In January 1980, Edward Kreitman began teaching Suzuki violin lessons to the children of the Western Suburbs from his home in LaGrange, Illinois. Shortly thereafter, the program moved to the Grand Avenue School in Western Springs, where it operated under the umbrella of the Recreation Department of the Village of Western Springs. In June 1984, the school became an independent entity and the Western Springs School of Talent Education took up residency on the third floor of the education building of the First Congregational Church of Western Springs. The cello program began soon after. The program has grown to include fifteen violin faculty, four cello faculty, and one guitar teacher.

In addition to the regular teaching of young students, the Western Springs School of Talent Education is a major training center for teachers. The faculty includes three of the country's leading teacher trainers, Nancy Jackson, Thomas Wermuth, and Edward Kreitman.

In the fall of 1989, Thomas Wermuth left his position with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and moved to Chicago to join the faculty of the Western Springs School of Talent Education. His presence on the faculty has allowed the school to develop a level of training found only in the finest music schools in the world. Under his direction, the Chicago Consort has earned an international reputation as one of this country's premier student performance ensembles. It is the only group in the country that has been invited to perform for the National Suzuki Teachers Association Conference four times. The Chicago Consort is the school's musical ambassador, performing locally, nationally, and internationally.  The group has made five international concert tours traveling to England, France, and Italy.

In the fall of 1999, Nancy Jackson resigned her position as director of the Suzuki pedagogy program at Western Illinois University to join the Western Springs faculty as a violin instructor. She also holds the title of Assistant Director of the school. In this capacity, her responsibilities include organizing all solo recitals, as well as annual cello and violin workshops, and handling all outside performance opportunities
for students.

In the fall of 1998, the Western Springs School of Talent Education opened a sister school in Naperville, bringing the experience and expertise of its faculty to the far west suburbs. The Naperville Suzuki School has continued to grow and develop under the guidance of  Beth Carr, Associate Director.

In addition to private and group class lessons, students participate in a variety of performance opportunities. Group classes, solo recitals, and performance classes take place regularly throughout the school year. The Allegro group is a training ensemble for the Chicago Consort. Students are recommended by the faculty to participate in extra rehearsals and performances outside the school. The Allegro group performs locally and regionally in the Midwest.

Alumni from the school have pursued further education, musical and otherwise, at an impressive list of universities, colleges, and conservatories in this country, including the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, Harvard University, Indiana University School of Music, The Juilliard School, Lawrence University, Oberlin Conservatory, University of Illinois, University of Iowa, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, and Yale University.