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Faculty

 

The Music Department at Harper College has more than 40 faculty members. It is in the collective expertise of the music faculty that the strength of the music department can be seen. In addition to their teaching schedules, many faculty members maintain active performance schedules, ranging from appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera Orchestra, the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, to a wide variety of professional chamber ensembles, solo appearances and professional accompaniments.

Many faculty members are also involved in activities ranging from the writing, production and performance of songs and jingles to dinner theater performance, and dance and show bands displaying a wide variety of styles. Other faculty members are in demand as adjudicators of contests sponsored by professional organizations involving both students and young professionals. Many give workshops and seminars to local, state and national organizations.

The implementation of a strong music curriculum by a dedicated and thoroughly professional music faculty provides students with tools for future success and the constant guidance of experienced, concerned professionals.

Performance Ensembles
For more ensemble information, please visit our Ensembles page.

Director

Ensemble

Gregory Clemons Wind Symphony, Jazz Band
Edwin Kemp Festival Chorus
Janice Razaq Piano Ensemble
Thomas Stauch Concert Choir, Camerata Singers
Paul Ross Steel Band
Steven Vazquez Guitar Ensemble
Frank Winkler Symphony Orchestra
 

Full-Time Faculty
Click on the faculty member's name for more info

Dr. Cathy Albergo
Department Chair; Keyboard Coordinator; Music Academy Director Applied Piano, Class Piano, Piano Pedagogy
Room P210
847/925-6487 calbergo@harper.cc.il.us

Mr. Gregory Clemons
Director of Bands; Trumpet; Music Fundamentals, Music Careers
Room P207
847/925-6569 gclemons@harper.cc.il.us

Dr. Barbara Bowker-Ellis
Applied Music Coordinator
Theory/Aural Skills; Music Literature
Room P209

Dr. Thomas Stauch
Director of Choral and Vocal Activities; Choral Coordinator; American Music
Room P208
847/925-6566 tstauch@harper.cc.il.us

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Listing by Instrument
Click on a faculty member's name to view their profile.

Brass/Winds/Percussion

Kyle Bruckmann - oboe
Gregory Clemons - trumpet
Matt Comerford - trumpet
Cynthia Fudala - flute
Michael McClead, percussion
Jeremy Ruthrauff - saxophone
J. Stanley Ryberg - trombone
Rose Sperrazza - clarinet
Cyndi Torgerson - Tuba

Lisa Von Pechmann - French Horn

Guitar
Peter Aglinskas
Steven Suvada
Steven Vazquez

Piano
Cathy Albergo
Cherise da Cunha
Christopher Goldston
Haysun Kang
Levonne S. Mrozinski
Mark Mrozinski
Janice Larson Razaq
Kathlyn Sbarboro
Carol Walgren-Georgas

Strings
Sonia Hadar - violin
Sang Eun Lee - violin
Henrietta Neeley - violin, viola
James Park - violin
William Anthony Porter - cello

Theory
Barbara Bowker Ellis
J. Stanley Ryberg
Gregory Clemons

Voice
Susan Dennis
Susan Lageson Lundholm
Carolyn Niehoff
Andrew Schultze
Thomas Stauch
Walton Westlake

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Faculty Biographies

Peter Aglinskas, guitar, earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition from DePaul University, and a Master of Music degree in Composition from Northwestern University. He received Joseph Jefferson Award nominations in the Best Original Music category for Kiss of the Spider Woman (1989) and Peepshow (1990). In 1990, he was commissioned by Chicago Opera Theatre to write Steel Grin. Since 1994, he has produced many CD recordings of modern orchestral music performed by symphonies throughout Europe. As a guitarist, he has been a featured performer with the Loop Group, Kapture, and the Afro-Rican poetry/music ensemble Street Sounds. In addition to his work at Harper, Mr. Aglinskas is an adjunct professor in the music program at Loyola University.

Cathy Albergo, piano, is Professor of Music and Department Chair. She teaches piano pedagogy, class piano, and applied piano. She received a Master of Music degree both in Performance and Piano Pedagogy from Southern Methodist University and a Doctorate in Music Education from the University of Illinois. A clinician on piano materials and class piano teaching, she has written numerous articles and served as adjudicator and clinician at the state and national levels. She is co-author of the Intermediate Repertoire Guide and the Celebration Series Handbook for Piano Teachers. Albergo serves as National Certification Chair for the Music Teachers National Association and is a past President of the Illinois State Music Teachers Association.

