Breana Bauman - baumanviolin@yahoo.com

Breana Bauman has been a lifelong Suzuki student, beginning at age 5 in the Cincinnati Public Schools with Kathy Merrill and finishing at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Kimberly Meier-Sims and a Master's degree in Suzuki Pedagogy and Violin Performance, with Stephen Rose of the Cleveland Orchestra. Breana also studied with Kyung Sun Lee and Gregory Fulkerson at the Oberlin Conservatory, where she earned her Bachelor's Degree. An avid chamber musician, Breana has worked with Peter Salaff of the Cleveland Quartet, Roger Chase of the Nash Ensemble and Chicago Chamber Players, the Cavani Quartet, and the St. Petersburg Quartet. In 2005, Breana appeared as a soloist with the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge Colorado and then went on to study with soloist Philippe Graffin in Paris and Brussels. While abroad, Breana studied pedagogy with Christophe Bossuat, Director of the Suzuki Program in France. She has spent her summers at the Aspen Music Festival, Wethersfield Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra and Henry Mancini Institute. This summer she will be working with Plácido Domingo and Kent Nagano as associate concertmaster of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, touring Europe and Brazil.

Suzanne Brookes Rickman - Suzannerickman@sbcglobal.net

Suzanne grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, where she started playing the violin at age ten. Ms. Brookes graduated from DePaul University in Chicago in 1989 with a Bachelor's Degree in violin performance. Suzanne began studying the Suzuki method in 1989 at DePaul. Ms. Brookes joined the violin faculty at Western Springs School of Talent Education in the fall of 1995. in addition to her teaching in Western Springs, Suzanne has directed her own Suzuki program in Homewood-Flossmoore since 1990.

Karen Brookes Simmons - KBS112297@comcast.net

Karen Brookes Simmons has been a faculty member since 1998. Karen has extensive training in early childhood and the Suzuki method. Karen has a Bachelor degree in performance from DePaul University and a Masters degree in performance from Northwestern. Karen has been teaching Suzuki cello for the last 12 years.

Beth Carr Novak - bacviolin@hotmail.com

Beth Carr began her formal study of the violin at the age of four. Her studies continued at Humboldt State University where she was Concertmaster of the Humboldt Symphony and winner of the 1996 Concerto Competition. Following completion of her B.A she attended the Hartt School of Music where she received a MM in violin performance and Suzuki pedagogy.

Other institutions of study include the Chautauqua Music Institute, Rocky Mountain Music Center, California Summer Arts, Britt Festival and Sequoia Chamber Music Institute. Ms. Carr has studied chamber music with world renowned quartets such as the Alexander String Quartet, Cavani String Quartet and the five time Grammy winning Emerson String Quartet. She has held numerous principal positions in orchestras such as the Humboldt Symphony, Solano Symphony, New Britain Symphony, Waterbury Symphony and Connecticut Virtuosi. Ms. Carr's performances have taken her across the United States and to Europe. Ms. Carr currently resides in Chicago where she holds the position of Associate Director of the Naperville Suzuki School; teaching private lessons and group classes of all ages as well as teacing at Suzuki Institutes around the country during the summers.

Susan Dembinski - Skdembinski@yahoo.com

Susan Dembinski, violin and viola instructor, received her Bachelor of Music Education from Western Illinois University in 1976. In addition to studying Suzuki pedagogy with Doris Preucil, she taught many students, and performed with the WIU Symphony and WIU Chamber Orchestra, Galesburg Symphony, and Tri-City Symphony. Ms. Dembinski was a finalist in the WIU Symphony solo competition and was awarded the Mu Phi Epsilon outstanding senior award. She has studied violin with Doris Preucil, Almita Vamos, and Arnold Brostoff. Ms. Dembinski has performed with the Waukegan Symphony and Chicago Civic Orchestra. Ms. Dembinski has been a member of the violin faculty at the Western Springs School of Talent Education for the past fourteen years. She is the mother of two children, Lorna, age twenty and Dale, age eighteen.

