AMI - Key Persons
Andrew Hamilton received his Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Performance from the University of North Florida, Master's Degree in Jazz Performance at Depaul University, and Doctorate of Musical Arts in Jazz Performance at the University of Miami. He worked extensively in straight-ahead and Latin jazz after moving to Miami, including playing a few of Brian Lynch's ensembles. After finishing his Doctorate, he joined the faculty of Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida.
Andrew is also an accomplished pianist, composer and arranger. He has studied composition and arranging with Bill Prince, John Daversa, and Gary Lindsay. He writes original music and arranges for groups ranging from trio to big band. In addition to jazz, Andrew has also arranged for show bands, comedians, and worked on a musical Las Vegas performer Tony Tillman.
As an educator, Dr. Hamilton has been on faculty at Santa Fe College where he taught Applied Brass, coached the Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo, and taught various music related general education courses. He has also taught music courses at Florida Gateway College. He worked extensively with the University of Florida Jazz Ensemble as well. UF recently recorded an album that features Dr. Hamilton as a featured guest artist. He has also been published in Downbeat Magazine, and the International Trombone Association Journal. Since moving back to Chicago, Andrew has been playing regularly with The Chicago Jazz Orchestra at the Green Mill.
Anthony DiMauro is a Philadelphia-born trumpeter residing in Chicago. Most
recently he was on tour with Broadway's An American in Paris where he
performed eight shows per week in more than 50 US cities. He served as
Chester Tam is a native of Hong Kong. He received his MM in Piano Performance from Wright State University. He has won the Second Prize at the Hong Kong Youth Music Competition 2013, under the tutelage of Zhao Ning. Besides taking part in school concerts, he has also participated in various master classes by famous pianist and teachers, such as Lang Lang, András Schiff, Kwok Gabriel.
Mr. Tam's big passion is chamber music, where he has led a trio to perform in Central Plaza. Moreover, he has performed throughout the Hong Kong and Shenzhen. He's given concert in Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Citibank Plaza, Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong New Territories Centre, Tsuen Wan Town Hall and Shenzhen Concert Hall.
Job Titles:
- Associate Editor for the Dalcroze Society of America
Chris Rose earned his bachelor's degree from Carnegie Mellon University and studied additionally at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg, Sweden. He has served as Assistant Principal Trumpet in the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and taught music in the North Star Borough School District. He has performed with orchestras in Italy, Sweden, South Korea, and around the United States, and has played jazz trumpet aboard Cunard, Crystal, and Royal Caribbean ocean liners, performing with musicians, dancers, and actors from around the world.
Mr. Rose serves as Associate Editor for the Dalcroze Society of America, promoting Dalcroze Education in the United States. When he is not practicing or performing, Chris can be found in the classroom, and has been blessed to have taught music at many levels, from kindergarten through university students. He proudly worked as a Teaching Artist for the Colorado non-profit Jazz Aspen Snowmass.
Daniel Fleming, Tenor & Pianist, completed his Bachelor's degree from Shenandoah Conservatory and his Master's degree from Northwestern University, Bienen School of Music. He recently performed as Don Florito/El Saboyano in Luisa Fernanda at the Florentina Opera and as a Solo Animal in that same company's production of Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges. At Northwestern University, he performed Eisenstein in Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus (February 2020), and Pat in David T. Little's Dog Days (Fall 2019), as well as Ferrando in Northwestern Opera Theatre's Covid 19 version of Così fan Tutte. At Shenandoah Conservatory, Mr. Fleming performed several roles including: Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Camille in The Merry Widow, and the Mayor in Albert Herring. At Shenandoah, he was awarded the Cecilia Award in Vocal Excellence and won the Student Soloist Competition.
In addition to performing in Operas, Mr. Fleming has worked for several years as an assistant in the Vocal Pedagogy Labs at Northwestern University and Shenandoah Conservatory. He has also worked as an assistant at the Contemporary Commercial Music Institute at Shenandoah Conservatory.
Dr. Molin Wang, a native of China, is known for her sensitive touch, insightful playing, and extraordinary virtuosity. She has given solo recitals and chamber performances throughout the United States and China, and she also has appeared in concerto performances with Northern Illinois University Philharmonic, Florida CVE Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Xi'an Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. Her musicianship has been recognized in many competitions and music festivals, including Florida FSMTA BYRD Piano Ensemble Competition, Northern Illinois Concerto Competition, Kawai China Piano Competition, Florida Atlantic International Piano Festival, and Shanghai International Piano Festival. Her repertoire encompasses a wide range of works including composers from the Baroque to the present.
