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A woman sitting on top of a bench next to a piano.

Yevgeniya (Jane) Lepskaya’s solo recital


Yevgeniya (Jane) Lepskaya’s solo recital is scheduled for March 12, 2011, Saturday at 5pm.

It will be held at PianoForte Studios located at 410 South Michigan Avenue, Room 825, Chicago IL 60605.

For tickets please r.s.v.p to [email protected]

Adults tickets are $35, student tickets are $15.

A painting of beethoven writing in his hand.

Update on the page: Our Musical Ancestry


Our Musical Ancestry

Ms. Yevgeniya Lepskaya, the owner and the main piano instructor at Lepskaya’s School of Music, has had the privilege of studying with the best of the best throughout her career in the field of classical music.

This was true both in her home city of Kiev, Ukraine, as well as in Chicago in the United States, which became home for Ms. Lepskaya in 1994.
The genealogy of her musical family tree reaches directly back to Beethoven.

To read an article written by Ms. Lepskaya on Musical Ancestry please follow this link.

A piano in the middle of a room with wood floors.

Update on the page: Our Facilities


Lepskaya’s School of Music

Lepskaya’s School of Music is located in the downtown area of Park Ridge, a small suburb of Chicago, IL.

The school is within walking distance of the Park Ridge Public Library and City Hall. We are also strategically placed on the corner of Main Street and Touhy in the midst of the main shopping area in Park Ridge.

While classes are in progress, parents are welcome to wait in one of our two waiting areas, or take a stroll through downtown. Parents may also want to take a short walk to two city parks if the younger siblings prefer to play outside while their older brothers or sisters are taking a lesson.

Ample free parking is available in immediate vicinity of Lepskaya’s School of Music, both on the street as well as around the corner next to the Children’s Book Store, which is located in the same building as the School of Music.

A close up of the strings on a violin

Teacher Recitals


Please visit our page: Events, Teacher Recitals, to view pictures from Yevgeniya (Jane) Lepskaya’s Solo Recital at the Fine Arts Building in downtown Chicago in November of 2009.

A close up of the strings on an acoustic guitar.

The first annual Roland Festival


The first annual Roland Festival will be held at Ravinia this year on Sunday, October 31st. (Yes, that’s Halloween!) Piano educators are invited to attend one of 3 workshops here at the Northbrook Steinway of Chicago on July12,13 or 14 to learn more about this exciting performance opportunity for your students! In addition, a significant portion of the festival will be broadcast live on WFMT radio! Read more

Pages

History of Our Location


Park Ridge IL, where we are located, is a Chicago suburb approximately 15 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. Park Ridge celebrated its centennial year in 2010. 
The town began its existence as a main location where brick was made for the city of Chicago, thus giving it the name Brickton at one point in its existence. Park Ridge is a vibrant community, offering its residents a rich academic environment with multiple private schools, as well as numerous parks and community facilities. Park Ridge is also the hometown of the former first lady of the United States and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. 
Park Ridge prides itself on being an artistic town. Our School of Music hopes to become one of the community’s artistic centers, where the talents of Park Ridge residents can be nourished and developed. To learn more about Park Ridge IL, please click here.

Registration

Please submit the registration fee and tuition via Zelle, Venmo, Check, or Cash. The recipient is Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music. Please use the school’s phone number, 773-319-5108, or the school’s email, [email protected], to submit any and all fees.



A girl holding a green bird in her hands.

Testimonials

 

I have been a student of Yevgeniya for ten years. She has helped me evolve from a shy performer who struggled to get through books for beginners to someone who looks forward to taking on challenges of advanced Liszt and Chopin. She not only gave me hands-on advice about my technique but listened to my concerns at the same time. I wanted to play Chopin’s “Ballade no.1 in G Minor” for the longest time, but I was not ready for it. Instead of rushing, she built up my technique with etudes and allowed me to emotionally mature to play such a draining piece. She genuinely cares about my improvement and well-being and has such an immense passion for music that she passed onto me. I could not imagine someone more supportive and brilliant teaching me.