Jason Deroche - JasonDGuitarist@sbcglobal.net

Jason Deroche is one of the most exciting guitarists of his generation. Playing anything from Bach to Beatles, he fuses an Old World tradition with an understanding of the Pop culture that exists today. Mr. Deroche began playing professionally at the age of 14 and furthered his studies at Northern Illinois University and Roosevelt University. While in college, he was a finalist in the prestigious D’Addario Concerto Competition in New Milford Connecticut. Deroche also competed in the G.F.A. Solo Guitar competition and participated in the Rantucci Guitar Festival in Buffalo New York. He has been teaching privately throughout the Chicagoland area for over 10 years. In 2003, Deroche attended the Chicago Summer Music Insitute to study the Suzuki Method with David Madsen and subsequently was invited to join the faculty of the Western Springs School of Talent Education. He looks forward to building a Suzuki Guitar program at the WSSTE. With his wife Sherri, Jason plays in a guitar/violin duet called Ten Strings.

Sherri Deroche - boopis69@sbcglobal.net

Sherri Deroche received her violin performance degree at University of Southern Maine. She was a student of Almita Vamos at the University of Minnesota. Sherri has taught independently in the LaGrange area for a number of years. She was invited to join the faculty of the Western Springs School of Talent Education after doing Suzuki Pedagogy training with Edward Kreitman at the school.

Rolando Freitag - rolandofreitag@gmail.com

Rolando Freitag teaches Violin and Viola at the Western Springs School of Talent Education. Prior to joining the faculty at WSSTE, Rolando was the director of the Suzuki Program at the Community Music School in Allentown, PA, and faculty member at the State College Talent Education Program, Penn State University, and DePaul University.

Rolando earned his Masters in Violin Performance form Penn State University, and his Bachelors in Violin Performance from Shenandoah Conservatory. He received his Suzuki teacher training from Allen Lieb, Carrie Hummel-Reunning, and Edward Kreitman.

Rolando has performed as concertmaster and principal violist with several orchestras in Brazil and the US. A native of Brazil, Rolando also enjoys sailing and scuba diving.

John Glew - jglew1@gmail.com

John Glew is a violin and viola teacher at the Naperville School. He holds Pre-College and Bachelor's degrees from the Juilliard School, and recently completed graduate training in Suzuki pedagogy at Ithaca College. John has been awarded a Ryochi Sasakawa Fellowship from the Nippon Foundation, a scholarship from the Edward John Noble Foundation, and prizes in competitions held by the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts. He has given premiere readings of works by Ali-Sade, Babbitt, Berio, Carter, Corigliano, Kolb, Kopytman, and Puumala. John Glew is a native of Bethlehem, PA, and recieved his initial training there with violinist Connie Trach.

Sally Gross - SallyGross144@earthlink.net

Sally Gross has been a cello teacher with the Suzuki String School of Guelph since 1981, as well as the Artistic Coordinator since 1989. In her 23 years of teaching she has seen many young cellists grow up into extrodinary adults. Watching and learning from their development, both musically and emotionally has given her a powerful insights into teaching.

Sally grew up in the Chicago area, graduating from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Music in Performance degree, where her teacher was Marc Johnson. She received her Masters of Music in Performance with a Suzuki Emphasis degree from Ithaca College where she did her cello Suzuki teacher training with Carey Beth Hockett. As well as completing all the cello teacher training units many times over, she also has six violin teacher training units with Sanford and Joan Reuning.

She has been a SAA Teacher Trainer since 1990 and has taught numerous short term Institute courses as well as many years of apprenticeship courses in southern Ontario. Sally is pleased that she has been able to support and guide so many new Suzuki cello teachers in the Ontario region. She is an active clinician throughout Canada and the United States, especially Ontario, Montreal and Newfoundland.

In September, 2004 Sally will be joining the faculty at the Western Springs Suzuki Talent Education Program and the Naperville Suzuki School. She is looking forward to becoming an active participant in the Chicagoland Suzuki community.

Nancy Jackson - Njackson58@aol.com

Nancy Jackson is currently Assistant Director of the Western Springs School of Talent Education. Prior to moving to the Chicago area, Ms. Jackson was Assistant Professor of Music at Western Illinois University, violin/viola instructor in the Talent Education Program of the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana, and the founder of the Suzuki School of Music in Bismarck, North Dakota. Ms. Jackson holds a Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music in Violin Performance from Northwestern University. She is a registered Teacher Trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas and is a frequent clinician at workshops and summer institutes.

Edward Kreitman - Edkreitman@earthlink.net

Edward Kreitman is the founder and Director of the Western Springs School of Talent Education. Mr. Kreitman received his undergraduate degree from Western Illinois University where he studied Suzuki Pedagogy with Doris Preucil and Almita Vamos. In 1986, he studied at the Talent Education Summer School with Dr. Suzuki in Matsumoto, Japan.

