Natalia Bazzi

is a graduate of the Piano Performance Master’s Program at Roosevelt University in Chicago.  She graduated from the Municipal Conservatory of Music Manuel de Falla in Buenos Aires, Argentina, receiving a gold medal in Choral Conducting.  At the Municipal Conservatory, she studied under Alicia Sciancalepore and Haydee Schwartz to receive a Piano Performance degree specializing in Solo and Chamber Music.  Natalia also earned degrees as a Higher Education Teacher of Choir Conducting, Artistic Piano Instructor, Choir Conducting Art Teacher, and Teacher of Musical Education.  At various schools in Argentina, she taught Harmony, Counterpoint, and Analysis, General Music, Piano, and Music History, and worked as accompanist.  Her extensive performing experience includes engagements at Scala de San Telmo, Salon Dorado de la Municipalidad de la Plata, British Arts Center, and the Fourth Festival de Musica de Cascavel.

Jeffrey Cappelli

is a native of River Forest. He began studying piano with his parents, Dr. Amo and Nancy Cappelli. He received additional instruction from Alex Joseffer of Chicago and the late Donald Isaak of Northwestern University. He was a concerto soloist at Oak Park River Forest High School with the student orchestra and received the Frederick Chopin award. He attended Indiana University and was a recipient of a scholarship from the MacDowell Artist Society, and earned Bachelor and Masters degrees with Distinction. As a graduate student at IU, Jeff served as Assistant Instructor of Piano at the Bloomington campus and the Columbus Indiana extension campus. Jeff's many awards include first place honors in competitions sponsored by the Society of American Musicians and the Illinois State Music Teachers Assn., the Geneva competition and the Steinway piano competition. Jeff has been piano soloist at the Unity Temple, with the Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest, and Cantigny Concert Series, and performed his own concerts in the Chicago area. Jeff founded the Cappelli Institute of Music in 1980 and he currently serves as the director. Jeff is also founder and president of Piano Renaissance, LLC.  in Forest Park, IL., a company renowned for artisan restorations of heirloom quality and vintage pianos.  Jeff is an RPT or Registered Piano Technician in the Piano Technicians Guild ptg.org and is a past president of the Chicago Chapter.  Currently he serves as an education leader and program director of the Chicago Chapter.  Jeff has attended the C.F. Theodore Steinway Academy in New York and participated in the Comprehensive Training Seminars at the Steinway & Sons Piano factory and is Steinway Factory Trained.  Jeff is an adjunct faculty member at the Chicago School for Piano Technology, and owns Chicago Piano Service Inc. a company that provides piano repair, tuning and maintenance services for Chicago area Institutions, performance venues and private owner's pianos.

John Gibbons

received his doctorate in 1994 from the University of Chicago, where he studied composition with John Eaton and Ralph Shapey. A teacher of piano, composition, music theory and a variety of music appreciation classes for adults, his previous teachers include Dominick Argento and Morris Cotell.
 
John has taught at Triton College and the University of Chicago Center for Continuing Studies, where he was among the first recipients of the Excellence in Teaching Award. John teaches piano with a creative and innovative flair to students of all ages and levels and participates in Cappelli’s popular "Music of the Masters" lecture series. Dr. Gibbons  is also in high demand in the Chicago area as a lecturer on various musical topics including lectures  at Symphony Center.

Premiers of John's work have been performed by the Contemporary Chamber Players, the Minneapolis Chamber Symphony, the Minnesota Opera New Music Ensemble, the Harmonie Chamber Winds, the Northern Chamber Winds and at the Rockefeller Piano Competition in Carnegie Hall. John has taught at Triton College and the University of Chicago Center for Continuing Studies.

Jana Pavlovska 

was born in Skopje, R. Macedonia, Jana's music education started at the age of six, at the Republic Primary Music School " I. N. Luj" Skopje. After completion she continued at The Republic Secondary Music School, and consequently at the Music Academy (The National Music Conservatoire) Jana finished the Bachelor Degree in Piano Performance as a generation's valedictorian with highest grades and continued her education as a student of Graduate Studies in Piano Performance in the class of Prof. T.Svetiev. When she finished her degrees in her home country she came to study abroad , as an accepted student in Master Studies in Piano Performance at Roosevelt University, in the studio of Dr. Winston Choi.