Nell has been playing with Ms. Yevgeniya Jane Lepskaya for 2 years. Nell has been inspired by Ms. Jane to play piano and to have fun with it. She loves Ms. Jane!
Ms. Jane is very patient and caring with Nell. My daughter always loves to play piano, and she enjoys all her piano pieces. Ms. Jane is a teacher that loves her students and is always is in a great mood.
She is a great teacher !!!
Thank you for teaching Nell for the past years.

Testimonial Getting our son into piano lessons with Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music has been one of the best experiences for our family. Our piano teacher, Ms. Jane, is the most dedicated, passionate and talented teacher I have ever met and her impact on our son is truly remarkable. I always admire her approach and ability to keep the students focused, motivated, accomplished and to bring the best out of them. After three years of piano lessons, our son is playing amazingly, developed love for music, and learned a lot about many composers, their life and work. We ended up visiting Mozart’s home town in Austria and attended a concert in one of the castles in the area based on our son’s interest to learn more about and experience piano music. Ms Jane showed our entire family the beauty of classical music and is making our son not only a great piano player but a better person. Thank you for all that, we will be forever grateful!

I learned a lot from this school. They teach you in ways I couldn’t even imagine. So I am glad that I decided to take piano here.

Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music is probably one of the best schools if you want your kids to learn about music and how to play (in our case, it is piano). Our friends suggested that we enroll our children in Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music piano lessons. Our children took piano lessons from other teachers before, but Yevgeniya’s school is entirely on another level. Our teacher at the school is Victoria, to whom we are very grateful for her patience and her ability always to be energetic, and her willingness to teach our kiddos. Mind you, learning piano is hard work, and essentially one needs to be consistent at studies, but after a full year of our kids attending the school, the results are impressive. We loved the school so much that we decided to enroll our third kid in piano lessons.

I’ve been playing piano with Ms. Jane for almost ten years now, and I’ve learned so much from her. Her teaching method is paced to match her students’ talent, age, experience, which all provide very beneficial lessons. In addition, she treats everyone with respect and kindness and doesn’t hesitate when there is feedback to be given. When I first started lessons, it was hard to find the will to practice, but as I slowly became more immersed in the musical world, practicing became much more of a hobby than a requirement. Weekly lessons are now things I look forward to, and I learn more from her every day.

I am amazed at how much my daughter has learned this year! The Lepskaya’s School of Music really brings out the best in their students! My daughter was previously taking lessons at another studio where the teachers kept changing and ultimately she was constantly playing at the same basic level. We switched her out to Lepskaya’s with Lesley as her teacher. Lesley’s been a great “instrument†in improving my daughters skills. According to my daughter, Lesley helps you focus on any problems you’re having with a piece and gives you great detailed information on how to work on it. My daughter has definitely been challenged and is playing beautiful music! I’m glad we decided to give this local school a chance.

A woman with long hair wearing a pink shirt.

My daughter, Carolina (11), has been studying piano with Jane since 1st grade. Jane not only shares her extensive knowledge and technical expertise, but also her love of music, explaining the history and feeling behind the musical pieces. Over the past 4 years, Jane and Carolina have formed a special bond. Jane is patient and respectful of her specific mood or ability level on a given day, asking questions and listening. Jane challenges Carolina to go beyond what she thinks she can accomplish and encourages her to work hard. At the same time, she also has an excellent sense of when to push and when to pull back. My daughter has also taken lessons from Takako, who always seems to help her through rough patches in a piece. The recitals and occasional competitions have resulted in a sense of accomplishment, greater confidence in her abilities and grace under pressure. Carolina truly enjoys playing the piano, which is really all I could ask for. I highly recommend Jane and her staff.

A woman with long hair wearing a pink shirt.

Our daughter, Emma, has been a student of Yevgeniya Lepskaya School of Music for 2 years.
We could not be more pleased with Jane, who happens to be the owner and piano instructor. She is truly passionate about music and teaching.
Emma has learned so much in the short time that she has been a student of Jane’s.
The reason is that Emma loves spending time with her. She demands a lot from her students, but has created an environment where children want to be. Just recently, our daughter took part in one of the school’s piano recitals.
Jane started the recital with a brief introduction and referred to her students as “all of my childrenâ€.
It was a wonderful comment that was appreciated by all of her students and the parents.