Mr. Kreitman has served the Suzuki Association of the Americas in many capacities including a member of the Board of Directors, Violin Committee, and Coordinator for several Suzuki Method Teachers Conferences. Presently he is a member of the SAA teacher development team. He is well known throughout the United States and Canada as a guest clinician at Suzuki institutes and workshops. Mr. Kreitman is a registered Teacher Trainer of the Suzuki Association of the Americas. Mr. Kreitman is the author of Teaching from the Balance Point - A Guide for Suzuki Parents, Teachers, and Students. (more details) (ordering information)

Meg Lanfear - meg.lanfear@gmail.com

Meg Lanfear began her Suzuki studies on piano at the age of three. She continued on to Suzuki violin lessons at the age of seven. Having received a Who's Who among American High School students, she went on to complete a BM and MM in both Violin performance and Suzuki Pedagogy at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

As a performer, Ms. Lanfear has won numerous awards and competitions including: Shouse Scholarship competition, Best soloist award from the North America Music Festivals and Finalist in the CIM concerto competition. She has had the opportunity to perform around the world with many outstanding artists both as soloist and as principal orchestra member in such venues as the Hollywood Bowl, Kennedy Center, Symphony Hall, Severance Hall, Seiji Ozawa Hall, and Tanglewood. Artists she has performed with include, Leonard Slatkin, Joshua Bell, Daniel Barenboim, Mark O'Conner, Regina Carter, Herbbie Hanncock, Diane Reeves, and Diana Krall. She has performed with or held concertmaster positions with ensembles such as the National Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, CIM Symphony Orchestra, Canton Symphony, Akron Symphony, Classical Symphony Orchestra and the American Youth Philharmonic.

Ms. Lanfear can be heard on several record labels including Fresh Produce Records with the band "Velvetron" as well as the Audica Entertainment label.

Sarah McConaghie - smcconaghie@sbcglobal.net

Sarah McConaghie has been teaching violin since 1992. She started teaching at Western Springs School of Talent Education in the summer of 1997. A 1992 graduate of the Wheaton Conservatory of Music, majoring in violin performance, she also has taken teacher training for Suzuki Books 1-5 from Edward Kreitman. Sarah is involved in her church and community of Lawndale, where she also teaches violin and piano. Sarah is a member of the faculty at the American Suzuki Institute at Stevens Point Wisconsin. In free time she loves to read and take her dog, Sebastian, to the lake.

Alex Revoal - funnyfrocelloboy@yahoo.com

An alumnus of the Denver School of the Arts, Alex holds a Bachelor of Music, magna cum laude from Lawrence University. He earned a Master of Music degree in cello performance and pedagogy (2005), and a Performance Certificate (2006) from Northern Illinois University, where he studied with Marc Johnson of the Grammy-nominated Vermeer Quartet. While at NIU he played in the Alla Corda Quartet, a resident graduate ensemble, and taught an undergraduate music appreciation course. In the fall of 2002, he studied at the Institute for the International Education of Students in Vienna, Austria. He has spent two summers at Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, Colorado, and he has observed world class Suzuki teaching in various cities in Korea and Japan. His teachers have included Janet Anthony, Carol Tarr, Christine Vitoux-Erben (wife and assistant to Valentin Erben of the Alban Berg Quartet), Elisabeth Anderson, and Stephen Harrison. He has played in master classes for cellists Anthony Arnone, Lynn Harrell and Brandon Vamos, and for pianists Paula Fan and Gil Kalish, and has received chamber music coachings with members of the Vermeer, Fine Arts, Pacifica, Brentano, Cavani and Ives Quartets. For three seasons Alex was the Principal Cellist of the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and he has also led the cello sections of the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra and NIU Philharmonic Orchestra. Fully committed to the continuous process of pedagogical development, he has so far participated in Suzuki training for Every Child Can and books 1 through 5 at the Chicago Suzuki Institute, where his trainers included Nancy Hair and Jean Dexter. Alex is currently on the faculties of the Rockford College Music Academy and the Western Springs School of Talent Education/Naperville Suzuki School.

