Our Staff

Steven Vonderohe is a musician, educator, and composer in the southwest suburbs of Chicago who is devoted to sharing and advancing the art of percussion and music. Since receiving his Bachelor’s degree

Julia Clearman began studying Suzuki piano at the age of five under the direction of Nancy Daley through the Suzuki program at MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis, MN. Upon graduation from

Janet Kuester is the founder (2004) of The Music Connection. She is a private piano and violin teacher. She believes all students have musical ability that can be nurtured and developed and

Nick is an active drummer, percussionist, and educator from Charleston, South Carolina. He was a teaching assistant at and received his Masters in Performance from the University of North Texas, and his

Catalin Lari was born in Romania, and started to study music at the age of 6 playing accordion in his town of birth, Nasaud. When he was 10 years old, Catalin moved

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Mindy S. has found her home in the Chicago area. Mindy has studied piano from age 5, and received her Bachelor’s in Piano Performance from Bowling Green State

Carl Johnston is a veteran Chicago performer and educator. He has taught violin and viola privately for the past 45 years at the University of Chicago Laboratory School, DePaul University, American Conservatory

Dustin V. attended Olivet Nazarene University in his hometown of Bourbonnais, Illinois and received his liberal arts degree in 2016. He began Suzuki violin at age 10, beginning in Bourbonnais and later

Brenda Kenyon is a native Pennsylvanian from Waterford, near Erie.  She received a Bachelor’s in Music Education from the University of Pennsylvania at Mansfield and a Master’s in music education from Wright

Mrs. Christina E. is a professional pianist/vocalist/accompanist with a wealth of experiences. She has an extensive background in piano pedagogy and has been teaching children and adults for over 30 years. She

Steve Lawler graduated from Valparaiso University. He has been playing guitar on and off for about forty years. Steve has been teaching guitar at The Music Connection since it was founded over

Music Director of the Chicago Philharmonia Orchestra since 1985, Farobag Homi C. has also served as the Artistic Director of the University of Chicago’s Performing Artists Series from 1990 through 2002 and

Albanian-born and raised pianist Mirela L. has performed as recitalist, chamber musician, collaborative pianist, and taught piano professionally for over 20 years throughout Europe and the United States. Mrs. L. holds her

Ana Simonovska hails from Skopje, Macedonia where she began playing the violin at the age of five. She attended Skopje’s Performance Arts High School, where she studied violin and viola. Ana holds

Heather J. Carlasare, a native of New York City, was born into a very musical family. Both of her parents are professional musicians and she was brought up in the classical tradition

A current voice instructor at The Music Connection, Elena Kolganova got her start in her native city of Tashkent, Uzbekistan. There, she studied vocal performance at the Tashkent College of Music, and

Matthew Kijowski is a piano teacher and worship director in the city of Chicago. He received a Bachelors in Music in Music in Worship from North Park University where he received awards

Edward Eubank is a professional violinist with an extensive career as a performer, private teacher, middle and high school Orchestra Director and Fine Arts Administrator.  He earned his Bachelor of Music degree

Mrs. Kim joined the staff in 2018. She received associate degree in business and fine art from Morton College and continued her studios in fine art and marketing at Northern Illinois University

Grayson Boatwright was born and raised in Charlotte, NC. Music has been a very important part of his life ever since he was a young kid and fell in love with the

Having studied classically from the age of six, the piano is a core aspect of my life. Upon entering college at the University of Illinois, I discovered and developed my passion for

Matt Barwegen, the violist, has played in Midwest orchestras for 12 years, after earning a Performer’s Certificate in 2009 from Lynn Conservatory in Boca Raton, FL, where he studied with pedagogue Ralph