Thank you Jane for being a wonderful teacher.

A woman with long hair wearing a pink shirt.

Irina Zinevich has been teaching my six-year old son violin for the past year and a half.
Ms. Zinevich has been incredibly patient and supportive towards him. Having a little one in a 45 minute lesson could be hard on anyone. Irina is very creative in her teaching methods. She works hard to make each lesson enjoyable for my son. As a result of Ms. Zinevich’ efforts, my son wants to keep trying. Thanks to Irina, my son loves music and understands how important it is to practice.

A woman with long hair wearing a pink shirt.

One year ago, my 7 year old daughter started piano lessons with Ms. Victoria at The School of Music. It was our first experience with anything musical and we both knew very little. Ms. Victoria has made learning piano a joy for both of us. I sit in each lesson and take notes so I can help my daughter practice at home. In one half hour, we learn more than I would have thought possible and we have fun doing it. Ms. Victoria manages to balance humor with staying focused and keeping her students on track. She is always smiling and using jokes that are age appropriate and gradually builds on skills when students are developmentally ready to learn them. She provides challenges to encourage students’ learning. She also makes sure my daughter is learning the proper way to play, not just memorizing notes. I can’t say enough complimentary things about Ms. Victoria; she is great fit for my daughter and I am so happy to be part of the School of Music family.

My two kids started going to Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music in September of 2009. After taking piano lessons with Yevgeniya (Jane) Lepskaya for the past 9 months, both my husband and I feel blessed and fortunate to have Ms. Lepskaya as a piano teacher for our two children. Yevgeniya’s best qualities, we believe, are her great professionalism and integrity.
Ms. Lepskaya teaches the kids not only music in depth but also love for the music in general. In addition, Ms. Lepskaya introduces the students to the methods on how to improve their playing in a really fun way. My kids are becoming more enthusiastic about learning piano every day and they are always looking forward to their lessons with Ms. Lepskaya.

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My daughter Hanna, who is now 10, had a desire to play piano since the age of 4. When she turned 5, I found a teacher for her in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the experience with the teacher ended up turning her off of piano for 3 years!!

When Hanna turned 8, she started voicing a renewed interest in playing piano. This time I did my research. Hanna and I met with Yevgeniya (Jane) Lepskaya at the Lepskaya’s School of Music, and walked away from our meeting feeling comfortable and excited to start lessons again.

Hanna started piano lessons with Ms.Takako whose personality and calmness turned out to be PERFECT for my daughter’s individuality and learning style. Ms. Takako’s patience, soft demeanor, yet meticulous teaching style are just what Hanna needed to thrive with playing piano. Hanna absolutely LOVES playing and will practice on her own without any reminding or pressuring from me. I owe Ms.Yevgeniya (Jane) Lepskaya and Ms.Takako Hironaka my sincere and deepest gratitude for helping foster my daughter’s love of music and piano.â€

A woman with long hair wearing a pink shirt.

Jane has been my piano teacher for 3 Ð… years. I started playing piano in first grade when I was seven years old. I am now almost 11 years old and I am going into 5th grade.
Jane has taught me so much in these 3 Ð… years. When I am nervous during recitals, all I have to do is look at Jane, because she is always smiling. Jane makes me very confident especially when I am nervous. I am very lucky to have a piano teacher like Jane.
Piano is something I will enjoy for the rest of my life thanks to Jane. Every year I am inspired by Jane to keep playing more and more piano.

A woman with long hair wearing a pink shirt.

We consider ourselves lucky to find a great music school such as Lepskaya’s School of Music. Our guitar instructor, Chris Dziedzic, is a great teacher and our son has progressed beyond our expectations. Chris Dziedzic has so much patience and has really customized the lessons to fit our son’s needs. Our son even practices!!!

A woman with long hair wearing a pink shirt.

Outstanding instructors. Lessons are a perfect balance of instruction and fun. For the second summer, my daughter has been admitted to Interlochen as a piano performance major. My son recently sang the lead role in his school musical, “Oliver.†Our experience with Lepskaya’s School of Music piano and voice instruction has been wonderful.‎

A woman with long hair wearing a pink shirt.