Daina Volodka - daina77@sbcglobal.net

Daina Volodka began violin studies with Edward Kreitman at the age of five. The Western Springs School of Talent Education became a musical home to Miss Volodka, and her violin playing flourished in the firm, yet loving Suzuki environment established by Mr. Kreitman.

WSSTE offered Miss Volodka many performance opportunities, including solo performances while touring with the prestigious Chicago Consort. Miss Volodka received her bachelor's degree in Violin Performance at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities. Throughout her college career, Miss Volodka had the great honor of working with many influential violinists, including Mark Bjork (Professor of Violin, University of Minnesota-TC), Charles Castleman (Eastman School of Music), Joe Golan (Chicago Symphony Orchestra). In the summer of 1998, Miss Volodka took part in the Aspen Music Festival, where she studied with Jennifer Johns (Professor of Violin, University of Colorada-Boulder). Miss Volodka returned to the Chicago area in December 1999 and became a member of the faculty at WSSTE.

Sooka Wang- neonply@yahoo.com

Originally from Montreal, Canada, Sooka Wang is currently staff accompanist and coach at the Western Springs School of Talent Education, the Naperville Suzuki School and Elmhurst College. Mr. Wang has a glowing reputation as a keyboard collaborator, chamber partner and coach for vocalists and instrumentalists in North America. He holds a performance degree from Mcgill University in Montreal and has participated in graduate studies at The Hartt School, University of Hartford in Connecticut. His teachers have included Zabel Manoukian, Dale Bartlett, David Westfall, and Luiz da Moura Castro. He has studied chamber music with the members of the Raphael Piano Trio, the Rembrandt Piano Trio, the Emerson and Orion String Quartets as well as former Orford Quartet cellist Marcel Saint-Cyr and Cleveland Quartet violinist William Preucil. He has pursued intensive chamber music studies in such programs as the Kent-Blossom Music Festival and was a finalist in the CIBC National Music Competition held in Montreal. In addition to regular guest appearances with the Adaskin String Trio, he has collaborated with clarinetist Jonathan Cohler, violinist Katie Lansdale, cellist Allison Eldridge and has a CD recording of works by Schumann and Prokofiev with duo partner cellist Mark Fraser. Mr. Wang has been on staff as an accompanist and coach at the Killington Music Festival, Intermezzo Opera Festival, Central Connecticut State University, University of Montreal, The Hartt School of the University of Hartford and The Hartt School Community Division.

Thomas Wermuth - Thomaswermuth@aol.com

Thomas Wermuth began studies at the age of six with Rubin Sher in Louisville, Kentucky. His training continued until 1970 at the Louisville Academy of Music with Ruth French, a former student of Ivan Galamian. During his last year as a high school student, Tom was invited to join the first violin section of the Louisville Orchestra, then under the direction of Jorge Mester. Upon completing that season, Mr. Mester invited Tom to join the professional ranks at the Aspen Festival, playing in the Festival Orchestra and studying with Japanese violinist Toshiya Eto. The following fall he was accepted at the Juilliard School in New York, where he continued his studies with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay.

In 1974, Tom moved to Canada to join the Kitchener - Waterloo Symphony as assistant concertmaster. During the fifteen years there, Tom played both violin and viola in the orchestra, and was a member of the Canadian Chamber Ensemble.

In addition to his extensive performance career, Mr. Wermuth has dedicated his life to teaching young students at the Western Springs School of Talent Education. Tom's teaching follows the philosophy of the great teaching pedagogue Shinichi Suzuki. Mr. Wermuth enjoys an international reputation as a guest clinician and registered teacher trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas. He has traveled to London, France, Israel, Australia and Sweden to give workshops and master classes.

Janis Wittrig - jkwittrig@aol.com

Janis Wittrig received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Violin Performance and Masters of Science in Music Education from the University of Illinois, Urbana. She studied violin with the distinguished pedagogue, Paul Rolland, and chamber music with Gabriel Maguar, cellist of the Old Hungarian Quartet. Upon graduation she became first violinist of the University of Southern California Graduate String Quartet. Janis taught in the Wheaton College Suzuki Program for ten years and joined the Western Springs School of Talent Education in 1995. Janis has taught at Suzuki workshops around the U.S. and in Canada. She lives in Wheaton with her husband and two children.

1106 Chestnut Street • Western Springs • IL • 60558 • 708-246-9309
32 Foxcroft Road • Suite 104 • Naperville • IL• 60565• 630-420-9309