Christopher Laughlin, M.M Yale University, B.M. Peabody Conservatory. Christopher has performed extensively across North America and around the world. Under the sponsorship of the United States Information Service, Christopher Laughlin has toured in 25 countries on five continents, performing in Portugal, Greece, Morocco, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, India, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Austria, Yugoslavia, Romania, The Czech Republic, Ghana, Cameroon, Bolivia, and many others.
Christopher has performed as soloist with the Symphony of the Shores, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, the Westshore Symphony, the St. Joseph Pro Musica, the LaPorte County Symphony Orchestra, the Northwest Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Symphony String Quartet. He has made two recordings for Peregrine Records, Danza!, and Simplicio.
In 1984 Christopher was awarded a Fulbright Grant for study in Paris with Uruguayan guitarist Betho Davezac, continuing his studies for a second year with a grant from the French government. Christopher has won prizes in two international competitions, the Concours International de Guitar in Sable-sur-Sarthe, France, and the Concours International de l'U.F.A.M. in Paris. Guitar, Classical; Director
Neal Alger, B.M., Northern Illinois University. A freelance jazz guitarist in Chicago for twelve years now, Neal Alger has toured Europe, Canada, and the U.S. with jazz vocalist/pianist Patricia Barber and he is featured on her Blue Note Records releases VERSE (2002), LIVE: A FORTNIGHT IN FRANCE (2004), MYTHOLOGIES (2006), and COLE PORTER MIX (2008). Neal has collectively led and co-led four recordings to his credit. The first, HERE AND NOW, THERE AND BEFORE (2001), showcases Alger's eclectic compositions, fluid improvising style, and a prestigious Chicago lineup. The next three recordings feature Neal in a duo setting with vocalist Typhanie Monique as they dress up old standards in new clothes and reconfigure contemporary pop, rock, and R&B tunes on 2004's INTRINSIC , 2007's IN THIS ROOM, and 2008's YULETIDE GROOVE. As a leader and sideman, Neal performs regularly at the esteemed Chicago area jazz rooms the Green Mill, Pops for Champagne, Pete Miller's Steakhouse, and Andy's Jazz Club. Guitar, Rock/Pop/Jazz
Kyle Asche, B.M., Northern Illinois University. Kyle has performed and recorded with some of the most notable jazz artists in Chicago, including Bobby Broom, George Fludas, Ari Brown, Kimberly Gordon, the Jerry Devivo Band, and the Morris Ellis Orchestra. He participated in the 2005 “Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Jazztimes Magazine said “Asche displays a beautiful sound and a well developed melodic sense.” Guitar, Rock/Pop/Jazz
Cory Biggerstaff, B.M.E., University of Nebraska, M.M., De Paul University. Cory Biggerstaff received a Bachelors degree in Music Education from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. After teaching in Lincoln Public Schools for a year, he moved to Chicago to attend DePaul University where he received a Masters Degree in Jazz Performance in 2004. He studied with many DePaul faculty members including bassist Kelly Sill, pianist Larry Novak and guitarist Bob Palmeri. Cory now teaches privately at the Laughlin School and is the bass instructor at Harold Washington College. He works with wedding bands covering a wide variety of musical styles and also performs as a freelance musician on both acoustic and electric basses around the Chicago area. Bass
Louisa Blood, B.M., Peabody Conservatory, M.M., New England Conservatory. Louisa Blood has performed as a regular member with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, and has also performed with the New World Symphony, Fifth House Ensemble, and Advent Chamber Orchestra. Additional experience includes music festivals in Europe, Canada, and the U.S., such as the National Orchestral Institute in Maryland, where she was concertmaster, and the Domaine Forget chamber music festival in Quebec. Louisa has completed Suzuki Teacher Training courses, she has experience teaching students of all ages, and has also coached students in the Chicago Youth Debut Orchestra. Violin