Barbara Bowker Ellis, music theory, teaches sophomore music theory and aural skills and the Chicago Symphony Lecture Series for the Music Academy. She especially likes sharing many different types of music with people of all ages and experience levels. She received a Ph.D. in Music Theory from Northwestern University.

Kyle Bruckmann, oboe, holds a dual master's degree from the University of Michigan, where he studied oboe performance with Harry Sargous and contemporary improvisation with Ed Sarath. He earned undergraduate degrees in music and psychology at Rice University in Houston, graduating magna cum laude and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Other teachers have included Grover Schiltz, Lisa Kozenko and Albert Goltzer. Bruckmann is a free-lance musician, teaching and participating in Chicago's busy experimental and improvisational music scene. Performances include those with Gene Coleman's Ensemble NoAmnesia and the experimental rock band Lozenge, whose second album will be released soon.

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Gregory Clemons was appointed Director of Bands at Harper College in the spring of 1999. Prior to his appointment at Harper, he held the same position at Texas Christian University, the University of New Mexico and Eastern Illinois University, and in the public schools of Kansas. Ensembles under his direction have appeared throughout the United States and in several foreign countries, most recently as part of the acclaimed concert series in New York's legendary Carnegie Hall. He holds degrees in music education and conducting from the University of Kansas and California State University (with distinction). Clemons maintains a busy schedule as conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and lecturer throughout the United States other countries. In addition to his activities as a conductor and teacher, Clemons has remained active as a professional trumpeter and has appeared frequently with orchestras and other ensembles around the country. He holds membership in numerous professional organizations including the Music Educators National Conference, College Band Directors National Association, Illinois Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association and National Band Association.

Matt Comerford, trumpet, is a well known free-lance artist in the Chicago area. He has perfomed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as a temporary section player and has had the privilege of accompanying the CSO on tours to Japan, Europe and the former U.S.S.R. He can be heard on more than 30 recordings with the CSO. Comerford has music degrees from Northwestern University and Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University. In addition to his heavy performance schedule, he devotes as much time as possible to teaching; his performances with the Symphony Brass Quintet of Chicago are dedicated to providing musical experiences to inner-city Chicago school children.

Cherise Ann da Cunha, piano and Kindermusik, received a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance and a Master of Music degree in Piano Pedagogy, both from Texas Christian University. She is a licensed teacher of the internationally renowned preschool curriculum Kindermusik. Da Cunha is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, National Music Honor Society, as well as the Music Teachers National Association and the Illinois State Music Teachers Association. In addition to her work for the Music Academy, she serves as facilitator for Chicagoland SPELLS Inc., a piano advocacy organization. She is also on the piano faculty of North Central College and maintains an independent teaching studio.

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Susan Dennis, voice, teaches private lessons, class voice and Music Theater Workshop. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Eastern Illinois University and a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University. Dennis performs with the Symphonic Pops Orchestra of Chicago, Opening Night Broadway Review Troupe, and at Monastero's Ristorante. Her Chicago area performances have included Illinois Opera Guild, WTTW Sunday Evening Club, Bowen Park Opera Company, Appletree Theatre, and Illinois Theatre Center.


Cynthia Fudala , flute, received a Bachelor's degree in Flute Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and a Master's degree and Certificate in Performance from Northwestern University. She has studied with Katherine Borst Jones, Kyril Magg, Jack Wellbaum, and Walfrid Kujala and has been a featured soloist with various orchestras throughout Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Fudala is currently principal flutist for the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and the Northwest Indiana Symphony. She has performed with many Chicago area ensembles including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonetta, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and the Lincoln Opera Company. She also has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute, the Chautauqua Festival Orchestra, and the Sarasota Opera Festival. In addition to teaching at Harper, Ms. Fudala serves as Professor of Flute at Valparaiso University and at Concordia University.

Christopher Goldston, piano, holds a Master's degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Northwestern University and a Bachelor's degree in Piano Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His major teachers include George Kiorpes and Sylvia Wang, piano, Paul Stewart and Frances Larimer, pedagogy, and Greg Carroll and Steve Syverud, composition. Mr. Goldston is an active composer with works published by Alfred Publishing Company and FJH Music Company. He is an experienced teacher in both group and private lessons, having been a faculty member of the Sherwood Conservatory of Music, the Music Institute of the Lake Forest Symphony, the Chicago Academy for the Arts, and Northwestern University.

