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. 

Jessica Arnold has been teaching piano, clarinet, and bass clarinet for over one year.  She is currently studying Music Education and Spanish at North Central College.  She enjoys playing piano, listening to music, and being social.  She has been performing in the American Grands for 11 years and is looking forward to her 12^th year in January 2010.  She specializes in classical music and contemporary church music, but enjoys teaching a variety of genres.  She teaches music theory alongside the technique for each instrument and adjusts the pace of lessons to fit the needs of each individual student.

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.

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.

Kristin Dudreck has been playing violin and viola for 15 years and has been teaching for the past 3.  She holds her Bachelors Degree in Music Performance from Cedarville University.  Outside of music, Kristin enjoys baking, and painting Ukrainian Easter/Holiday eggs.  She is currently performing with the Classical Symphony of Chicago.  She specializes in Baroque,, Classical, Romantic, and 20^th Century music and focuses a lot on technique and musicality in lessons.  She is fun and energetic and helps students meet their goals through honesty and encouragement.

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.

Joe Fanelli has been playing bass for over forty years and is excited to teach at Naperville Music.  He also enjoys singing and playing piano.  He has his Associates of Arts degree in Music from Triton college.  His interests outside of music include bike riding and martial arts.  Joe has performed for weddings, private parties, clubs, and festivals including the Taste of Chicago, at Navy Pier and before White Sox and Chicago Bulls games.  He is currently performing with a 9-piece horn band, Hip Pockit.  He enjoys teaching blues, rock, funk, and jazz, but can also teach other styles of guitar and bass to suit the student’s desires.  He believes that learning music should be enjoyable, but stresses that it is also a discipline and success depends on the work that each student puts in.

Garrett Fugger has been studying guitar for 12 years and has taught for the past 8.  He also enjoys playing mandolin and piano.  He has his Associates degree in music from Joliet Junior College.  He enjoys mountain biking and camping in addition to recording and playing out.  He is currently building his own music studio and recording his 2^nd album.  Garrett excels in teaching flatpicking and improvisation.  He believes that each learner is different, however, and adapts the technical studies to the style the student is interested in learning.  He stresses note-reading in his lessons to help students succeed in all genres of music.

Grant Gustafson has been teaching guitar and bass for 5 years.  He is currently getting his degree in Jazz Studies from North Central College.  In addition to music, Grant enjoys art, photography, and literature.  He was a part of several blues and rock bands in his early years of playing and has performed country-influenced music as well.  More recently, he has been heavily involved in Jazz and composition.  He enjoys teaching jazz, blues, rock, country, and folk styles of playing.  He believes that theory and discipline are important, as they allow players to more fully express themselves while always maintaining the idea that we began this out of love for the instrument and music in general.

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. 

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. 

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.

Cody Pritchard has been teaching guitar for 2 years.  He is currently a student at North Central College and is studying jazz guitar with John McLean.  He is working towards a degree in History and Anthropology with a minor in Jazz Studies.  At North Central, Cody participates in several musical ensembles including a jazz combo and a guitar ensemble.  In his free time he enjoys writing and playing music in addition to spending time with friends and family.  He enjoys teaching jazz, blues, rock, and folk styles of guitar, and adapts his teaching style to fit each individual student.  Cody believes that through a good understanding of theory and a motivated attitude, anyone can learn to express themselves through music.

Sarah Rauter has been playing brass instruments for 12 years and is excited to be teaching at Naperville Music.  She studied at Roosevelt University from 2005-2007 and received her Bachelors degree in Music from the University of Maryland in College Park, MD.  She has performed with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the Wheaton Municipal Band for the past 6 summers.  She also does freelance performing in the Chicagoland area.  Outside of music Sarah enjoys attending concerts, watching movies, and walking/hiking.  She prefers to teach classical music and works with students on their band and orchestra music in lessons.  She likes for lessons to be fun for the students, but focuses on student success.  She does this by assessing individual student needs and developing a plan that works for them.

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, Moody Bible Institute, 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). 

Kitty Rich 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.

Gina Roeser-Detienne has been teaching violin, viola, and cello at Naperville Music for 11 years.  She taught violin in Green Bay, Wisconsin for prior to moving to Naperville.  She has experience teaching students with developmental disabilities, and has taught lessons to students attending the Krecji Academy.  She has her BA in Music and Religious Studies from North Central College.  When she is not playing her violin she enjoys singing, dancing, and spending time with friends and family.  She has performed in many ensembles since arriving in Naperville including the Naperville Festival Orchestra, NCC Concert Winds (clarinet), NCC Concert Choir, NCC Express Show Choir, and pit orchestras for countless musicals at NCC (she was on stage for two of them).  She has also performed for various other community groups.  She is currently performing as a ceremony violinist for weddings and as Concertmaster for the Fox Valley Philharmonic. She also conducts the Youth Strings Ensemble for the Fox Valley Academy of Music Performance. She specializes in teaching classical music, but also loves to teach fiddle, and can teach beginning jazz students.  She believes that music should be fun and that playing should be playing.  She believes that the focus should be on tone, posture, and intonation because being successful at your instrument makes it more fun.   Gina also communicates with many of the local teachers to ensure success in lessons and in the school music program.

Jay Schwertfeger has been playing drums for 12 years and is excited to teach as a member of the Naperville Music teaching staff.  He holds his Bachelors degree in Elementary Education from Aurora University.  He has been performing in bands since 1997 and has been a member of 3crease from 1997-2001 and is currently performing with Absolutely Perfect (2003-present).  Outside of music, Jay enjoys running, lifting weights, and pro-wrestling.  He prefers to teach rock, funk, and punk, but will help students with other interests as well.  He believes that each student has different needs and adjusts his teaching style to meet the needs of the individual student. 

Brian Tredup has been teaching guitar for over 3 years and is currently pursuing his degree in Jazz Studies from North Central College and is studying with John McLean.  He enjoys playing music with friends and attending a variety of concerts (and will travel coast-to-coast to do it!).  He has performed in multiple ensembles throughout school and likes to write his own material to play at gigs.  Brian specializes in teaching Jazz and Rock, but does also enjoy teaching.  In lessons he likes to present concepts for learning in as many ways as possible while keeping the students engaged.  He believes that students should not feel pressured, but should learn the joy of expressing themselves through music.

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.