Maggie Weber General Manager
Maggie was born and raised with an undeniable ear for music. Singing has always been her passion. Her mother told her that she sang before she ever spoke. Maggie has always had a knack for music. When she was 18 months old, she would hum to songs happily in key. Maggie believes that everyone has music inside of them, no matter what the age. She has been involved in many projects and studio recordings including The Rip Chords (University of Illinois), Molehill and Willy Dynomite. Her passion for music, paired with her obsessive organization, has led her to be the General Manager of School of Rock Evanston and Highwood. Maggie hopes to open the door to musicians in a way that she never experienced.
Danielle Piccolomini Assistant Manager
Danielle Piccolomini was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, where she was very active in local community and professional theatre. Her passion for music was sparked at an early age by her grandmother, who would sing to her every chance she got. She was immersed in theatre at age nine and started playing the flute, piccolo, piano and handbells soon afterward. After high school, she studied at The Young Americans College of the Performing Arts in Corona, CA, where she had the opportunity to travel and teach music to kids all over the world for almost seven years. She moved to Chicago on a whim in August 2019 and found a way to combine her love of music and love for typing emails at School of Rock Highwood as an Assistant Manager. She hopes to continue sharing her musical and organizational skills.
ERIN COLE Assistant Manager
Erin was born in Albion, Indiana and has always had an interest in music and the arts! Through high school, she was very involved in her school’s theater, choir and band programs as well as a local dance studio where she trained in all dance styles and also developed a love for teaching and choreography. Upon graduating High School, Erin set out for California and joined a performing arts company called The Young Americans where she had the opportunity to travel, perform and teach music for several years. When the pandemic terminated her Assistant Cruise Director contract on board Princess Cruises in March of 2020, she moved to Chicago to experience life in the big city. Now Erin loves to combine her love of music with her passion for administrative responsibilities and organization at the School of Rock and is looking forward to developing relationships with the students and families of the School of Rock community!
Bryan Resendiz Drum Teacher
Bryan Resendiz is a Music Director at the Highwood school. He teaches drums and manages the ensemble rehearsals. His path through the world of rock n' roll began when he got his first drum set in the 3rd grade. Bryan's musical inspiration came initially from his older sister's record collection. Throughout his teens, Bryan performed live in bands and in studio settings. In the summer of 1995 as a part of the Hello Dave Band, Bryan played in venues from San Francisco and New York to Key West. Between 2002 and 2005, Bryan played rock 'n' roll in the Pacific Islands, Asia, Europe, Africa and across the Middle East, culminating in an intense tour across Iraq. Bryan recorded a full-length album for Hello Dave, "Perfect Day," in 2003. Bryan left the Hello Dave band in 2005 in order to focus on freelance music projects and a successful teaching practice at Kevin Connelley Drum Instruction in Skokie. Bryan continues to maintain a busy gigging schedule with a number of Chicago bands.
Scott Balmoos Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Singing Teacher
Scott Balmoos is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and music educator. He started on his path in music while in middle school when he fell in love with the sound of The Beatles. It wasn't long before he was singing and playing guitar in his first rock and roll band. Over the subsequent years, the music in his life grew and expanded, so he continued to pursue his passion by studying at the Eastman School of Music with a focus in Vocal Performance. While at Eastman, along with singing opera, art songs and musicals, and against his teacher's wishes, he continued playing with his band The Shift. This energy eventually provided the spark for him to move to Chicago. Since 2003, Scott has been performing, writing and recording in and around Chicago, most notably with the roots reggae band Akasha. As a lover of all types of music, he believes that through it you can learn about yourself, how to use your voice, and reach out to the world from almost any song. He is a guitar teacher, bass guitar teacher and vocal instructor at School of Rock Highwood.
Anna Marlow Singing Teacher, piano Teacher
Anna Marlow was born and raised in Rogers, Arkansas and enjoyed many years as a performer and teacher with The Young Americans. She has studied and performed improv and musical improv at The Second City and iO. She enjoys singing, playing piano and writing music, and is so excited to be a part of the School of Rock team.
Camille McClellan Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Singing Teacher
Camille McClellan is an electric guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, composer/arranger and record producer with a dedicated music career spanning over 15 years. Often described by audiences as the female Slash, Camille has garnered years of experience performing at legendary venues around the country, including Fenway Park and The Whisky a Go Go. After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2016, Camille spent time in Los Angeles, where she wrote, arranged, pre-produced and co-produced her debut solo EP alongside a Grammy Award-winning producer/engineer. In 2017 she adopted the stage name Blake Red as an emerging alternative metal recording artist. She is a guitar teacher, bass guitar teacher and vocal instructor at School of Rock Highwood.