We are very pleased that seven years ago we chose Yevgeniya (Jane) Lepskaya as the piano teacher of our three children Georgia, Vasilios and Thanasis. Jayne is a wonderful, intelligent warm individual whom our children love working with her on a daily basis. She creates a second home for them, where the power of music enriches their lives. She is an impressive teacher who manages to get her points across efficiently through her kind nature. Her dedication to provide educational opportunities to our children through various performances and competitions has inspired not only our children but ourselves as well. We are very fortunate we entrusted our children’s musical education to Jane since she represents not only a unique piano teacher but also a wonderful friend for our whole family!

A woman with long hair wearing a pink shirt.

My twins started playing piano at age 6yrs old with Jane Lepskaya from Lepskaya school of music. I had been looking for a music school that catered to young children. We started with one lesson each per week at 35 mins long. By the end of our first month both children wanted more piano time.We than increased our lessons to twice a week and 45 mins per session. It has been an amazing one year. We have participated in two recitals thus far and their progress has been tremendous.
Jane Lepskaya has dedication, patience ,enthusiasm , persistence and not to mention knowledge in the field of classical music as evidenced by her background.
This was one of the best investments we made for our young children! We are so privileged to have the opportunity to have ” Miss Jane” as our piano teacher!

A woman with long hair wearing a pink shirt.

I have been learning piano with Jane for several years now, and over these years I’ve learned many skills that range from being able to “sight-play” music to being able to compose my own songs. Her piano lessons are a great way to not only teach someone how to play music, but how to love music. She does a excellent job incorporating elements of music theory so you can understand what you’re playing and where it comes from. A big plus about how Jane teaches students new music is that she often lets students choose what pieces to play, which for someone like me who is picky about these things, has been a huge benefit. The recitals are very well organized as well, and allow both students and parents to share music with each other, not to mention the snacks afterward – but before the reception begins, Jane always finishes the recitals with a jaw-dropping piece that has motivated me and likely many other students to keep trying at their instrument and share their skills with the world.

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We visited Lepskaya’s School of Music in Fall of 2012 after my husband and I read great parent reviews about the school online. We couldn’t be happier. Jane is an excellent teacher! She challenges her students and brings out the best in them. We all look forward to the spring and winter recitals held at the Fine Arts Building every June and December where we all enjoy a showcase of performances from her students. And of course, we get a treat as Jane concludes every recital with a breathtaking piece.
In two years, my daughter has played in four recitals and has competed in 2013 Winter Sonatina festival where she got a silver medal. I highly recommend Lepskaya’s School of Music!

A woman with long hair wearing a pink shirt.

My children have been Jane Lepskaya’s students for almost 6 years and we find her to be a skilled and wonderful teacher.  My kids take direction differently and she is able to adapt her teaching style to their unique style of learning. My older child has experienced 2 other piano teachers and concluded that Jane is, by far, superior.

As with any good instructor, Jane is very patient and caring but firm and knows when and how to challenge/stretch them.  She is collaborative in her instruction and direction, taking into consideration any interests the children may have (to keep things interesting for them ) as well as any feedback from parents.  She truly cares for the kids and recognizes the importance of music for a well rounded education.  Jane is very easy to work with. I find her to be flexible as well as diligent in addressing any concerns I may have.  I couldn’t ask for a better or more qualified instructor.

A woman with long hair wearing a pink shirt.

This is my girls (6 and 4 years old) first time at taking piano lessons and we couldn’t be more thrilled with Miss Victoria. She keeps my kids interested while continuing to push them to the next level. Miss Victoria has various techniques for teaching each child and adapts to instruct how they learn best.
We just had our first recital and after successfully playing a song both my girls recognized and loved playing, their confidence is even stronger. I have recommended Miss Victoria and the School of Music to several friends and am not only impressed by the professionalism of the School, but the knowledge of music and teaching that both Miss Jane and Miss Victoria possess. I’m excited to continue our lessons.

We are very happy with Victoria Pilipenko. She is doing an amazing job with my daughter Taira. Excellent teacher with great skills. Taira loves her teacher.
We are looking forward to many more years with her.

