Our Staff

My journey in music began at age eight with classical piano lessons. I became immersed with Haydn, Mozart, Bach, and Chopin and then later with the Great American Songbook and jazz. At age twelve I made the decision to take up the drums and with that began my dual commitment to the worlds of piano […]

John Hix’s musical journey began when his father started giving him drum lessons at age seven. With love and support from an already musically inclined family and a drive to become a versatile player, John constantly sought out new experiences and challenges growing up. John discovered his passion for teaching when he began giving lessons […]

Ellen Garey is excited to have the opportunity to work at Hix Brothers Music School! Ms. Garey has extensive successful experience teaching violin and viola privately, as well as conducting award-winning public school orchestra programs. Ms. Garey is also a graduate-level adjunct college professor at VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, where she instructs adults […]

Kathleen Sullivan has been a professional singer for over 20 years. During that time, she has performed in and around New York City and toured with various companies, including the New York City Opera. She has appeared in numerous orchestral concerts, showcasing major and new works like Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, Messiah by Handel, […]

Aaron Levy taught guitar, piano, performance and songwriting in the Charleston, SC area from 2002-2015 and owned a vintage record store from 2015-2018. He has coached multiple American Idol and X-Factor contestants, including 6th place American Idol finalist Elise Testone. Aaron enjoys learning new songs, writing and performing original songs, and collecting records.     […]

I’ve been teaching at Imperial, and now Hix Brothers, since 1998, and I love teaching. I don’t think when I started teaching fresh out of grad school that I would have expected to enjoy the process of teaching so much. I had been working on repertoire and etudes intensely for years and planned on then […]

Mark Baldin joined the Rockford Symphony Orchestra in 1980 and has held the position of Principal Trumpet since 1984, One of the RSO’s most visible and popular players, he has frequently soloed with the orchestra and served as narrator and Master of Ceremonies for many of their special events. He has also performed with the […]

From a very young age, Sarah Olsen has had an interest in music. According to the archeologists of her childhood, her parents, she whistled at age 1 and sang her own version of opera babble at age 4, and she’s kept singing all the way up. She began her formal studies in high school and […]

Andrew Hix teaches drums five days per week, and is currently the general manager of Hix Brothers Music School. He has been playing drums for as long as he can remember, and has been an integral part of the making the Hix Brothers brand what it is today, as well as his brothers Carl and […]

Brian’s musical journey began at the age of 10 playing trumpet in the grade school band. However, it wasn’t long before the trumpet was put down in favor of the guitar, which proved a much better fit for a 13-year-old Brian. Following private lessons with numerous instructors, and obtaining a degree in music performance from […]

Ken has over 15 years of experience as a guitar teacher at Hix Brothers Music School. He started playing guitar at the age of 8 years old, and took 10 years of private instruction. He also studied music and guitar performance at Triton College and Musician’s Institute in California. He is a professional instructor, songwriter […]