Wesley Hixson, M.M., Chicago Conservatory of Music at Roosevelt University. B.A. University of Wisconsin Madison. Wesley studied classical guitar with renowned artists Dennis Azabagic and Sergio Assad. He has taught at Day Jam's summer rock band camp, and is currently on the faculty of Elmhurst College. Guitar, Classical
Caity Kania, M.M. in Music Education, Northwestern University, B.M. in vocal performance, Illinois Wesleyan University. Caity Kania is a versatile soprano with extensive vocal training and vocal pedagogy knowledge. Caity has performed operatic roles such as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, by Puccini, Sally in Die Fledermaus, by Strauss, Fiordilgi in Cosi fan tutte, by Mozart, and scenes from Carmen, by Bizet. She has done music theater roles such as Fiona in Brigadoon and scenes as Maria in West Side Story, Sarah in Guys and Dolls, and Sandy in Grease. Caity also has experience participating and directing madrigal groups, show choir groups, university choirs, and as lead singer in an oldies rock band. Caity has been teaching voice lessons to men, women, boys, girls, and teens for many years. She teaches classical style, operatic style, jazz, pop, rock, and music theater styles. Caity enjoys learning and teaching all types of music. She grew up surrounded by singing and music in her own house and has made it her life's passion to share it with others. Voice
John Kregor, B.M., University of Texas at Austin. Since turning his interest to jazz in 1995, John Kregor has received awards for outstanding musicianship from I.A.J.E. (International Association of Jazz Educators), the Western States Jazz Festival, and two from S.C.S.B.O.A. (Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association). He was also a featured soloist in the 1996 Southern California High School All-Star Jazz Band. John recently earned his bachelors degree in jazz composition with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin. He studied classical guitar with Adam Holzman, composition with Rick Lawn, Dr. Mark Schultz and Dan Welcher, and jazz guitar with Jeff Hellmer and Mitch Watkins. He was also given the opportunity to play with and write for Michael Brecker, and Peter Erskine and was awarded the Kent Kennan scholarship for his musical accomplishments.
In his hitherto brief tenure in the Chicago area, John has established a studio of over forty students, and has begun playing in and around town with the Mike Jeffers Trio, B-Dawg Quartet, Ted Hogarth Quartet, Big Joe's Jazz All Stars, Michelle Thomas, Denise LaGrassa and many other great musicians, including Chicago greats Johnny Frigo and Mark Colby. Guitar, Rock/Pop/Jazz
Andrew Kremer, B.M., Columbia College Chicago. Andrew began studying the guitar at the age of 12 under the instruction of Jim Konsbruck. While at Columbia College Andrew studied composition with Philip Seward, orchestration with Ilya Levinson, and classical guitar with Norman Ruiz. Andrew has also studied jazz guitar with Dave Saenger, Frank Portolese and Bill Boris.
Pursuing classical guitar further, Andrew participated in the 2005 International Festival de la Guitarra in Cordoba, Spain, where he studied with Pepe Romero and Pavel Steidl.
In 2007, Andrew won first prize in the Society of American Musicians collegiate classical guitar competition. Following this he gave a concert for the Chicago Classical Guitar Society featuring the music of Sor, Rodrigo, Barrios, and Guiliani. Guitar, Classical/Rock/Pop/Jazz
Jim McPhedran, B.M., Northern Illinois University. Jim was named the Illinois Guitar League “Olympic Champion” In 1996. He performed in the musical “The Last Five Years” at the Northlight Theatre in Skokie, and has performed with the Jeff Brackhan Trio, the Amber Dawn Ward Trio, and the Greg Bishop Trio. Guitar, Rock/Pop/Jazz
David Miller, B.M., Northern Illinois University. David has already built a very impressive and wide-ranging roster of collaborations in the short amount of time he has spent in Chicago. From the traditional to the avant-garde, the concert hall to the dive rock bar, Miller leaves no musical stone unturned.
