Music

Music Department Staff

Announcements

• VOICE INSTRUCTION

  Chad Cygan is a voice instructor, performer and vocal coach. He has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, Opera San Jose, Raleigh Little Theatre and many more. Chad has served on the faculty of Ohlone College, City College of New York, the Juilliard School and ifs currently theatre faculty (musical theatre) at the Chicago High School for the Performing Arts. Chad teaches musical theatre, classical, opera and pop voice and is experienced teaching voice students of all ages and experience levels. He has prepared many students for successful auditions in NATS Competitions, and competitive college music programs. He has a B. of Music Education from the University of Illinois, a MM from the Juilliard School and will finish his doctorate in music at the CUNY Graduate Center.

  Emily Shankman Maloney is a private instructor specializing in classical and musical theater voice, acting coaching, and violin. She has worked as a professional educator and performer in Boston, New York City and Chicago over the past 10 years. She has graced a wide variety of stages in her time as a performer, from the Metropolitan Opera House to Rockwood Music Hall. She shifted her main focus to education and private instruction after discovering her true passion for guiding and mentoring young musicians and actors to find their individual expression, creative spark and confidence. She has spent the past several years working in group settings as a teaching artist and educator focused on alternative, project-based learning and creative curriculum. She believes that pairing individual expression and solid technique is the key to becoming the best singer, actor or violinist you can be. Emily holds her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Lawrence University, where she studied under Joanne Bozeman. She also holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Musical Theater from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she studied with Kevin Wilson. She currently serves as the Singing Instructor at The Stage School in Park Ridge, Illinois, where she has music directed shows such as Annie Jr. and Broadway through the Ages. She is accepting students of all ages and skill levels in voice and she looks forward to helping you reach your goals!

  Julia Storke has returned to the Chicago area after living in China and the United Arab Emirates where she taught music and drama at Xiamen International School and GEMS World Academy-Dubai and performed as a singer-songwriter and spoken word artist. She studied acting and directing at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and is a multi-instrumentalist with an established international career. She has lived, taught and performed music in a wide variety of countries, including China, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina and Kenya. A native of Evanston, Julia received her theatre education at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and her music degree at Mills College in California, where she studied composition with Pauline Oliveros and voice with Faith Winthrop. She is a multiple grant recipient with a background in piano, Orff Schulwerk and Kodaly pedagogies and is a certified k-12 music teacher who has taught in private and public schools across the country and abroad. As an artist, Julia began her career on stage as an actress and director and found her voice as a singer-songwriter and spoken word artist as well as a jazz singer. She hopes to empower her students with her unique approach to piano and voice by creating, composing and applying music principles through a unique blend of movement, body percussion and music literacy.

  Benjamin Walton (bio coming soon!)

• VIOLIN AND VIOLA INSTRUCTION

  Paula Eatman currently plays violin and viola in several quartets and also performs with the Chicago String Ensemble. She was a 1st Violinist with the Arcturus Quartet and has played with the Lake Forest Symphony.

  Helia Schramm, co-artistic director, is the Concertmistress of the Civic Orchestra, the 1st violinist of Arcturus String Quartet, and the Principal 2nd violin of the Philharmonic Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival. She is on the faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago and is a founder of the Lincolnwood School of Music.

• PIANO INSTRUCTION

  Dan Chase is a piano and organ player from the Chicago area with over 5 years of experience teaching at music schools in the area, as well as teaching out of students' homes. He has become proficient with a wide range of ages and abilities, and includes styles such as jazz, pop, blues, classical, and Latin. Catering his lesson plans to the individual, with an emphasis on fundamentals, Dan also regularly perform as a sideman and leader on piano and Hammond B3 organ.

