Now you can visit our nearly completed New Lesson Website for complete information on our private and group lesson programs including Rock School.
click Just Play Music ! at Naperville Music
Our Teachers Make Learning Fun !
We have been providing private music instruction in Naperville since the day we opened for business in 1974.
We are very proud of our staff of instructors. Most have been with us for years, and we are always adding quality staff members who meet the high standards we maintain for music instructors. In addition to their education and experience, every member of our teaching staff has also completed our own proprietary training program which ensures that all of our instructors are able to meet the needs and expectations of the students and parents who have selected us as their source for private music instruction.
Our teachers must be both inspirational and effective as they teach music to our students. We want the students to have fun, but they must also learn. Each member of our teaching staff is dedicated to meeting these goals. In addition to our teaching staff, our administrative staff is always ready to help students and parents at any time.
Here's some information about our teachers...
TEACHER BIOS
Dennis Anderson has been teaching piano for about 30 years. He studied classical piano studies at the American Conservatory of Music and jazz piano studies at the Skip Green Studio. His interests outside of music include museums (such as the Art Institute), golf, and finding new restaurants to enjoy. He performs in hotels, restaurants, and jazz clubs around the Chicago Area, and has performed on cruise ships out of Ft. Lauderdale. Dennis really enjoys teaching jazz, pop, and improv music, but also loves to teach beginning classical students. He structures the lessons around the student’s needs and desires.
Mike Bibby has been teaching guitar for about 6 years. He has his Associates Degree from College of DuPage, a C++ programming certificate, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Computer Music from Northern Illinois University. He has a special interest in audio technology including music, sound FX, recording, sound for film, and synthesis. Currently, his projects outside of teaching are based primarily on studio recording. Mike prefers to teach the styles of music that the student desires to learn and structures lessons based on the student’s interests. He often begins by covering a wide variety of basic techniques and then allows each student to develop their specialties from that foundation.
Ryan Bigeck has been teaching woodwind instruments for five years. He has a degree in Comprehensive Music Education and his K-12 Music Certification from Chicago College of Performing Arts of Roosevelt University. He is currently employed as the director of beginning band and orchestra, intermediate band, and advanced band levels at George Washington Middle School in Lyons, Illinois. Most of his interests involve music, but outside of music he enjoys football, pop culture, and martial arts. He was a member of Del Souls and In Full Swing big band, has performed as a freelance musician, and has been a clinician for a number of festivals and Solo and Ensemble competitions. Ryan specializes in teaching classical, blues, funk, soul, and be-bop music. He focuses in lessons on fundamentals and proper technique, but believes that ear training is important as well. He aims to make students better, more sensitive musicians.
Tania Brown has been teaching violin for eight years. She studied at Southern Illinois University and has extensive playing experience. She has played in 2 orchestras, 2 bands, and has 2 recordings. She has been a street performer, and open-mic host, has played at music festivals, weddings, cafes, open-mics, fiddle competitions, birthday parties and other concerts. Her interests outside of music include reading, nature, and animals. She excels at teaching Celtic and folk-style fiddle but will custom-build lessons to suit the individual student’s needs. Lessons with Tania are flexible, dynamic, funny, student-focused, and will be full of both hard work and fun.
Frank Delo has been teaching woodwind instruments for 10 years. He received his BS in Music Education and his MM in clarinet performance. Outside of music he enjoys philosophy and martial arts. He has performed with the Wheaton Symphony Orchestra, the American Wind Band, the Quincy Symphony Orchestra, and the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the Lausitzer Opernsommer in Cottbus, Germany since 2008. He prefers to teach classical music and focuses on proper fundamentals in lessons. He believes that students are able to learn more if they do not need to go back to correct the basics later.
Evan Dunn has been playing guitar for 20 years and teaching guitar and bass for 5 years. A Naperville North High School graduate, he is currently in his 4th year at Columbia College Chicago studying Audio For Visual Media (Film and Television Scores). Outside of school and work, he scores for film. He does session work all over the city of Chicago for various artists, and is currently playing live with his band The Alaya Conscious. Evan is almost always either in the studio, practicing, or playing live. He has been a finalist for Guitarmageddon and has even played over seas in Liverpool, UK for an International Beatlefest. Evan will teach any genre of music, but especially enjoys teaching blues, rock, and metal. Jazz, acoustic, and pop are next on the list. Evan applies theory to teaching in a fun way - he believes that fun is crucial to the learning process and that the student needs to want to play.
Mitch Eales has been playing guitar and bass for 40 years and teaching for the past 20. He studied guitar with Verne Fiedler and has worked with numerous bands. He worked for 10 years with the band Fog then played another 10 years with Dave Bickler (Survivor), and James Fairs (Shames). Outside of music his interests include literature, baseball, and art. He excels at teaching rock, blues, and classical guitar. Mitch studied classical guitar and fell in love with the blues. He believes that music should be a joy and works with students to find the style of music that they can fall in love with. He also strives to instill the belief that learning an instrument is a lifetime endeavor.