He has been a three time consecutive winner in the Union and Civic Arts League of Chicago Jazz Improvisation Competition and was recently featured in Chicago Magazine and the Chicago Reader. In addition to his sought-after, genre-defying talents in guitar performance, Miller has also become respected and heralded as a serious composer, mainly from the output of his experimental indie rock group, Algernon. Miller splits his time between playing gigs in Chicago and traveling in the US and abroad playing concerts with the various projects in which he is involved. Guitar, Rock/Pop/Jazz
Alexa Muhly, M.M., Yale School of Music, B.M., Cleveland Institute of Music. Alexa has performed extensively in the United States, Canada, England, France, Germany, Hungary, and Lithuania, and is an active orchestral and chamber musician in the Chicago area. In recent seasons, she was the principal cellist of the Kalamazoo Symphony, and also appeared with the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Pine Mountain Music Festival. Ms. Muhly received early recognition as first-prize winner in the Iowa Center for the Arts competition as well as prize winner in the Jugend Musiziert national competition in Germany. Other honors include a long-term residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Calgary, Alberta and awards from the Cleveland Institute of Music, Yale University, and the Aspen Music Festival. She is currently the cellist for the new music ensemble Opus 21 with whom she has performed at Symphony Space and Carnegie Hall in New York City, as well as in Ann Arbor, and Kalamazoo. Cello
Keith Murphy, D.M.A., M.M.A. and M.M., Yale University. B.A. University of Chicago. Dr. Murphy has taught piano at the Laughlin School for 2 years and previously taught piano and accompanied middle and high school students on the faculty of New England Music Camp. Trained as a composer, his music has been performed by the Minnesota Orchestra, Eighth Blackbird, Opus 21, the Illini Saxophone Club, Indian percussion prodigy Rohan Krishnamurthy, and many others. Dr. Murphy has taught at both Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University in the areas of Composition, Music Theory, 20th-Century Music, American Music, and World Music, and he was a Teaching Fellow in Yale University’s Department of Music. In addition to teaching at the Laughlin School, he currently teaches music theory at both Loyola University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also sings professionally as a tenor vocalist and is a stipendiary member of both the Rockefeller Chapel Choir at the University of Chicago and the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Piano.
Casey Nielsen, B.M. Northern Illinois University. Casey has performed at numerous jazz clubs in the Chicago area, including Pete Miller's and Katarina's. He studied classical guitar with Paul Henry and jazz guitar with Fareed Haque and Neal Alger. He released his debut recording in 2003 titled “The Casey Nielson Quartet,”.
Guitar, Classical; Guitar, Rock/Pop/Jazz
Alexander Rowney, M.M., Manhattan School of Music, B.M., Northwestern University. Alexander has concertized abroad in Russia, Italy, Austria, Germany, and England as well as in Chicago and in New York. During his undergraduate career, Alex studied abroad at the IES Center in Vienna, Austria, attending the Vienna Music University where he studied with Antoinette van Zabner Zinn-Zinnenburg. He is fluent in German and has taught Austrian students in German.
Alex was a finalist in the Artur Balsam Competition for Duos at Manhattan School of Music and the Thaviu-Isaak Piano Competition at Northwestern. He has performed for masterclasses given by Sergei Babayan, Earl Wild, and Vladimir Feltsman.
In addition to his pianistic training and performances, Alex is an avid composer of experimental, electronic, pop, and film music. He also is a multi-instrumentalist, playing electric/acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drum set, and French horn. Recently he has begun programming synthesizers with his own sound designs. He enjoys improvisation and experimentation in his music, and often blends a more grounded pop sensibility with the extremes of experimental music. Alex's favorite activity, though, is teaching music to any age and skill level. Piano, drums
Anastasia Royal, B.A. Barat College, additional studies at American Colleges at Oxford University, and University Aiz-Marseilles, France. Anastasia began her training with Hungarian teacher Lili Simon, who was a student of Bela Bartok. She also trained with Julian Levitan of DePaul University. She has performed her original music at numerous theaters, such as Chopin Theater, Live Bait, Hot House, Blue Rider Theater, and the Lunar Cabaret. For over 20 years she has taught both children and adults on Chicago's North Shore and in Europe. Piano
Sam Smiley, B.A., Western Michigan University.Sam has spent the past several years as an active performer on the Chicago music scene. He has performed many different styles including jazz, rock, and country. He performs and records regularly with Chicago singer-songwriter Todd Kessler, with whom he has had the opportunity to play some of the best Chicago rock clubs including Schubas, Double Door, and Millenium Park. He has also spent time performing throughout the country and world with other rock bands and world music groups, including a tour of eastern Europe. He is currently finishing a master's degree studying with guitarist Fareed Haque. Sam has taught private, group, and rock band lessons for over ten years. He has also taught at DayJams rock band camp.
Guitar, Rock/Pop/Jazz
Christopher Laughlin School of Music 1955 Raymond #113
Northbrook, IL 60062