Paul Bolger Guitar Teacher, Singing Teacher
Paul Bolger is the lead singer and acoustic guitarist for Chicago-based jam band Mr. Blotto. After graduating from school Paul decided to become a full-time musician, landing a gig as the house singer at a Polish club in Chicago. During his time as the house singer he met the other members of his band. After releasing their first album, "Parking Karma," in 1992 they took their music to larger venues and by the end of the decade they were a significant influence in the Chicagoland music scene. Since then the band has released many albums and has become a Chicago staple at local events and festivals.
Macklin Suhre Drum Teacher
Macklin Suhre was born July 21st, 1991 in Lake Bluff, Illinois and has been drumming since the age of 10. He attended Lake Forest High School, studying music and drumming in the jazz band and wind ensemble. In 2009, he was accepted to Berklee College of Music in Boston as a drum set principle, where he spent four years studying with celebrated faculty members such as Mitch Haupers, Mike Mangini, Kim Plainfield and many more. Macklin graduated from Berklee in 2013 with a degree in Professional Music, and continues to perform with his band, Tanzen.
Jake Loomis Singing Teacher, Piano Teacher, Drum Teacher
Jake Loomis was born and raised in Michigan, and has been performing as a vocalist, percussionist and pianist for many years. He studied Performing Arts at The Young Americans College of the Performing Arts in Southern California. He then continued to spend the next four years traveling, performing and teaching all around the world with The Young Americans. He is looking forward to continuing his performance career in the Chicago area, and is excited to be working at School of Rock.
Drew Littell Drum Teacher
Drew Littell is a professional drummer, percussionist and music educator from Chicago, IL. With over 20 years of playing experience, 10 years touring nationally and eight years teaching, Drew brings a wide spectrum of experience to private lessons at School of Rock. Starting as a percussionist in grade school, and all the way through a Jazz Studies major at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Drew has been trained in music at the academic level, but also has always been involved in some sort of independent, original music project. With 10 years of touring experience, he has played many styles of music from metal to bluegrass and everything in between.
John Siegle Guitar Teacher
John Siegle is a singer/songwriter who grew up in Peoria, Illinois. He learned to play guitar with high school buddies and was soon playing at dances and at local bars. John and some friends moved to the college town of Champaign-Urbana in the mid '70s. They formed the power-pop band Screams. John started writing material for the group. Screams was soon signed to MCA's Infinity label.They released an album and hit the road, headlining for national acts and at one point touring with Van Halen through most of the United States and Canada. The Infinity label was dropped by MCA as the band was in the middle of a tour of England, and Screams went back to Champaign to regroup. John moved to Chicago after meeting singer/songwriter Gary Yerkins to play in the band Garrison (a fine band that didn't pan out).John played a stint with local and regional favorites Mike Jordan and the Rockamatics, a glorious rock and roll roadhouse band, before re-joining with Gary to form Insiders. Insiders were signed to Epic Records and produced a successful album that featured the MTV hit, "Ghost On The Beach." Although the Epic deal only lasted for one album, The Insiders remained a Chicago mainstay for over ten years, self-produced three more albums and were regularly played on station WXRT 93 FM. John is still in Chicago, still playing with a couple of bands and still writing music.
Zoey Witz Guitar Teacher
Zoey has been playing guitar since 1987, playing music professionally since 1997 and teaching guitar since 2001. He has played all over the country and in Mexico at clubs, festivals, concerts, theaters and private events playing jazz, rock, country, R&B, bluegrass, blues, zydeco and pop. Over the years he has played with local and national artists like Maggie Speaks, Tributosaurus, The Jersey Boys, Nicholas Barron, Cathy Richardson Band, CJ Chenier and many others. Zoey is thrilled to be a part of the teaching staff at School of Rock.
Jon Allegretto Guitar Teacher
Jon Allegretto is a Chicago-based guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and lyricist who has been writing and performing for nearly 20 years. A versatile musician, Jon enjoys a wide variety of sounds from many eras but his major interests are rock, blues, metal and folk. He believes that music is as much about having fun and harnessing emotional energy and feeling as it is about technical ability and understanding and emphasizes this in his teaching. As a young child Jon would air guitar to his first favorite musician, Elvis. He received his first guitar at age 12 and quickly developed a love for such artists as Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix and Social Distortion. While in his native Williamsburg, Virginia, Jon studied under Greg Eide and Gerald E. Lewis, and worked as guitar instructor and store manager at Authentic Guitars Inc. until his move to Chicago in 2006. Jon earned a Master's degree in Arts, Entertainment Media Management with a Music Business concentration at Columbia College Chicago in 2009. Jon has performed hundreds of shows, including six U.S. tours with his current rock trio A Friend Called Fire, in which he is lead guitarist, lead vocalist and chief songwriter. He has shared stages with many gifted artists including Gary Clark Jr., Bachman Turner, Shinedown, Korn and Sevendust to name a few, and also works as an acoustic solo artist, music photographer and writer, commercial music composer and voice-over artist.