  Chad Cygan is a voice & piano instructor, performer and vocal coach. He has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, Opera San Jose, Raleigh Little Theatre and many more. Chad has served on the faculty of Ohlone College, City College of New York, the Juilliard School and ifs currently theatre faculty (musical theatre) at the Chicago High School for the Performing Arts. Chad teaches musical theatre, classical, opera and pop voice and is experienced teaching students of all ages and experience levels. He has prepared many students for successful auditions in NATS Competitions, and competitive college music programs. He has a B. of Music Education from the University of Illinois, a MM from the Juilliard School and will finish his doctorate in music at the CUNY Graduate Center.

  Julia Storke has returned to the Chicago area after living in China and the United Arab Emirates where she taught music and drama at Xiamen International School and GEMS World Academy-Dubai and performed as a singer-songwriter and spoken word artist. She studied acting and directing at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and is a multi-instrumentalist with an established international career. She has lived, taught and performed music in a wide variety of countries, including China, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina and Kenya. A native of Evanston, Julia received her theatre education at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and her music degree at Mills College in California, where she studied composition with Pauline Oliveros and voice with Faith Winthrop. She is a multiple grant recipient with a background in piano, Orff Schulwerk and Kodaly pedagogies and is a certified k-12 music teacher who has taught in private and public schools across the country and abroad. As an artist, Julia began her career on stage as an actress and director and found her voice as a singer-songwriter and spoken word artist as well as a jazz singer. She hopes to empower her students with her unique approach to piano and voice by creating, composing and applying music principles through a unique blend of movement, body percussion and music literacy.

  Benjamin Walton (bio coming soon!)

• GUITAR INSTRUCTION

  Kyle Gilbertson has been studying, teaching, and performing on the guitar for over 30 years. He has studied with the classical guitar masters Nicholas Goluses, Stephen Aron, and the composer Dusan Bogdanovic. In 2001, he received his BA in Classical Guitar Performance from Oberlin College. He taught for The Ultimate School of Guitar from 2004 - 2010. In 2009, he received his K-12 teaching certificate from Northeastern Illinois University, with an endorsement in instrumental music. From 2009 - 2016, he taught general music and band at Phoenix Military Academy, a high school in Chicago. As band director, Kyle taught his students to play all the woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments. The band played at football games, marched in parades, performed in concerts and went to competitions. In 2015, the band took 2nd place in the city-wide JROTC Drum and Bugle Competition. In the general music classes, he taught guitar, keyboard, bass, drum set, and voice. For many years, Kyle performed regularly around the Chicago area with blues singer Darby Tillis. Passionate about music, he enjoys sharing that passion with his students. Kyle is back teaching at The Ultimate School of Guitar, and we are happy to have such a talented musician rejoin our team.

  Hollis Hahn

• MUSIKGARTEN

  (a General Recreation program - For more information, contact Kimberly Barton at kbarton@wilpark.org.)

  Wendy Morgan received her degree from DePaul University where she studied with a Julliard trained teacher/vocalist Anne Perillo. Wendy has appeared nationally as a vocalist in many bands and orchestras. Vocal Gymnasium is Wendy's music company and she is a certified Musikgarten instructor and currently is a teacher with the Roots & Rock program at Music Institute of Chicago. Wendy is also a singer/songwriter and part of the children's music duo/band Wendy & DB. They have released three CD's of children's music. Finding children's music as her passion 16 years ago was the best surprise in her career. Wendy is a member of NATS, CMN, NARAS, CFM, SAG/AFTRA.

  Jen Zias received her BFA in Musical Theater from Penn State University after spending four years touring with the Bun Raku puppeteer group, Kids on the Block, and educating school groups of children with special needs. For almost twenty years, Jen has appeared throughout Chicagoland as a solo performer and featured vocalist for several of the city's finest orchestras. As the lead female singer of The Chicago Rhythm Review from 2000-2012, she appeared at many Chicago landmarks and festivals. From 2005-2013, she was the featured entertainer every weekend at two of the city's most famous music rooms - The Pump Room, and the Palm Court of the Drake Hotel, where she continues to perform as a special guest with windy city favorites, The Flat Cats. She looks forward to introducing children to the joy of music through teaching Musikgarten.