Conservatory Connections

Education

• Bachelor of Music, Percussion Performance | University of Wisconsin-Parkside

Background

• Joined the WCM team in 2020.
• Instructs, collaborates, and performs in a variety of settings.
• Teaches through Ravinia’s Reach, Teach, Play program.
• Received the Percussive Arts Societies’ Ludwig Industries Scholarship.
• Was a soloist for the 2018 Wisconsin Days of Percussion.
• Was a featured recitalist for the BMO noon concert series at UW-Parkside.

Education

• Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Voice Performance | Roosevelt University (Chicago Musical College)
• Graduate Level Vocal Training | University of Iowa

Background

• Joined the Vocal Arts faculty at the Conservatory in 2017.
• Is a cross-genre singer that is classically trained, jazz influenced, and soul inspired.
• Has taught private voice to students of all levels for thirty years, which includes more than a decade in New York.
• Began her career singing career as a soprano and has sung with Lincoln Opera Chicago, the Lyric Theater of Illinois and the Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee.
• Has gradually transitioned from singing classical music exclusively to performing an eclectic repertoire of music.
• Has performed alongside a diverse group of critically acclaimed artists such as Simon Estes, Wycliffe Gordon, BeBe Winans, Vanessa Williams, Laurel Masse and Gerald Levert.

Chair – Woodwinds, Brass & Percussion

Education

• Bachelor of Science, Music Education | University of Wisconsin – La Crosse
• Master of Music, Trumpet Performance | University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee

Background

• Joined the Conservatory faculty in 2017.
• Plays with groups such as the Wisconsin and Milwaukee Philharmonics and the Lake County Symphony Orchestra.
• Premiered new music with Present Music and DIY Chamber Ensemble.
• Plays in the pit orchestras of dozens of musicals around Wisconsin.
• Taught master classes throughout the Midwest.

Education

• Bachelor of Music, EC-12 General Music and Choir Teaching Certification | West Texas A&M University

Background

• Has been teaching since 2015, and started with the Conservatory in the Spring of 2018.
• While at West Texas A & M University, studied with Dr. Cloyce Kuhnert.
• Has been Soprano in Milwaukee’s Bel Canto Chorus since 2017.
• Committed to providing children with the opportunity to learn and experience music, and hopes that through teaching she can instill not only a love of music in students but a love of learning about, creating, and playing music for the rest of their lives.

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree, Music Education, Music Performance | Ohio State University
• Master’s Degree, Music Performance | University of South Carolina

Background

• Began his musical studies at age nine, playing drum set and taking private percussion lessons.
• Coached the percussion ensemble and spent time conducting the wind ensemble as a Teaching Assistant and Counselor for the Instrumental Music Program at The North Carolina Governor’s School East(summers of 2014-2015).
• Was the Front Ensemble Instructor with the Grove City High School Marching Band, including a trip to the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California (2016-2017).
• Received the prestigious Presser Foundation Scholarship while studying at Ohio State.
• Worked as a Graduate Assistant for the University of South Carolina percussion studio and was the percussionist for the Spark Collective, a graduate quintet focusing on community engagement through music.
• Won the concerto competition at the University of South Carolina in 2018 and performed Kevin Puts’ Marimba Concerto No. 1 with the University of South Carolina Symphony Orchestra in 2019.
• Enjoys practicing marimba, making coffee, and hanging out with his dog, Lila.

Education

• Bachelor of Music, Piano Performance | St. Olaf College
• Master of Music, Piano Performance/Pedagogy | University of Wisconsin-Madison

Background

• Joined the WCM faculty in 2019 with 18 years of experience teaching private lessons as well as group piano.
• Studied under Catherine Kautsky, Jessica Johnson, and Kenneth Graber.
• Enjoys teaching students of all ages and levels, and her students have regularly participated in WMTA Auditions and the NFMC Festival.
• Has served as an adjudicator for piano festivals and competitions.
• Worked as a faculty member at community schools in the Boston, MA and Madison, WI areas.
• Is a collaborative pianist for instrumental and vocal soloists and choirs.

Education

• Bachelor of Music, Jazz Studies | Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

Background

• Joined the Conservatory faculty in January 2019.
• Teaches and plays various styles of music on the drum set, specializing in jazz.
• Plays with her modern jazz quartet in the Milwaukee area.
• Featured as an instructor for the Vic Firth video series “Inside the Teaching Studio” entitled How to Sound Like Elvin Jones.
• Has played with musicians such as Leni Stern, Ingrid Jensen, and Jamie Baum.
• Enjoys teaching the bucket drumming and world percussion classes through the Conservatory Connections program, as well as private percussion lessons.