Alex Gustafson has been playing guitar for over six years. He also enjoys and teaches bass. He is currently attending North Central College where he is minoring in Jazz Studies. In addition to music, he enjoys art and computers. Currently, he performs with one of the Jazz combos at NCC. He specializes in teaching jazz, country, bluegrass, and singer/songwriter styles of music. He believes that lessons should be fun through learning new concepts.
Adam Huff has been teaching guitar and bass for 11 years. He received his BM in Classical Guitar and an MM in Classical Guitar from the College Conservatory of Music at Cincinnati. Outside of music, his interests include reading fiction, playing sports and games, and watching movies. Adam has performed in 5 solo recitals at the CCM and has done about 100 tour concerts throughout the state of Ohio. He enjoys teaching classical guitar as well as rock and pop music. Adam is traditional but laid-back in his approach to lessons. He expects that students learn to read, but the music is negotiable.
Herman Jimenez started playing trombone professionally in his hometown of New York City 14 years ago. He has been teaching all brass instruments for 13 years. Before moving to the Chicago area Herman received his Bachelor’s Degree in trombone performance at Nyack College where he studied privately with Mark Patterson of the New York Pops Orchestra and Jim Markey of the New York Philharmonic. Herman teaches students of all ages from children to adults and believes in always creating a serious but enjoyable atmosphere in all his lessons. When not playing music he enjoys anything from playing basketball with his friends to sitting at home enjoying a good movie.
Kitty Keith has been teaching the instruments of the woodwind family for about 5 years. She is currently a student at Northern Illinois University and is majoring in Elementary Education with an endorsement in music. She has performed with the NIU Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony and also with the Kishwakee Orchestra. She specializes in teaching classical music, but will also teach the basics for students wishing to pursue jazz music. She wants for her students to have fun with music, but also to understand music. It is important to her that students listen to music and study it, rather than just learn how to play it.Jeanette Klover has been teaching piano for 8 years. She studied Fiction Writing at College of DuPage and Columbia University. In addition to playing and teaching piano, Jeanette enjoys learning to play new instruments and writing. She has played numerous recitals on piano, and also played flute in marching and concert band throughout middle and high school. She specializes in teaching classical and popular music. Jeanette differentiates instruction in order to best teach a wide variety of students by focusing on improvement rather than completing a piece of music. While she likes to make the lessons fun for all students, she is able to adapt to teach even the most serious of students.
Eric Liebing has been teaching drums and percussion for four years. He holds his Bachelors of Performing Arts from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Eric enjoys collecting rare music and live recordings, and spends time studying film and movie scores. He was a cruise ship musician and played in over 1,00 shows during his time on the ships. He has spent the past seven years performing on land with area groups and is also a recording artist and composer. He specializes in rock, fun, and latin drumming but will teach a variety of styles to help students become well-rounded and discover their own musical preferences. Eric believes that lessons should provide students with a current and progressive approach to percussion performance and focuses on listening and playing examples as well as reading through new materials.
Diana Mayne has been playing the violin and viola for over 14 years and has her Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance with Honors and High Distinction from the University of Iowa. Just watching her play can inspire students to challenge themselves and work harder to achieve their musical goals. Diana wants all of her students to find a unique voice of their own through music. Her musical interests are quite varied and range from classical to rock while covering just about everything in between. Outside of teaching, Diana enjoys reading, creative writing, and performs often in Chicago with various bands and ensembles .
Craig Meyer has been teaching guitar, bass, trumpet, French horn, banjo, and mandolin at Naperville Music for over 9 years. He has attended Northern Illinois University, Kishwakee Valley College, and Waubonsee Community College. In addition to playing and listening to music he enjoys drawing, painting and spending time with his wife and children. He began his musical career playing trumpet in concert, marching, and jazz band in grade and high school. In high school he also began playing guitar in the school’s jazz band. More recently he has played guitar and been the singer for a rock band. Currently he is working on a solo recording project. Craig specializes in teaching rock, jazz, blues, classical, and folk music. He believes that each student should strive to be a good musician so he focuses his lesson on developing the student’s ear, reading music, improving technical skills, learning lots of songs, and having fun.