Sonia Hadar, violin, studied in Tel Aviv with Shlomo Bohr of the Israeli Philharmonic and Odoen Partos, Dean of the Israeli Academy of Music. At the age of five, she was awarded first place in a competition headed by the great pianist Gina Bachauer. Hadar has performed with the Haifa Philharmonic, the PACT Symphony and the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. She was the recipient of the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra's Clarkin Award for outstanding service. She served on the faculty of the Beau Soeil Music Center, Cape Town, from 1981 through 1991. In addition to her work at Harper, Hadar also serves on the faculty of the Music Art School in Highland Park.

Haysun Kang, piano, has performed frequently as a soloist, most notably at Carnegie Hall and live on WQXR-FM radio in New York, as well as with many orchestras in the Chicago area. She has been a winner in numerous competitions; the Frinna Awerbach International Piano Competition, the Young Keyboard Artist Association International Competition, the Verna Ross Orndorff Austrian-American Music Award, the Society of American Musicians Competition, the Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation Award, the Hoverson Piano Award, and the Grace B. Small Award. Ms. Kang, who has earned her Doctor of Music degree from Northwestern University, currently is a faculty member at Lewis University as well as Harper College.

Edwin Kemp, Festival Chorus, received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Northwestern University where he studied voice with Hermanus Baer and conducting with John Paynter. He has sung leading roles in operas and oratorios throughout the Chicago area and also studied for three years at the Musikakademie in Detmold, Germany, where he founded and conducted the Detmold Garrison Choir. He previously taught voice at the Chicago Conservatory College and is currently directing the choir at the North Shore United Methodist Church.

Sang Eun Lee, Violin, teaches private students and coaches chamber music groups. She has a bachelor's degree in violin performance from the Eastman School of Music, and earned her Master's degree from the Peabody Institute. A Chicago native, Ms. Lee has won many local competitions and served as concertmaster of the New Trier Symphony, as well as Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, and has been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She has participated in various music festivals such as the Musicorda String Program, Bowdoin Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, and Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan. Up until her move back to Chicago she has freelanced extensively in Maryland, Virginia, and the Washington DC area. She has taught at the Great Falls Academy in Virginia and was a member of the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra.

Susan Lageson Lundholm, voice, is an active opera, concert and oratorio singer throughout the U.S. She has performed many operatic roles including Adina in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, Valencienne in Lehar's The Merry Widow, Norina in Donizetti's Don Pasquale, Despina in Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte, and Gretel in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel. Lageson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Augsburg College and a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Northwestern University. She has been an apprentice artist to both the Maine Opera Association and the Des Moines Metro Opera and was awarded fellowships to the Bach Aria Festival, New York, and to the Blossom Music Festival.

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Mike McClead, percussion, received his Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University and his Master of Music degree from Northwestern University. Additional studies have included courses at Ohio State University and the University of Colorado. McClead has studied with Arthur Northern, Irwin Mueller, and George Gaber. McClead performs with the Lyric Opera and is active in the Percussive Arts Society and the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors.

Levonne Mrozinski, piano, received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma where she studied piano with Jane Magrath and pedagogy with E.L. Lancaster. She teaches class piano as well as Music Academy class and private lessons. In 1989, she was the recipient of the D.H. Baldwin Fellowship. Currently, Mrozinski is working on an Ed.D. in Music Education at the University of Illinois and maintains an independent teaching studio in Schaumburg.

Mark Mrozinski, piano, received a Bachelor of Music degree from Wilkes University and a Master of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, both in Piano Performance. In addition to serving as Music Academy Coordinator, he teaches class piano and music theory for the Music Department. Mrozinski is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music by the Music Teachers National Association and has served as Group Piano Chair and Newsletter Editor for the Illinois State Music Teachers Association. He is a frequent adjudicator and clinician throughout Northern Illinois.

Henrietta Neeley, violin and viola, received a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a Master of Music degree in Viola Performance from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She also completed postgraduate studies in Chamber Music at Yale University. Ms. Neeley is a former member of the New Orleans and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras and the City Opera Orchestra of Augsburg, Germany. In addition to performing concerts with the Hillside String Quartet, she is a member of the Grant Park and Elgin Symphony Orchestras. She serves as Coordinator of the Harper Music Academy.

Carolyn Niehoff, voice, received a Bachelor of Music degree from Florida State University and a Master of Music degree from Ohio State University. She is active professionally as a teacher and singer in the Chicago area. In addition to her work at Harper, Mrs. Niehoff is also on the faculty of the College of Lake County, Capelli Institute of Music, and the Berry Center for the Arts.

