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*denotes head of division
Cello
A native of Mexico city, Maruca Bednarek began her studies at the National Conservatory in Mexico City with Guillermo Helguera, principal cellist of the Orquesta Sínfonica de México and former cellist of the Dallas Symphony. Mrs. Bednarek later came to the U.S to study first at Southern Methodist University with Lev Aronson, former principal cellist of the Dallas Symphony, and later at Northern Illinois University with Marc Johnson of the Vermeer Quartet. Mrs. Bednarek has a B.F.A. degree in cello performance from Northern Illinois University.
She has performed with many orchestras in the Chicago metropolitan area including the Lake Forest Symphony, Elgin Symphony, Illinois Chamber Symphony and Light Opera Works. She was also a member of the Cassatt Piano Trio for two years.
Mrs. Bednarek has been teaching privately for over 15 years and has also taught at many schools in the northwest suburbs, including Prospect High School for 6 years and the Betty Haag Academy for Performing Arts for 4 years.
Maruca Bednarek is married to cellist David Bednarek and they have 9 year old daughter.
Drums
Matt Hart graduated from Illinois State University in May of 2006. He earned a bachelors degree in Music and has been teaching at Metropolis since February of 2007. Aside from teaching, Matt is also an active performer. He plays drums and percussion for theatre productions and various artists in the Chicago Area. Matt has been involved with the stage reading of Another Tomorrow at Metropolis, the LZP production of 110 in the Shade, The Backstage Theater Company production of Zombies From the Beyond, the Harper College Wind Symphony, and his rock band The Factory to name a few. Matt is very excited to be working with the Metropolis School of Performing Arts.
Flute
Kim Sopata has performed at the Kennedy Center, Symphony Space (NYC), the White House, the United Nations, and before HRH Queen Rania of Jordan. Her orchestral and chamber music experience includes performances with numerous orchestras including the Milwaukee, Elgin, and Charlotte Symphony Orchestras, and the Illinois and South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestras, and CUBE contemporary music ensemble, as well as solo performances with the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony, South Carolina Philharmonic, and the Millenium Chamber Players.. As a chamber musician, she performs frequently with The Sapphire Woodwind Quintet, and with guitarist James Baur as the Avanti Duo. She also plays traditional Arabic music on the Egyptian nāy as a member of the Mosaic Ensemble and the Bulbul Ensemble. She received a B.M. in flute performance from Northwestern University, where she studied with Chicago Symphony members Walfrid Kujala and Richard Graef, and an M.A. in Ethnomusicology with an emphasis in Middle Eastern music from Bethel University. Ms. Sopata is currently adjunct professor of flute at Trinity Christian College and maintains a large private flute studio in Park Ridge and Evanston.
Guitar
Paul Henry* has received much acclaim for his performances across the United States and Europe. He received high praise from Guitar International Magazine following his first Carnegie Recital Hall performance. He was recently featured in Guitar One Magazine as one of the top 10 guitarists in the United States. His numerous compact disc recordings have received outstanding reviews. His performance scores and his new method book for classical guitar are published internationally by the Hal Leonard Corporation. Paul is currently on the faculty at the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University and Concordia University in River Forest. He conducts master classes at many colleges and universities throughout the United States.
Robbie Kellogg holds a Bachelor of Music from Moody Bible Institute and a Master of Music in Classical Guitar Performance from Roosevelt University. He has taught as a freelance guitar instructor of classical, rock and blues for several years, and taught at Merit School of Music and Creator Arts Center. Robbie has been a choir director, band director, accompanist and worship leader at churches around the Midwest. He is a member of the Moody Symphonic band and has played guitar in rock, jazz and hip-hop bands. Robbie, who studied under Paul Henry, also composes and arranges music.
Brad Conroy is a versatile guitarist who specializes in both classical and electric guitar styles. Brad is an accomplished performer on the classical guitar and has performed throughout the United States in recital, at festivals, competitions, in numerous master-classes, and he has often been an evaluator and adjudicator. Brad keeps extremely busy with electric guitar and plays in a few Chicago-based rock and jazz fusion groups, he frequently plays on recording sessions, and maintains a large studio of students. Brad finished his B.M. at Northeastern Illinois University (cum laude) with a degree in Classical Guitar Performance and studied with Dr. Brian Torosian. Brad furthered his music studies with a M.M. in Classical Guitar Performance at The Chicago College of Performing Arts, the music conservatory at Roosevelt University where he studied with world renowned guitarists Denis Azabagic and Sergio Assad. Brad Conroy is very active in the Chicago music scene as a solo classical guitarist, rock/fusion guitarist, session player, and he teaches many students. For more info see www.BradConroy.com
Piano
Elif Allenfort* earned an early admission to the Hacettepe University State Conservatory in Ankara, Turkey where she graduated at the top in both piano and in the conservatory. Elif then won a full scholarship to the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Musical College to study under Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden and later was admitted to Roosevelt University Musical College where she completed her Master’s program with honors and her post-graduate degree. Elif has continued to develop her performance career through a regular schedule of recitals, orchestral appearances, special engagements and collaborative efforts with many professional musicians. Elif taught at the Betty Haag Academy of Roosevelt University for 5 years. Currently, in addition to her private studio, she is also the pianist for the Lake Shore Unitarian Society in Winnetka, Illinois.