Jana has successfully performed at School and Academy concerts, solo national, as well as international: Bulgaria, Italy, France, United Kingdom, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro,Germany and The U.S.A.

Awards:

• 1st Prize at The National Music Competition, 1992 (Skopje, Macedonia);
• 3rd Prize at The National Music Competition, 1995;
• 1st Prize at The National Chopin Competition, 1996;
• 1st Prize at The National Chamber Music Competition, at the Piano-duo category;
• 2nd Prize at The International Music Competition "Anemos" 2000 (Roma, Italy);
• 2nd Prize at The National Music Competition, 2001;
• 1st Special Prize (100 points) at The National Solfedzo (ear-training) Competition, 2003;
• 2nd Prize at the National Chamber Music Competition at the Chamber- trio category, 2005.
• Special " Fuerderprise" Prize at The "Carl Drechsel" Piano Competition in Nuernberg, Germany,2010.

Academies:

• 2006
• July, August- Paris, France, at The Cite Internationale des Arts;
• 2007
• July, Birmingham, U.K., BIPA (Birmingham International Summer Academy)at The Birmingham Royal Conservatoire;
• August, Brac Island , Croatia, "Pucisca Summer Academy";
• 2008
• July, August- New York, U.S.A., staying and a final concert at The MC Gallery.
  
  

Ms. Pavlovska participated to several master-classes with famous professors: L.Romanova, B.Engerer, J.Humphreys, R.Markham,V.Sangiorgio,T.Petrac, Ray Still, Huang Hao-Huang, Menahem Pressler, Ursula Oppens and Jerome Lowenthal .

Jana performed on many group or solo-recitals at prominent national and international music festivals : "Skopje Summer Festival", "Heraclea Evenings", "Days of Macedonian Music- The Festival of contemporary music", "DAM Festival",Prishtina,Kosovo .She performed solo piano with The Academy Symphony Orchestra at The 40-years Jubilee of The National Music Academy.

At the end of her Graduate studies she was pronounced for the valedictorian with highest score of grades amongst all of the students.

Her two-month study-staying at the cultural institution "Cite des Arts" in Paris, France (July-August, 2006), resulted at the end of the staying with a solo-recital in the same town.

The next year she was chosen among 19 participants from all over the world to perform and to be a student at The Birmingham Summer Royal Academy at The Birmingham Conservatoire in Birmingham, England, with Prof. Brigitte Engerer and many others.

The same year she was a student at The Pucisca Summer Academy in Croatia, where she worked with prof. Tomaz Petrac.

Jana continued her concert activity and performed solo piano concerts in 2008 in Montenegro and at The MC Gallery in New York, U.S.A.

In January 2010 she was chosen from her country on state level to represent Macedonia on The "Carl Drechsel"Piano Competition among 6 selected pianists from Macedonia, Spain and Korea and she won a special "Fuerderpreis" prize.

Jana has a 5-years working experience in Skopje, Macedonia as a Piano teacher and an Instrumental an Voice Accompanist at The State Primary and High Music School "Ilija Nikolovski-Luj"-Skopje, and as a Young Assistant in Piano and Instrumental and Voice Accompaniment at The State Academy of Music.

Currently Jana is a student in Master Studies of Piano Performance in the studio of Dr.W.Choi at the Roosevelt University-The Chicago College of Performing Arts.

Renee Westerberg

Is a pianist who has performed with duos, trios, quartets and other instrumental and vocal chamber ensembles as well as choirs and orchestras. She has taught at the  DePaul Univeristy Community Music Division (1990-97), Lehnhoff School of Music, Chicago (1990-94) and Town of Bunde Music School (Germany) and the Yamaha Music School for Children in Paderborn, Germany (1983-88). She served as choral accompanist at the University of Massachusetts (1988-90).

Her education includes studies at the Rheinische Hochschule fur Musik in Cologne, Germany and Staatliche Hochshcule fur Musik Westphalen Lippe in Detmold, Germany as well as the Univeristy of Massachusetts (Amherst) where she obtained her Master of Music in Piano Performance. She also attended various Master classes and is a recipient of several awards and scholarships.