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Jong-nam (James) Park, viola, a native of Korea, received a Bachelor's degree in Violin Performance from Kyung-Hee University in Seoul. After coming to the United States, he completed his Master's degree in Viola Performance at the Peabody Institute and began his Doctorate at the University of Maryland. He studied with Berl Senofsky, Leri Slutsky, Richard Field, and Daniel Foster. Mr. Park has performed in Korea and the U.S. as a chamber music player as well as an orchestral performer. He currently teaches violin and viola at Harper College and the North Shore School for the Arts.

William Anthony Porter, cello, earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Cello Performance from Illinois State University. Mr. Porter has studied with Ko Iwasaki, Kim Scholes and Susan Phillips. Porter is currently principal cellist with the Harper Symphony Orchestra, and plays with the Symphonic Pops Orchestra of Chicago and the Navy Pier Pops Orchestra. He also performs regularly with the Fox Valley Symphony, the Evanston Symphony and the Kenosha Symphony. As well as teaching at Harper College, Mr. Porter teaches in Waukegan at the Jack Benny Center for the Arts. During the summer, he teaches cello and conducting at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.

Janice Larson Razaq, piano, teaches beginning to advanced level piano students as well as piano ensemble. She has degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Illinois. On a Fulbright grant, she pursued further studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Razaq has been a winner of international piano competitions, and has performed in London, on Minnesota Public Radio, and on the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago. She is in demand as a concert artist and speaker at the local, state, and regional levels. She is president of the Northwest Suburban Music Teachers Association and has written for Keyboard Companion magazine.

Paul G. Ross, steel band, holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Northern Illinois University where he played in the NIU steel band under the direction of G. Allan O'Connor and Cliff Alexis. He was the drummer for the mass steel band that was assembled for the 1987 Percussive Arts Society International Convention in St. Louis. In the fall of 1988 his article, 'Drum Set in the Steel Band,' was published by Percussive Notes Magazine. Ross is the founder and director of steel bands at Elgin Community College in Elgin, Illinois and has performed with guest artists Cliff Alexis, Liam Teague and Ray Homan. Ross has also worked as steel band director for the city of Chicago's Gallery 37, an artist apprentice program for inner city youth. In 1989, he started the Pan Go steel band and their debut CD featured nine original compostions.

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Jeremy Ruthrauff, saxophone, has performed with groups such as the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Contemporary Chamber Players, the Vision Saxophone Quartet and others. He has also given solo and chamber music performances at venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater and the Performing Arts Chicago Series. He has commissioned and premiered numerous new works by leading composers, including a sonata by the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Harbison. Ruthrauff studied with the world renowned concert saxophonist Frederick Hemke at Northwestern University where he received a BM in Music Performance and was the concerto competition winner. He studied jazz improvisation with Tony Mujica.


J. Stanley Ryberg
, low brass, teaches music theory, aural skills, music literature and low brass instruments at Harper College. He has degrees from the College of Wooster and Northwestern University, in Music Theory. From 1975 to 1998 he was a member of the Peninsula Music Festival Symphony Orchestra, Door County, Wisconsin, and is an active free-lance performer in the Chicago metropolitan area.


Kathlyn Sbarboro
, Piano Facilitator for the Harper Music Academy, received a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Eastern Illinois University and Master of Arts degree in Piano Pedagogy from Western Illinois University. She is a National Certified Teacher of Music by the Music Teacher's National Association through which she serves as Group Piano Chair for the Illinois State Music Teacher's Association and Classical Recital Chair for the Northwest Suburban Music Teacher's Association. In addition to teaching preschool through advanced students for the Music Academy, Sbarboro also teaches piano to students with special needs for the Northwest Special Recreation Association, and serves as an adjudicator and clinician.

Andrew Schultze, voice, an active performer and teacher is well known as a performer of the standard opera/oratorio repertoire and as a specialist in the performance of early music. His cast of characters includes villains, heros, and buffoons in operas by Mozart, Donizetti, Puccini, Pergolesi, and Vivaldi. His sutdents perform with the Chicago Lyric Opera Chorus, Orlando Opera, Opera San Benedetto, Opera Factory, Chicago Choral Artists, Chicago Choral Ensemble, Chicago Symphony Chorus, His Majesty's Clerkes, Grant Park Chorus, Ars Musica Chicago, etc. Several have been selected to participate in the Alan Stone Debut Artists Program and have successfully competed in regional vocal contests including the Metropolitan Opera and Bel Canto Competitions.