Bryan Shilander, has performed widely as a pianist throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Korea, with recitals in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Mexico City, Seoul and Pusan, Korea. In addition to recital and concerto engagements he is sought after as an accompanist and chamber musician. He performed a concert series in three cities in Taiwan with the Sinorica Piano Trio in 1989. In 1985, 1992, 1995, and 2003 he performed in Korea in engagements including solo recitals, concerto appearances with the Pusan Symphony Orchestra, and recitals with violinist Hae Young Chung and soprano Seungwon Lee. He was the pianist and organist for the Chicago Boy Choir’s 2004 tour of England.
Mr. Shilander teaches piano at the Metropolis School of Performing Arts, Arlington Heights, Illinois, and is the music director at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Chicago. From 1985–2005 he was a piano instructor and Associate Dean of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Bryan Shilander studied piano at the Cleveland Institute of Music as a preparatory student with Betty Zimmer, and at the Sherwood Music School, Chicago, with Leo Podolsky, where he received the B.M. and M.M. degrees.
Sevgi Giles has appeared in venues throughout America and Europe as a recitalist, chamber musician and orchestral pianist. In 2001 Sevgi was awarded the prize for best performance of a French Suite at the International Bach Competition. Sevgi received a Bachelors degree from Ankara Conservatory in her native Turkey where she captured all of the top performance awards. She has done graduate work at both the University of North Texas and Roosevelt University. In December, Sevgi made her Chicago debut on the Dame Myra Hess Series, broadcast live on WFMT. She is also a member and soloist of the renowned North Texas Wind Symphony. In addition to her private studio, she is on the faculties of the Music Arts School and the Northwestern University Music Academy.
Violin/Viola
A native Chicagoan, Aimee Biasiello began her musical training on violin at age five. At age seventeen, she switched her focus to viola and studied under Desiree Ruhstrat at the Music Institute of Chicago. Aimee received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Lynne Ramsey and Jeffrey Irvine, and is currently working on her Master of Music degree from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University as a student of Roger Chase.
As a chamber musician, Aimee has had the privilege of working with Peter Salaff of the Cleveland Quartet, Mark Johnson of the Vermeer Quartet, Deborah Sobol of the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the Cavani String Quartet, and Mimi Zweig in master class at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. As a performer, Aimee has appeared at the Cleveland Orchestra’s Severance Hall, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Orchestra Hall and Ravinia. Aimee has played for the Music Institute of Chicago's Four Score Festival and just recently appeared in their January Concert Series. She played on the American premiere of Concerto Rustico by Marcin Blazewicz, and performed on the recording of the piece (scheduled release in spring 2010). She has also performed at several summer festivals including the Aspen Music Festival, ENCORE! School for Strings, the Utah Music Festival, Interlochen Arts Camp, and Casalmaggiore International Music Festival in Lombardia, Italy. As an orchestral musician, Aimee has collaborated with the Millennium Chamber Players, Camerata Chicago, and The Green Bay Symphony Orchestra. Aimee is also a founding member of the Chicago Q Ensemble, a newly formed chamber music ensemble whose mission is to provide unusual, intimate, and accessible musical experiences for audiences of all kinds.
Aimee teaches both Suzuki and traditional violin and viola, and is a chamber music coach at Stevenson High School.
Violin
Vasile Ardeleanu received his Masters degree in Orchestral Performance and his Bachelors degree in Violin Performance, graduating with honors from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. He studied with Cyrus Forough, Joseph Golan and Stefan Hersh. He has played with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago for the last two years, as well as with The Roosevelt University Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra in addition to various amateur orchestras throughout the city. His previous teaching experiences were in Romania where he provided one-on-one instruction to students at a variety of levels. Vasile also plays in a Romanian folk band.