Roger Pierce has been teaching piano for six years. He has a BS from Northern Illinois University and an AA from Waubonsee Community College. He has also studied at Southern Illinois University, Elmhurst College, Illinois Institute of Technology, and Western Iowa Tech. He is a Master Level brass and woodwind instrument repair technician and has interests in aviation, motorcycles, and marine aquariums. He has performed at the Kansas City Jazz Festival, the Cincinnati Jazz Festival, the Notre Dame Jazz Festival, the Elmhurst Jazz Festival, the Governors State Jazz Festival, and The Louis Armstrong Memorial Jazz Festival in Paris France. Roger specializes in teaching both concert repertoire and jazz music. He is equally comfortable teaching young beginners and adults. Roger focuses his teaching on developing solid technical ability and theoretical knowledge. These skills will allow students to play whatever style they may want to learn. He believes that fun comes with achievement and aims for the students’ satisfaction as they learn to play the piano well. He acknowledges the fact that learning piano is hard work, but also that it is fun and rewarding. He aims to combine the effort and enjoyment of this journey to help students achieve their goals.
Vera Reid has been on our Naperville Music teaching staff for 3 years. She has been teaching piano for the last 8 years, and began playing at age seven. Her path in the musical arts has taken her to a variety of roles, which include organist, choirmaster, pianist and solo vocalist with full orchestra. Vera studied voice at the Detroit Institute of Musical Arts, and under Norman Gulbrandsen at Northwestern University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northeastern Illinois University. In lessons, Vera is very open and positive and encourages student success while emphasizing piano theory, accuracy and creativity at the keyboard. She specializes in teaching from Alfred books as well as the Faber and Faber series and is open to teaching many different types of music based on the student’s interests. Vera regularly updates her teaching skills by attending music workshops and seminars. In her free time she enjoys bicycling, cooking and spending time with friends and family (especially her grandson).
Jeff Rolando has been playing guitar since the age of 15. He started taking lessons in popular music, jazz, and folk with Arthur Jannson in South Elgin and played in many electric and acoustic rock and blues garage bands as a youth. Jeff studied classical guitar with Nico Angel at the Arlington School of Music and eventually earned his undergraduate degree from NIU where he went on to teach. He later completed his Master’s Degree at Illinois State University where he had the honor of serving as Graduate Assistant to Dr. Angelo Favis. He also taught classroom guitar and directed ensembles for the University. Jeff’s favorite composers are J.S. Bach and Augustin Barrios and his favorite band is Led Zeppelin. He is prepared and happy to teach whatever style of music his students are interested in on the guitar.
Erik Skov has been teaching guitar for over 6 years and holds his BA in Guitar Performance from North Central College. He has performed with many ensembles including Chicago Jazz Collective, Chicago Jazz Contingency, Erik Skov Organ Trio, Taylor Martins New Music Ensemble, numerous ensembles at North Central College, and has played in pit orchestras for musicals and accompanied choirs on classical guitar. Erik specializes in teaching Jazz, Rock, and Blues guitar. He believes that each student has a different learning style and is interested in learning different types of music and it is important to him that each lesson is customized to meet the individual student’s needs.
Brian Tredup has been teaching guitar for over 4 years and has his degree in Jazz Studies from North Central College under the tutelage of Chicago guitarist John McLean. He enjoys playing music with friends and annually attends a variety of concerts (and will travel coast-to-coast to do it!). He has performed in multiple ensembles in both school and gigging situations. Brian specializes in teaching Jazz and Rock, but enjoys all genres of musical expression. In lessons he finds it important to present concepts in a variety of fashions for there is never just one way to understand a concept. He believes that students should not feel pressured in their studies. Rather, music is an outlet and should be therefore regarded as creative expression.
Mac Willaert has been studying voice and piano for over thirteen years and teaching for over five. He is currently in the process of completing his degree in music at North Central College. Mac emphasizes developing a good working relationship between teacher and student as you work together to accomplish your goals. Mac is one of those rare vocal teachers who is comfortable teaching everything from classical to rock. He also enjoys playing and performing in his Pink Floyd tribute band, “In The Flesh”.
Cara Ying has been teaching the string instruments for one year. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the Hartt School at the University of Hartford (Connecticut). Outside of playing viola, she enjoys traveling and spending time with friends and family. Currently, she performs with the DuPage Symphony Orchestra. She specializes in teaching classical music, but enjoys teaching a variety of genres. Cara believes that every student should have the opportunity to experience music and make it something of his or her own. Lessons with Cara are fun and energetic, but also focused on being successful on the instrument.
John Zver has been teaching drums for 22 years. He has received the bulk of his musical education through college, years of private lessons, and thousands of performances. Outside of music, he enjoys politics. Currently he is performing with Thadeus Project (ThadeusProject.com). John prefers a comprehensive teaching style and will teach students that want to study any genre of music. He believes that good equipment is essential to learning and loves commercial pop.
Now that you know a little bit about our instructors, you can see what some of our customers are saying about us by clicking this linkWHY WAIT ?
We would invite you to enroll with us today. The sooner you enroll, the sooner you can start enjoying the fun that learning an instrument can bring. Give us a call, or visit our studio. We would be happy to provide any further information on our program.
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Or give us a call at 630-355-1404
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