Ms. Wang received her Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance major from Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In 2010, she completed her Professional Performance Certificate in Lynn University Conservatory of Music with a full scholarship, studying with Dr. Roberta Rust. She finished her Master of Music degree in piano performance at Northern Illinois University in 2012 with a graduate assistant scholarship, studying with Dr. William Goldenberg. In May 2016, she earned her Doctoral of Musical Arts degree in piano performance and literature at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, under the direction of Dr. William Heiles. Molin has also performed in master classes for many world-renowned masters such as Arie Verdi, Russell Sherman, Anton Kuerti, Robert Mc Donald, and William Bolcom.
Dr. Wang had served as the piano faculty at the Preparatory School of Lynn University Conservatory of Music and the music department of Shanghai Youth and Children's Center. As an enthusiastic and experienced educator, Ms. Wang has been teaching piano to students in different ages and levels for over 10 years. Many of her students had won numerous piano competitions which held in the United States, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. In 2008, she designed and conducted a piano fairy tale, "Animal Carnival", which was performed successfully by her students in Shanghai Music Hall. Besides private piano lessons, her students also have opportunity to obtain all the fundamental music training, such as music theory, sight-reading, ear training, and improvisation.
Emily Munn-Wood is a cellist based in Chicago, receiving her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Master of Music degree from DePaul University. Her principal teachers were Astrid Schween and Stephen Balderston. In addition to being a committed teacher, she is an active freelancer in the Midwest and is a member of the Peoria Symphony Orchestra. Emily is also a proud alum of the national and community service program AmeriCorps and currently volunteers with RefugeeOne in Chicago.
Giustino Carrano, conductor, tubist, and baritone, is a musician with tenacity and passion and has been making music for over 17 years. As an avid performer, vocal coach, and conductor he has enjoyed a musical career on multiple continents. He received his Bachelors of Music in Performance with a duel specialization in voice and tuba, from the University of West Florida, studying with Dr. Sheila Murphy-Dunn, and Dr. Joseph T. Spaniola. Mr. Carrano received his Masters of Music in Performance, with secondary studies in Orchestral Conducting from Ball State University, under the tutelage of Dr. Kathleen
James Shaw earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Illinois State University and his Illinois State Teaching Certification from Roosevelt University. He earned his Master of Music Education from VanderCook College of Music and his Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Northeastern Illinois University. Mr. Shaw currently teaches at Joliet District 86 where for the past 18 years he has served as director of orchestras, bands, and the All City Jazz Band. He has also co-directed the All City Orchestra, co-directed the All City Band, and served as Fine Arts Coordinator. Ensembles under Mr. Shaw have routinely earned Division I ratings at I.G.S.M.A. contests and various festivals throughout the country. Prior to Joliet 86, Mr. Shaw taught instrumental, vocal and general music in various schools located in Cook and Kankakee counties. Mr. Shaw has adjudicated solo and ensemble and marching band contests in Illinois and Indiana. Mr. Shaw is also a low brass specialist and his main instrument is the tuba. Both his wife and son are also musicians.
Madelyn Soldan earned her bachelor's degree in Prek-12 Music Education from Elmhurst University. She studied the flute with Dr. Jennie Oh Brown and Marie Bennett. Madelyn performed in the Elmhurst University Wind Ensemble as a co-principal musician on flute and piccolo. She has performed in the Midwest Philharmonic Orchestra, Women's Chorus, and substitutes occasionally for the Southwest Symphony. During her time at Elmhurst, she served as the President of the Illinois Collegiate Chapter of Music Education, Band Manager, Head of the Music Library, and graduated as an Honors Program Global Scholar.
Madelyn is the band teacher at Clarendon Hills Middle School, where she has lots of experience with teaching music to kids of all ages and on various instruments, as well as conducting and presenting research on ways to accommodate students' needs in the music classroom.
Maggie Blackburn received her Masters and Performer Diploma in Vocal Performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She studied under the tutelage of Patricia Havranek, which saw her through performances in West Side Story, Dialogues des Carmélites, and L'elisir d'amore. Additionally, Maggie was part of a six-female sextet featuring a work by Gabriela Ortiz titled "Rio Bravo". Concert performances include the soloist for Fauré's Requiem at IU as well as Opera Workshop Scenes where she most recently appeared as Lisette in La Rondine.
