which is part of the Reneé Flemming Solo Voice initiative program between the Merit School of Music and Lyric Opera of Chicago for teenage singers in the Chicago-land area. Ms. Wester was the Stage Director/Vocal Coach for Chicago Opera Theater’s ‘Chicago Opera Theater for Teens' – a paid apprenticeship program sponsored by the City of Chicago with Chicago Opera Theater. She has been active in Music Theater education for teens as well being the Stage Director of the Summer Musical Theater Workshop with Light Opera Works for four seasons as well as leading the DePaul Community Music’s Music Theater Workshop for Teens. Ms. Wester is also very active stage director. She recently returned from St. Petersburg Florida after having directed their season opener of A Little Night Music. Ms. Wester has developed a strong relationship with The St. Petersburg Opera in Florida.  She began with their 2009 spring production of La Traviata and the Fall Production of Into the Woods to rave reviews from both audiences and critics alike. Ms. Wester also has led productions at the Bay View Music Festival (The Magic Flute), Intimate Opera (La Traviata and Cosí fan Tutte) and Opera Company Brooklyn (Roméo et Juliette).  She will lead the Fall production at Savoyaires in Evanston, IL of three Gilbert and Sullivan one-acts (The Zoo, Eyes and No Eyes and Trial by Jury).   Ms. Wester has been an Assistant Director for Chicago Opera Theater, Utah Opera, Indianapolis Opera and San Diego Opera. As a classical singer, Ms. Wester was a Studio Artist with Utah Opera. She has also appeared as a featured soloist in the Welcome Yule Christmas concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Dabeeb in the North American Premiere of Marriages between Zones 3, 4 and 5 by Phillip Glass as well as productions with Chicago Opera Theater, Court Theater, Porchlight Theater, DePaul Opera Theater, Intermezzo Opera in Hartford, CT, American Opera Group, Elgin Opera and multiple productions with Light Opera Works in Evanston, IL. Ms. Wester holds a B.Mus. from Roosevelt University and an M.Mus from DePaul University. ajwester.com