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Rose Sperrazza, clarinet, received a Bachelor of Music degree from DePaul University and a Master of Music degree in Clarinet Performance from the University of Akron, where she received a full scholarship. She has performed extensively throughout the Akron/Cleveland area with the Spiritoso Woodwind Quintet, and as Principal Clarinetist with the Alliance Symphony Orchestra. Sperrazza is currently performing with Music Live, a not-for-profit music ensemble that specializes in bringing live music to children and families. Additionally, she recently wrote and performed in a children's play that made its debut at DreamStreet, a professional theater in Blue Island.

Thomas J. Stauch, voice, is Director of Choral and Vocal Activities for the Harper College Music Department. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Western Illinois University, and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Arizona State University. Stauch has studied in master classes with Helmuth Rilling, Robert Shaw, Randall Thompson and Albert McNeil. He is Immediate Past Chair of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National Two-Year College Repertoire and Standards Committee; he is President of the Central Division of ACDA and a member of the ACDA Board of Directors.

Steve Suvada, guitar and computer music, received a Master of Music degree from DePaul University and has become a leading composer/producer of commercial music in the Chicago area. His career has involved accompanying artists such as Vic Damone, Rosemary Clooney, Bo Didley, the O'Jays, the Chi-Lites, Lou Rawls, Les Elgart and Donna Summer. Suvada has appeared as guitar soloist with the Miami Beach Symphony, the DePaul Symphony at Orchestra Hall, the City Symphony of Chicago, at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., at the Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, and on numerous television spots, including Weekend Edition on WLS-TV.

Cyndi Torgerson, tuba, biography coming soon.

Steven Vazquez, guitar, received a Bachelor of Music degree from DePaul University and a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University. He has studied with Anne Waller, Mark Maxwell and Steven Suvada. Vazquez has played in the master classes of Oscar Ghiglia, Sergio and Odair Assad, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, William Kanengeiser and Robert Guthrie. He has performed throughout the midwest and the metropolitan Chicago area with the Chicago Guitar Quartet, the rock band Woolworthy and many other solo and chamber ensemble performances. He received a 1996 Chicago Artist International Program award to study with Czech guitarist/composer Stepan Rak in Prague. In addition to his teaching responsibilities at Harper, Vazquez is on the faculties of the People's Music School and the Old Town School of Folk Music.

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Lisa Von Pechmann, french horn, received both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Northwestern University, where she studied with Frank Brouk, former principal horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She joined the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra in 1968 as one of its youngest members. Ms. Von Pechmann has performed with many ensembles in the Chicago area, including Symphony II, Chicago Opera Theater, and the Brahms Trio.

Carol Walgren-Georgas, piano, teaches college Class Piano and piano lessons to students of all ages. Georgas served as Academy Coordinator for one year and previously taught Class Piano at Northwestern University for nine years. Her articles have appeared in The American Music Teacher and Keyboard Companion. She has presented lectures on piano study on the local, state and national levels with topics on teaching methods, improvisation, and the piano music of Paul Creston. Georgas received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Iowa and a Master of Arts degree from Eastern Illinois University.

Walton Westlake, voice, received his B.S. in Music Education from the University of Illinois, and his Master of Music degree in voice from Northwestern University. Since 1974, he has sung with the chorus of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He has also sung with the Chicago Opera Theater, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and various other groups in the Chicago area. Westlake enjoys fencing and has been involved with staging fight scenes in two Lyric Opera productions.

Frank Winkler, orchestra, is in his thirteenth year as musical director and conductor of the Harper Symphony Orchestra. Conductor, pianist, composer and arranger, Winkler has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the orchestras of the Royal English Ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet. He has also conducted the Orchestra of Illinois and the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, and is founder of the Symphonic Pops Orchestra of Chicago and the New Vienna Ensemble. An accomplished practitioner of jazz and popular music, Winkler has performed as vibraphonist with the Art Van Damme Quintet and as pianist with Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peggy Lee and Buddy Rich, to name a few. His writing credits include numerous National Radio Theater shows for the PBS. He made a cameo appearance as the orchestra conductor in the movie Home Alone II and performed as pianist in the Chicago Symphony premier of The Opera of Malcolm X.

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Last updated 29-May-2002 Copyright ©2001-02 Harper College Department of Music
1200 West Algonquin Road Palatine, IL 60067 (847) 925-6000 x6568