Chie Yoshinaka started her violin studies at the age of five in Japan. Until she joined Civic Orchestra of Chicago for 2007-2008 season, Ms.Yoshinaka had long been based in New York area. She was under management with Asian Artists and Concerts while in New York, she has been heard at the Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and United Nation, among other venues in New York area. During the year 2007, she gave solo recitals in Tokyo and Greenwich, Connecticut. She regularly played with New Jersey Philharmonic, Westchester Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Bronx. Currently Ms.Yoshinaka plays with Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra. Also a dedicated teacher, Ms.Yoshinaka joined the faculty of Camp Encore/Coda in Maine in 2006, and has been invited back every summer. She was also a member of MusiCorps (an outreach program of Civic Orchestra of Chicago) and coached Chicago Youth Symphony's Concert Orchestra and Debut Orchestra during 2007-2008 season. In the fall of 2008 she joined the faculty of Metropolis Performing Arts Center in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Ms.Yoshinaka has attended numerous music festivals including Aspen Music Festival and the Brevard Music Center. She is a graduate of Manhattan School of Music (B.M.) and New York University (M.A.) where she received the Graduate Education Scholarship and the honor of Kappa Delta Pi (Internationla Honor Society in Education) membership. Her major teachers include Naoko Tanaka, Neil Weintrob, Daniel Avsholomov and Peter Winograd.
Voice
Tiffany Gates Etchell, Soprano, is from Cleveland, Ohio. Having performed consistently since age seven, Tiffany received a talent scholarship to attend The Cleveland Music School Settlement, earning a Certificate in Classical Vocal Performance. At the Settlement, she worked with Cleveland composer Michael Leese, who wrote an original song for Tiffany, which she performed for the Cleveland Composers Guild. She was also a member of the Blossom Festival Chorus, which sings with the Cleveland Orchestra. Tiffany continued her vocal studies at Ohio Northern University, where she received many scholarships, and earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance in 2002. At the University, she was a member and Assistant Conductor of The University Singers national touring chorus. Tiffany was a frequent soloist with the group, singing Aaron Copland’s In the Beginning, Handel’s Messiah, and Mozart’s Missa Brevis in F, to name a few. As the Assistant Conductor, Tiffany was seen leading the choir on national television during The Hour of Power with Dr. Schuller at the Crystal Cathedral in Los Angeles. Tiffany was also the founder/director of the Ohio Northern University Women’s Chorus, as well as a performer and choreographer for The Northernaires, a touring vocal jazz quartet. While in attendance at the University, she performed in four dance showcases and fifteen musicals/operas, with nine lead roles.
After moving to Chicago in 2004, Tiffany became a registered Music Together instructor. She now teaches this nationally recognized early childhood music program in two Chicago locations. Tiffany is also a professional musical theatre actress in Chicago. She has been seen as Belle in Metropolis’ A Christmas Carol and most recently starred at New York City’s Lincoln Center in a staged reading of a rock musical called Another Tomorrow. In 2007, Tiffany was chosen for The Circle in the Square Theatre School’s Summer Intensive Workshop in Manhattan, where classes where held in The Circle in the Square Theatre, the only accredited acting school on Broadway.
Sheetal Bhagat began studying music at the age of 5 with a focus on western classical violin and Indian classical voice. It was upon entering the University of Michigan’s School of Music and venturing from the parochial setting of her Eastern upbringing that Sheetal enveloped herself in the study and performance of jazz and classical western music.
In 1995 Sheetal moved to Los Angeles where she did session vocal work and commercial and film acting. Soon after her arrival, she began performing and touring with seminal LA rock band Zen Cowboys. Sheetal also began work as a music educator at Marymount High School, significantly redefining the choral program there and teaching, among other courses, Fundamental and
Advanced Placement Music Theory. In 2002 Sheetal became a member of the acclaimed St. Charles Boromeo Choir.
In 2004, Sheetal’s recorded and released her debut CD, “Love of Ages,” a result of her diverse influences - a recording that definitively captures and coalesces the range of musical inspiration that is Sheetal.
William (Bill) Rush has been a singer, voice teacher, actor, accompanist, music director and voice coach (speech and singing) for more than 25 years. He has been on the voice faculties of Chicago Conservatory, Loyola University, National Louis University, Francis W. Parker, Niles West and New Trier High Schools. He has also performed as a baritone soloist in area opera companies, university and community theatres and at a number of North Shore churches and temples. Mr. Rush has sung lead roles in works as diverse as Carmina Burana, Carmen, Oklahoma, Cenerentola, The Mikado, St. Matthew’s Passion and Wonderful Town. He worked with the touring casts of Annie, The Wiz, A Chorus Line, Chicago, The Will Rogers Follies and Movin’ Out among others. He is also a certified teacher and works with voices from three years of age to well over eighty.
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contactus
Box Office
Tues–Sat 10-5 (or until showtime)
Sun 1-5
847.577.2121
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Mon-Fri 10-6
Sat 9-3
847.577.5982 x221
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847.577.5982 x241
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Address
111 W. Campbell St.
Arlington Heights, Il 60005
Map to Metropolis
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