I have been playing the piano for more than ten years now at Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music. When I first started lessons at the strong suggestion of my parents I struggled with boring practice time and wanted to quit. However, with Jane’s assistance, I persevered. Jane was always encouraging during lessons and was so kind because she truly wanted the best for me. Her expertise in piano and effective teaching methods soon began to rub off on me and I began playing more difficult pieces. I found I was inspired by their sheer beauty. I would listen to Jane play and then listen online for hours on end to pieces from Debussy’s “Clair de Lune†to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, and now I could play them with my own hands, and that astounded me. After my most recent concert for the School, when I played Schubert’s Impromptu no. 4, one of the younger students approached me and smiled, saying, “You were amazing.â€Seeing the joy that my music brings to others has made it more than worthwhile!

A man with short hair is wearing a white shirt.

My 9-year-old daughter has been a student of Victoria’s for almost a year. Victoria is an excellent teacher! In her initial lessons, Victoria was able to evaluate my daughter’s skill level. She had learned earlier a few basic things from me, but Victoria has been able to properly teach her the concepts of timing, reading, rhythm, and the proper posture for your hands. After each lesson, Victoria discusses what they worked on and what to focus on for the coming week. This is great! I’ve worked with about 3-4 other teachers in the past for my other daughters, and none of them ever provided me proper feedback. Lastly, my daughter enjoys the music and the pace at which she’s taught that I don’t even have to remind her to practice! I would highly recommend Victoria as a teacher and have told other family members how much I love how well she and Jane’s studio operate.

Ms. Jane is an outstanding and very experienced piano teacher and mentor. Her knowledge, professionalism, dedication, patience, and method of teaching are to be admired. Our daughters Giuliana and Olivia began playing the piano at the age of 4 and 3 years old. They both really look forward to each of their piano lessons with Ms. Jane. In the years that they have attended Lepskaya’s School of Music, they have made remarkable strides in learning how to play the piano, which is attributed to Ms. Jane and her teaching techniques. Ms. Jane personalizes each of her lessons based on each of her students’ unique style of learning and creates an enjoyable and fun, while at the same time disciplined, environment for learning. Ms. Jane consistently goes above and beyond to maximize her students’ future potential by continually encouraging them with new, more advanced pieces and participating in performances. We are very fortunate to have Ms. Jane as our daughters’ piano teacher, and we would highly recommend Ms. Jane for anyone looking for a solid and enjoyable music education.

Lepskaya School of Music is an extraordinary place were everyone feels comfortable and welcomed regardless of their musical abilities, age, and talent. I walked in here for the first time on the cold February evening of 2017. As soon, as you walk in you feel like you entered a magical world. The owner, Jane and her husband put a lot of effort into making the school unique; from designs on the walls, to furniture, to mirrors in the bathrooms, the whole place is like an enchanted world. I absolutely love it!!! My teacher, Viktoria, is a phenomenal individual. She truly loves and cares for her students. She goes above and beyond and even types up her own score for different student to make them feel comfortable. When you are with her, you always feel happy, even when you can’t play everything right. For the student concert, I picked pieces from Russian movies. Viiktoria put them together for me and we then played together at the concert. Her creativity and desire to make all of her students succeed is one of the many reasons why I love being with her. While Viktoria was away, I had great pleasure of working with the owner Jane. She is very knowledgeable and pays close attention to technique. In just 2 month I was able to play two long concert pieces. Jane does everything by the book but always makes sure that you are enjoying what you are doing. She loves teaching and because of her love for teaching, her students love to learn. She is also a phenomenal piano player herself. I always love when she performs at the student concerts. I would highly recommend this school to anyone who is interested in music. It doesn’t matter if you are a child or an adult, this school will help you learn music and you will always feel special there. Thank you so much, Jane, Viiktoria and the whole staff at Lepskaya School of Music! I wouldn’t have loved piano this much if it wasn’t for all of you.