Alex Zeravica Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher
Alex Zeravica was born in Georgia in 1990. He had a bad habit of banging on anything he could find around the house. When his parents realized it wasn't a phase, they bought him a beginner drum set when he was six or seven. After moving to Lake Bluff, Illinois at the age of nine, Alex started taking drum lessons and enrolled in school band. In middle school, Alex joined the jazz band, and also joined Midwest Young Artists, enrolling in their jazz ensemble and advanced percussion ensemble. He continued all of these throughout his time at Lake Forest High School. After graduating, he moved to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music, studying Film Scoring. Alex currently plays with a handful of different groups and records as a session musician, having played on dozens of different projects, from demos to full-length albums. He is a guitar teacher, bass guitar teacher and drum teacher at School of Rock Highwood.
Ted Nott Bass Guitar Teacher, Singing Teacher
Raised by a career musician father, Ted Nott cut his teeth in the clubs and venues of Chicagoland and surrounding states. A degree in Jazz Performance, and a trained bassist/vocalist, Ted performs in an array of acts ranging from soul, jazz, country, rock and pop. Ted has toured nationally and internationally and is currently playing, recording and fronting working bands around Chicagoland. With a decade of teaching experience, Ted has taught children to adult students throughout the Chicago suburbs. He is a bass guitar teacher and vocal instructor at School of Rock Highwood.
Gordon Patriarca bass guitar teacher
Bassist Gordon Patriarca has been a lifetime resident of Chicago. As a child in the 1960s, a transistor radio was a constant companion (under the pillow at bedtime). His relationship with the electric bass began at age 16, fueled by the inevitable sibling rivalry with a younger brother who had become an above-average guitarist in only four years of playing. Not to be outdone (and using Cream bassist Jack Bruce as a role model) Patriarca picked the four-stringed instrument and circumnavigated any comparisons with his junior kin. High school bands followed. There was a bit of formal study with (now L.A. studio bassist) Paul Zibits. After high school there were a couple of years of college (Northern Illinois University), where he was in an African percussion ensemble, and took various oddball music classes. The highlight of his college experience was probably his twice weekly shows as a DJ at the campus radio station. Leaving school to pursue the life of a working musician, Patriarca began his 25-year career. Patriarca has played in at least 50 local bands. Other recording highlights include working on the Icos album "At the Speed of Life," recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. He has toured Europe twice with blues-rock chanteuse Jan James. At this point he calculates he has done close to 4,000 gigs and remains active in the Chicago music scene.
Schaefer Hugebeck guitar teacher
Schaefer decided to play guitar in fifth grade when he became enamored with the guitar stylings of Jimmy Page, Hendrix and Carlos Santana. It wasn’t long till it was a full blown love affair between boy and guitar, causing him to study for over a decade with some of Chicago's finest musicians. Music is the first thing he thinks of when he wakes up in the later hours of the morning and the last thing he thinks of before he sleeps. Schaefer has been at School of Rock since 2014 teaching guitar and working with both the performance and garage rock programs.
Chaetan Newell Guitar, Bass Guitar, Keyboard, Singing and Drum Teacher
Chaetan Newell is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, audio/mastering engineer, producer, and graphic designer, but above all, he is a fun and patient music instructor dedicated to the enrichment of his students. Beginning his musical journey circa 1987, he could be found playing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme on his father’s drum kit before taking up piano at 6, guitar at 8, and bass at 10.
After extensive lessons, camps, and orchestras where he learned from a variety of award-winning teachers and played with the North Carolina Symphony, he got a Professional Music degree from Berklee College of Music in 2009 after receiving an audition-based scholarship. He has since been recording and touring internationally as a performing artist working with members of groups such as The Flaming Lips, Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes, My Bloody Valentine, Herbie Hancock, and many more legendary jazz and indie rock artists.
Jack Mancuso Drum Teacher
Jack Mancuso is a drum instructor who began his journey on the instrument at the age of 12. Throughout the ten years of his musical journey, he has discovered not only the liberating nature of creative expression, but also the value of discipline and the joy sharing his gift with others.
Prior to joining the School of Rock Highwood team, Jack was in demand as a private instructor in the Lake Forest area. He is motivated to help musicians at any skill level unlock their potential and discover the ways in which hard work and creativity can pay off for them.
Zach Kritzer Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Zach Kritzer is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter from Chicago. He received his degree in guitar studies from Columbia College Chicago in 2011 and has been performing regularly with rock and R&B groups ever since, along with many acoustic gigs along the way. In addition to his career as a musician, Zach is also a practicing board-certified music therapist, having received his Master's degree in music therapy from Colorado State University in 2019.