Rachel Brown
Chair - Music
Rachel Brown is a Chicago-based chamber musician, soloist, orchestral performer, educator, and arts administrator. After three years as a regular member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, she is now the Associate Principal Second Violin of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra and also performs with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Rockford Symphony Orchestra, American Music Festivals Orchestra, and Fort Wayne Philharmonic.
Rachel also serves as the Classical Violin and Viola Instructor and Musicianship Instructor.
Jesse Langen
New Music Ensemble Director, Pop/Rock Ensemble Director, Classical Guitar Instructor
Jesse Langen is a guitarist who specializes in new music. He works with living composers regularly and premieres dozens of pieces every season. Equally comfortable on classical and electric guitar, he seeks to push both the technical boundaries and the conceptual functions of the instrument. He has taught at The Academy since 2002.
Gregory Dudzienski
Director of Jazz Combos, Jazz Saxophone Instructor
Saxophonist and composer Gregory Dudzienski lives a life of constant motion. After years of travel, he has become a member of Chicago’s strong community of musicians and improvisers. His original music has been featured on the Anagram Series at The Elastic Arts Foundation, the Actual Jazz Series at Cafe Mustache, and the Chicago Jazz Composers Collective At The Green Mill as well as the Is This Jazz Series at AS200 in Providence, Rhode Island, the International Saxophone Symposium in Fairfax, Virginia, and the Salerno Jazz Festival in Salerno Italy.
Jack Murray
Director of Recording Arts and Commercial Music
A native of Naperville, Illinois, Jack Murray began training in classical piano at the age of four. For the past four years, Jack has led an impressive career in the audio industry. Before joining the faculty at The Chicago Academy for the Arts, Jack was involved in numerous recording, live sound, and televised productions during which he worked alongside local stars, national touring acts, and seasoned music legends.
Callandra Youngleson
Vocal Jazz Ensemble Co-Director, Jazz Voice Instructor
Callandra (Cal) Youngleson is a South African jazz vocalist, composer and educator. She has performed internationally collaborating with some of South Africa and America's greatest jazz musicians. Callandra is a proud graduate of the University of North Texas College of Music having completed her Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies in 2019 where she was also a jazz voice teaching fellow and had the opportunity to tour and perform across Chicago, New York and Dallas as well as receive Downbeat student music awards in her time at UNT.
Nichole Young
Classical Harp Instructor
Nichole’s love for the harp and her stellar performances have made her one of the most highly sought-after harpists in Chicago and northern Illinois. She specializes in performing for special celebrations, helping to create a soundscape that enhances the moment, creating a moment in time that will be remembered forever.
Jonah Lazarus
Drum Set Instructor
Jonah Lazarus is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and educator, from Oak Park, IL. Coming from a family of Jewish artists, social workers and educators, he grew up learning to improvise musically with his two brothers. At Macalester College, Jonah worked under Sowah Mensah, studying and playing various genres of Ghanaian and African music. In Salvador, Brazil, he studied and collaborated with Iuri Passos, Bira Santos, Letieres Leite, and Beto Martins. In Chicago, Jonah focuses his energy on teaching as well as composing, performing and recording for his family band, Family Junket.
Alyssa Bennett
Classical Vocal Workshop Director, Classical Voice Instructor
Alyssa Bennett is the Classical Vocal Workshop Director and a Classical Voice Instructor at The Academy.
Nicholas Olynciw
Vocal Jazz Ensemble Co-Director, Jazz Piano Instructor
Chicago-based pianist & educator Nicholas Olynciw is a rising voice in jazz music. Winner of the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition and the American Jazz Piano Competition Bösendorfer Prize, Nicholas earned his undergraduate degree from the University of North Texas where he was a member of the Grammy-nominated One O'clock Lab Band. He received his Master's Degree from Western Michigan University where he was awarded the 2019 Downbeat Award for Best Graduate Jazz Instrumental Soloist.
Christopher Nolte
Jazz Bass Instructor
A Decatur, IL native, Christopher Nolte received degrees in music from Millikin University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied with Jeff Grubbs, Larry Gray, Chip Stephens, Chip McNeil and Jim Pugh. After residing in Brooklyn for several years where he played with Mike Fahie, Ryan Keberle, John McNeil, Chad Lefkowitz-Brown and others, he relocated to Chicago and is one of the busiest bass players in the area.
Richard Brasseale
Classical Saxophone Instructor
An acclaimed saxophonist, he has played with numerous ensembles, including the Milwaukee Symphony, Madison Symphony, Fulcrum Point New Music Ensemble, Camerata Chicago, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and others. Recent solo performances include the DePaul Symphony Orchestra, North Park Orchestra, and various recitals in Alabama, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Arizona. He has performed in the Spahlinger Festival, EAR TAXI Festival, Brevard Music Festival, and Terry Riley's 80th Birthday Concert.
Marianne Parker
Collaborative Pianist, Classical Piano Instructor
Marianne Parker’s playing has been described as, “a cut above...her sympathetic fingers offering well-sculpted phrases and impassioned pealing” (Chicago Classical Review). Her work can be heard on three albums, Pages intimes (2019), Pyano Sa (2020), and Currents in Time (2020, PARMA/Navona Records). Marianne is curator for the Anthology of 21st century works for solo piano through NewMusicShelf Publishing.
An active chamber musician, Marianne’s first foray into new music was with L+M Duo, which she co-founded in 2016 along with marimbist Laurel Black. Marianne is in demand locally, regionally, and nationally as collaborator and new music specialist.