My daughter started taking piano lessons from Ms. Jane when she was about 11 years old. When she started, I recall saying I was only hoping she would learn to read music and how to play basic piano. Fast forward 7 years and my daughter not only quickly achieved those goals, but went on to accomplish more than I had ever expected developing a a love of music and passion for musical theatre. If it were not for Ms. Jane’s guidance and counsel, my daughter would have never attended Interlochen Center for the Arts and Juilliard, which were pivotal in her growth trajectory. My daughter recently graduated from Maine South High School and was presented with the National School Choral Award for outstanding contributions to the success of the school vocal music program, which meant she was asked to sing our National Anthem at the Class of 2022 Graduation Ceremony. My daughter plans to pursue her BFA in Musical Theatre at NYU Tisch School for the Arts in the fall. I have to thank Ms. Jane and the other instructors at the school for their ongoing coaching and support along the way. Without a doubt, I would highly recommend Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music. I found a picture from one of my daughter’s first recitals at the school and one from her recent high school graduation and included them here.

Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music was the perfect place for our daughter to study piano. Yevgenia (Jane) was an amazing instructor. She made all her students feel confident in their accomplishments. Her style is very professional yet at the same time kind and understanding that not everyone learns at the same pace. Her semi-annual recitals are wonderful events; they give each student a chance to shine in front of family and friends as well as teach the art of performance. Without any hesitation we highly recommend her and her school!

Contact

 

Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music

1032 Busse Highway

Park Ridge IL 60068

e-mail: [email protected]

phone: 773.319.5108

Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music in Facebook

About us

Our Credo

We are a professional music school that is designed to give your child a comprehensive music education of highest quality. We continue the musical tradition of the famous Ukrainian and Western European Schools of music.

Yevgeniya (Jane) Lepskaya


Yevgeniya (Jane) Lepskaya was born in 1974 in Kiev, Ukraine. She started studying piano at the age of five. From 1980-1989, she attended an elementary and middle school, as well as the children’s music school in District 24. At the age of 15 she was accepted to the highly competitive and prestigious Glier School of Music, presently called R. Glier Kiev Institute of Music (R.M. Glier Kyiv State Higher Music College). To visit Glier Kiev Institute of Music click here.

In 1993, Ms. Lepskaya graduated with honors from Glier Institute of Music after winning several piano competitions, including the Rachmaninoff All Ukrainian Competition, the Szymanowski Competition, and multiple Glier School competitions. Ms. Lepskaya immigrated to the United States in 1994 where she was accepted, with a full scholarship, at Roosevelt University Chicago Musical College, to major in piano performance and pedagogy. In 1995 she also received a private scholarship from Professor Frank Untermeyer (one of the founding fathers of Roosevelt University).

In 1997, after graduating and receiving a bachelor’s degree with honors, Ms. Lepskaya was accepted at Northern Illinois University with a full scholarship under Professor Donald Walker, receiving her master’s degree in 1999. Professor Walker’s name was included in the B. Savers’ book “The Most Wanted Piano Teachers in the USA”, and was esteemed as one of the leading piano teachers in the United States. Professor Walker studied at the Julliard School of Music under Professor Rosina Lhevinne.

Rosina Lhevinne was also a teacher of Van Cliburn, the first American to win the International Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow in 1958.

At the age of 13, Ms. Lepskaya began teaching privately, continuing at 15 as a volunteer in the lower division at Glier Music College. After arriving in Chicago, she began teaching at Brickton Montessori School, where she taught private piano lessons for 13 years. Overall, Ms. Lepskaya has 30 years of teaching experience; she is a member of the Music Teacher National Association. While teaching in the Chicago areamany of her students have received high scores and awards at local music festivals and competitions. In 2004 Ms. Lepskaya opened Lepskaya’s School of Music that now has over 100 students and is still growing. Ms. Lepskaya continues to perform publicly.

A man holding an instrument in his hands.