Education

• Bachelor of Music | Indiana University
• Master of Music | University of Michigan

Background

• Joined the Conservatory in 2018.
• Received Suzuki Teacher Training with Mimi Zweig and Judy Offman.
• Has taught students of all ages and levels for 25 years.
• Created and directed Suzuki and traditional instrumental programs in schools in New York, Texas, Wisconsin, and London.
• Has enjoyed a varied career as an orchestral violinist and freelance chamber musician, performing in the US and Europe with the New World Symphony, New Haven Symphony, Bayou City Chamber Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, and the Spoleto Festival Orchestra.
• Chosen by Isaac Stern and Sir Georg Solti to perform and record as a member of the Solti Orchestra Project at Carnegie Hall.
• Received first prize in the Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition.

Education

Bachelor of Music, Performance, Minor in Piano Pedagogy | Lawrence University

Background

• Joined the WCM Piano and General Music Faculty in 2018.
• Earned her Bachelor’s degree from Lawrence University in the studio of Professor Anthony Padilla, graduating magna cum laude and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
• Has performed in several competitions and masterclasses, playing for musicians such as internationally-renowned pianist Jeremy Denk and pianist and harpsichordist Lorna Peters.
• Enjoys exploring the arts of all kinds and holds an additional degree in English.
• Continues to collaborate with instrumentalists and choirs.

Co-Chair – Strings

Education

• Bachelor of Music | Northern Illinois University
• Master of Music | Northern Illinois University
• Performer’s Certificate | Northern Illinois University

Background

• Member of the Conservatory String Faculty since 2018
• Studied with international soloist Shmuel Ashkenasi and trained with the Grammy Award-winning Vermeer Quartet as a member of NIU’s Graduate String Quartet In-Residence
• Received numerous awards and scholarships, including graduate fellowships, from both the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and the NIU Graduate School to pursue violin studies.
• Performs as Associate Principal Second Violin of Camerata Chicago, is on the substitute list for the Minnesota Orchestra, and has touredboth nationally and internationally in chamber music festivals, including the Zeister Musiekdagen Chamber Music Festivalin the Netherlands.
• As first violinist of the Ethereal Shima Quartet, her chamber music interpretations have been called “remarkably sensitive and mature” by John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune.
• Performance credits include the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic (Concertmaster, Emmy Award-winning recording), Chicago’s Symphony Center, and at acclaimed venues throughout the world with renowned artists including the incomparable fiddler Mark O’Connor and jazz Vocalist Kurt Elling.
• Pavia’s students have won numerous concerto competitions and have gone on to pursue classical and contemporary violin performance at universities such as the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Berklee School of Music.

Chair – Early Childhood

Education

Bachelor of Music, Minor in Psychology | DePauw University in Greencastle, IN

Background

• Joined the WCM faculty in 2005.
• Taught preschoolers at the Tutor Time Child Care/Learning Center while attending DePauw University.
• Worked as a music teacher for Little People’s Music. Inc and at the Academy of Learning and Leadership for three years as a preschool teacher of two- and four-year-olds.
• Received training in the Kodaly Concept, completed coursework at the Community Coordinated Child Care Center, and is certified as a lead Early Childhood Teacher.
• Teaches in the Early Childhood Program at WCM and also taught music to children in grades K4 – 8.

Education

• Master of Music, Clarinet Performance | University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee

Background

• Joined the WCM Faculty in 2015.
• Born in Caracas, Venezuela and began his musical training in Venezuela’s System of Youth Orchestras, also known as “El Sistema”.
• Was a member of the “Simon Bolivar” Symphony Orchestra and performed with such renowned conductors as Claudio Abbado, Sergiu Comissiona, Gustavo Dudamel, Eduardo Mata, Sergei Senkov, among others
• Participated in master classes held by Luis Rossi, Anthony Pay, Walter Boeykens, Kalman Berkes, Eddy Vanoosthuyse, Michel Lethiec, Mario Frogionni, Walter Seyfarth, Judit Jaimes and Raquel Adonaylo.
• Together with three other colleagues, formed the Caracas Clarinet Quartet, a chamber ensemble that has performed throughout Venezuela, as well as in China, Europe, and South America. In addition to winning the 1996 National Artist Award for Best Classical Ensemble, the quartet released three CD’s: Cuarteto de Clarinetes de Caracas, Aires Tropicales, and Suelos.
• Performs regularly with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Symphony Chorus, Fox Valley Symphony, Green Bay Symphony, Racine Symphony, Kenosha Symphony, and Festival City Symphony Orchestra.
• Performed with the “Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society” Summer Festival in Madison, as well as the Rural Musicians Forum in Spring Green, WI.