A recipient of the Thomas J. Smith Scholarship and Clyde William Young Scholarship, Ms. Blackburn received her undergraduate Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she studied under Dawn Harris. Highly involved in the performance community, she received the IOTE Encouragement Award and Excellence Award. Additionally, she was a finalist in the New York Lyric Opera Theater National Competition. Her roles there include Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Rapunzel in Into the Woods. During the summer, Maggie was a young artist at the Greensboro Light Opera and Song summer program where she performed the role of Rose Maybud in Ruddigore, one of the Bird Girls in Seussical Jr!, an outreach with GLOS for young children, and was involved with the chorus of Trial by Jury. Previous summer excursions also include participating in Scuola Italia's Corso Estivo per Giovani Cantanti Lirici, a summer program located in Sant'Angelo in Vado, Italy.
Margret Dahlberg began playing the piano as soon as she could crawl up onto the bench. Before being able to read words much less musical notes, she was making up story-songs to match the illustrations in her family's piano books. This childish pastime, she believes, gave her a great foundation for not only note improvisation, but musical interpretation as well.
In 5th grade, Margret also started playing the trumpet. In high school she studied both instruments at the prestigious High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas. As a senior, she was awarded the piano department's Chopin Award for most outstanding senior pianist.
After graduating, Margret left the urban metropolis of Houston for the small rural town of Grinnell, Iowa in order to attend Grinnell College where she had hoped to become a chemist. Her love of music, however was a strong enough pull to keep her out of the chemistry lab and in the practice rooms. Her senior year, she won the school's competitive concerto competition, and as both soloist and member of countless ensembles, was named the "most performed" student of her class.
After receiving her BA in music from Grinnell, Margret then moved to Seattle, where she focused on piano performing with Dr. Peter Mack at Cornish College of the Arts. Because of her studies with Dr. Mack, she was able to enter Northwestern University where she studied with Dr. Marcia Bosits and received an MM in piano performance.
After Northwestern, Margret returned to Seattle where she taught group and private piano lessons at Cornish College, accompanied extensively, and set up a private teaching studio. She eventually moved her studio to the tranquil Victorian town of Port Townsend, Washington where she also rediscovered her love of the trumpet, performing in the community orchestra as well as a local polka band. In Port Townsend, she became an organist for Grace Lutheran Church, co-owned a small award winning café, the Blue Moose Café, and was active in the community theater musical productions.
Not quite ready to settle down completely in a small town, Margret relocated to Chicago where she is not only on the faculty of AMI, but also runs her own creative arts space, Studio303a, and is the music director for Northlake Lutheran Church. In addition to teaching other people how to play piano, Margret has been teaching herself upright bass and performs in the German Schlager band "Pieptone!" She also plays piano for the alt-country band "Mollybird", and has her own act as "Me & Kay". Throughout her eclectic performing career, people have always noted that she plays with exuberance, musicality, and personality. This is something she attributes to those early days of creating imaginary worlds on the keyboard when playing piano was merely child's play.
Remus Badea has studied with notable teachers such as Mihaela Ashkenazi of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. While growing up in Chicago, he performed regularly with many different orchestras as a member and concertmaster, chamber musician, and solo performer.
After graduating high school from the Chicago Academy for the Arts, he received his Bachelor and Masters of Music from the Univ. of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music(CCM) in Violin Performance while under full scholarship, where he studied under world renowned violin teachers Dorothy Delay of Julliard, Won-Bin Yim and Piotr Milewski. He has been a featured performer in masterclasses with Piotr Milewski, Sandra Rivers, James Tocco, Erez Ofer, and members of the Tokyo String Quartet, amongst others. While at CCM he was recipient of the prestigious Heerman Award and Starling Award.
Mr. Badea has participated and performed during the summer with CCM "Music '97 & '99", Aspen Music Festival and Bard Music Festival. Mr. Badea's most recent accolades are being a featured performer on International TV and Radio. Solo featured soundtrack on the movie ‘The Swing'. Soloing with the Southwest Symphony Orchestra and performing solo recitals throughout the Chicagoland area. Currently, Mr. Badea is Concertmaster of Southwest Symphony Orchestra, adjunct professor at Elmhurst College, and Executive Director of American Music Institute.