Ben Sullivan


Ben Sullivan is a guitarist, pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher born and raised in Chicago. He specializes in classical Guitar, with an emphasis on Spanish composers and styles. Although classical is not the only genre, he can, as he plays in a rock band that plays around the Chicagoland area. Blues, funk, jazz, and rock are all styles that Ben is proficient in. Ben has received a Bachelor’s in Guitar Performance from DePaul University in Chicago, under the mentorship of Professor Mark Maxwell. He then continued his education at the prestigious Northwestern University, where he completed his Master’s degree in Guitar Performance under Professor Anne Waller. Ben has played for and studied with several masters of the instrument, including world-renowned guitarists Oscar Ghiglia, Manuel Barrueco, Berta Rojas, Paul Odette, and Ronn McFarlane. Ben believes that music is a lifelong journey that strengthens one’s character and better prepares students for everyday life. Having taught for over half a decade, Ben understands the patience and resilience required to not only teach an instrument but to learn one as well!

A woman in pink shirt standing next to piano.

Victoria Pilipenko


Ms. Victoria Pilipenko was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine. She began her studies at the professional school fo music at the age of six. Ms. Pilipenko received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance and pedagogy from Kharkiv State University. Ms. Pilipenko taught individual piano lessons and served as a choir accompanist at Kharkiv State University for 17 years.

After immigrating to the United States in 2009, Ms. Pilipenko has been teaching privately. She has eight years of teaching experience and is a patient, creative and confident teacher. She is deeply committed to a high standard of excellence in quality of music education.

A woman holding a violin in her hand.

Irina Zinevich


Irina Zinevich received both her Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts from Minsk State Conservatory (Belarus), one of the leading conservatories of the former Soviet Union. Trained in both the Suzuki and traditional violin methods, Irina’s students have received high marks in competition and attend selective universities and music conservatories. Irina has been teaching violin at DePaul University School of Music at the Community Music Division since 2004.
Irina also maintains a private studio in the Chicago area and performs regularly at Kusina De Manila in Des Plaines.

Mariya Lys


Mariya Lys, a skilled musician and teacher, graduated from Lviv Music College and received her Master’s Degree from Lviv State Conservatory. She has dedicated 30 years to teaching a wide array of disciplines, including flute, piano, ensembles, conducting, and instrumental studies, at music schools, including seven years at the music college in her hometown of Lviv, Ukraine. Mariya’s students consistently achieved laureate status in numerous competitions and showcased their talents at various festivals.

In addition to her teaching endeavors, Mariya showcased her versatility as a performer by playing flute and various folk instruments, such as sopilka (pipe), telenka, dvoventzivka (a double flute), frilka, kaval, and others with several bands. She toured across European countries like Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, England, Denmark, Switzerland, and others for two decades, representing her culture alongside her fellow Ukrainian musicians on various stages, concert halls, and festivals.

Mariya’s recent contributions to the vibrant U.S. music scene are a testament to her passion and dedication. She provides private piano and flute lessons in the Chicagoland and Chicago Northshore areas, enriches the musical experience in a children’s musical theater as an accompanist, and collaborates with other musicians in numerous concerts and festivals. Her performances, spanning a wide spectrum of musical genres, from classical to modern compositions, are a testament to her versatility and passion. Mariya’s eagerness to share her knowledge and experience with her students is palpable, making their musical journey as exciting as her own.

A woman with long blonde hair smiles for the camera.

Jennifer Haworth


Soprano Jenny Haworth, a native of Iowa, is based in Chicago, where she sings with various musical groups as a soloist and ensemble member. A promoter of early music, Jenny sings with the world-renowned Schola Antiqua, as well as the prestigious Saint Cecelia Choir of Saint John Cantius Parish, where she has performed and recorded numerous
sacred works.
Jenny holds a Master of Music from the Chicago College of Performing arts, a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University, and is a recipient of an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera Auditions. She lives with her husband and their five children in Park Ridge, Illinois.

A woman with long black hair wearing a blue shirt.

Alona Ionanova


Alona Ionanova is a passionate and motivated teacher with six years of teaching experience. She focuses on using dynamic and creative ways to connect and inspire students. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Artistry from Glier Kyiv Institute of Music, and a master’s degree from Drahomanov National Pedagogical University, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Alona Ionanova taught in Primary Art Educational Institution teaching children 6 yr old and older. She teaches students a proper breathing technique, articulation, correct way to project sound, singing a cappella, and working with a microphone singing to a soundtrack. She can prepare students for concerts and competitions.