Education

• Bachelor of Science, Music Education | Ball State University
• Master of Arts (in progress), Flute Performance | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Background

• Spent the past 5+ years teaching woodwind sectionals, flute sectionals, and private flute lessons at a variety of schools in the greater Indianapolis area.
• Worked as the Community Programs Assistant for Classical Music Indy 2018-2019 and as Assistant Education Coordinator for the Muncie Symphony Orchestra in Spring 2018.
• Worked as an Education Intern for the Chicago based not-for-profit, Fifth House Ensemble, in 2017.
• Acted as inaugural secretary for the Flute Guild at Ball State University in 2017.
• Performed Density 21.5 in Summer 2017 at the Milwaukee Art Museum through the Fresh Inc. Festival.
• Sings with her band EKRUTEAK.
• Spends her summers working as Program Coordinator for Music for the Sake of Music, a music not-for-profit providing free lessons and music ensembles in Green Bay, WI.

Education

• Bachelor’s in Music Performance | Crane School of Music
• Master’s in Music Performance | University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee

Background

• Holds principal positions with the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra and the Lake County Symphony Orchestra.
• Has performed with the Southwestern Suburban Symphony Orchestra, Present Music Milwaukee, Northern Symphonic Winds, Racine Symphony, Wisconsin Philharmonic, Antioch Brass Quintet, and The Big Top Circus Band, and is on numerous sub lists in both Wisconsin and Illinois.
• Performs with a number of local jazz and rock groups in the Milwaukee area.
• Runs a large, successful low brass studio.
• Has placed in and won numerous national and international competitions.
• Does recitals and masterclasses at universities and solos with orchestras in the area, like the Lake County Symphony Orchestra this season.

Education

• Bachelor of Arts, Music Performance and Mathematics | University of Wisconsin – Madison
• Master of Music, Music Performance | Northwestern University

Background

• Started at the Conservatory in the Fall of 2018.
• Is currently Principal Horn of the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, Third Horn of the Wisconsin Philharmonic, and a member of Alloy Horn Quartet, which was the Featured Guest Artist at the 2018 International Horn Symposium and featured soloists with the Kenosha Symphony Orchestra and Dubuque Symphony Orchestra.
• Is a substitute musician with Lyric Opera, Milwaukee Symphony, Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra, and Grand Rapids Symphony.
• Held positions in Omaha Symphony (Acting Associate Principal Horn) and New Mexico Philharmonic (3rd Horn).
• Served as Brass Instructor and Associate Band Director with the El Sistema inspired program at Ravinia.
• Taught horn at the Merit School of Music in Chicago, Glendale Community College in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Omaha Conservatory of Music.
• Played at several summer music festivals, including Peninsula Music Festival (in Door County, WI), Grand Teton Music Festival (in Jackson Hole, WY), Pacific Music Festival (Japan), Sarasota Music Festival (Sarasota, FL), and Aspen Music Festival (Aspen, CO).

Education

• Bachelor of Music, Saxophone Performance | Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
• Bachelor of Music, Music Education | Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

Background

•  Joined the Conservatory faculty in the Fall of 2019.
• Worked as an orchestra musician for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines May – August 2018.
• Recorded 2016 CD release “Identity” with the Slippery Rock University Jazz Ensemble, featuring guest artist Troy Roberts.
• Has played with artists such as Sean Jones, John Clayton, and John Daversa.

Education

• Bachelor of Music Education | UW-Eau Claire
• Kodaly Certificate Completion | Silver Lake College
• Masters in Music Education | Silver Lake College

Background

• Has over 15 years of experience in K-8 vocal music teaching and Liturgical music coordinating.
• Has worked for the Milwaukee Children’s Choir as an Associate Director and taught for Silver Lake College’s Music for Tots program.
• Has held office positions in the Wisconsin chapter for Kodaly music education, AWAKE, and is an active cantor and accompanist with her church.
• Loves singing, playing the piano, and being with children.
• Lives in Oak Creek with her husband and twin baby daughters.

Education

• Bachelor Degree | Michigan State University
• Master Degree, Jazz Studies | Florida State University

Background

• Performs professionally in a wide variety of musical styles, as a leader and as a sideman, on upright bass and electric bass.
• Studied with world- renowned bassist, Rodney Whitaker while at Michigan State University.
• Studied classically with the Assistant Principal of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Robert Goodlett
• Taught alongside Robert Goodlett at the Quattro String Academy in Indianapolis, IN.
• Currently serves as the Bass Instructor at Eastern Illinois University.
• As a seasoned teacher, enjoys working with students with experience ranging from beginners to professionals.