皇冠彩票
Advisory Board
Advisory Board Mission Statement
The mission of the Advisory Board is to gather input on the College鈥檚 activities from a wide range of leaders in the fields of music and music education as well as community leaders.
More about the Advisory Board鈥檚 Mission
The role of Advisory Board members is flexible. Members contribute to the College in a range of ways including
- performing artists offering masterclasses and guest performances at the College
- master educators offering presentations to students
- creative suggestions for VanderCook鈥檚 staff and administration regarding the College鈥檚 ever evolving curriculum and approach, and
- community leaders helping VanderCook build on its connections with a range of constituents in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago.
Advisory Board Goals
The goals of the Advisory Board are to
- meet twice annually, providing presentations and discussions on issues pertinent to the College鈥檚 evolution
- broaden the diversity of perspectives that color the College鈥檚 growth and development in the areas of programming, community engagement, recruitment, and public relations
- enrich the college by building upon relationships with national leaders whose wealth of experience and superlative standards of excellence in their fields provide VanderCook with fresh perspectives that come from a degree of distance from daily operations.
KEITH ALEO, Interlochen Arts Academy
Keith A. Aleo聽has a multifaceted career as a performer, educator, and administrator. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Miami, Aleo has served on the percussion faculty of the Boston Conservatory, the University of Connecticut, and the University of Miami. He is also a consultant for the Zildjian and Vic Firth Companies. Aleo has presented recitals, master classes, and workshops at throughout the world, including the Percussive Arts Society International Conventions, Europe and Asia. Aleo’s playing credits include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra. He was a member of the percussion section of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra from 1987-2003 and the Director of Education and Orchestral Activities for the Zildjian Company from 2003-2015. He has published percussion method and 茅tude books that have received international acclaim.
STEVE BECK
Steven Beck has been in the architecture | engineer | construction (AEC) industry since graduating from the Illinois Institute of Technology-Architecture in 鈥�89.聽 He has excelled at a variety of roles including founding an award-winning design | build collaborative and establishing a buyer change department that managed 500-semi-custom residential units annually.聽 Steve is currently developing a quality assurance program aimed at reducing the risk of construction rework for a Chicago-based nation-wide general contractor.
Steve brings a background in providing guidance, direction, and assistance for the resolution of difficult project design, budget, and constructability challenges on a wide variety of project types.聽 Projects have included the adaptive reuse of two separate churches to condominiums and an 80,000 SF warehouse to contemporary church as well as new construction senior housing communities and multi-family residential developments.聽 Work has taken him nation-wide providing a wealth of construction knowledge in techniques and geographical influences.
Steve volunteered his services to a Chicago Lawndale church undertaking an extensive and desperately needed re-roofing project by establishing realistic budgets, negotiating contracts along with reasonable unit pricing, and ultimately overseeing construction.聽 He has also volunteered design services for a proto-typical school for Angola that was used to build 106 schools that ultimately serviced +30,000 students.
In 鈥�04 Steve returned to the Illinois Institute of Technology as an adjunct professor of architecture until transitioning to coaching/mentoring multi-disciplinary student teams in IIT鈥檚 Interprofessional Studies & IPRO Program in 鈥�09.聽 This mentoring role took him to Uganda with a student team collaborating with coffee farmers to develop resources that would provide them with greater control of their products and therefore future.聽 He also mentored two Chicago-area high-school students in a summer-long science and technology education and internship experience through the Academy for Future Leaders in Science and Technology.
He was an active supporter of his 4-childrens鈥� involvement in bands, orchestras, choirs, musicals and marching bands and he continues to support his wife in her music education career and active choral work.
ALICIA BUNTON, Presidential Fellow for Community Engagement at IIT
Alicia Bunton has 17-plus years of experience as an administrator of community-based programs for underserved populations, including the homeless, mentally ill, chemically dependent, and people living with HIV/AIDS. She is a dynamic community planner and leader who has chaired planning groups convened by the City of Chicago and served on national boards. Bunton received a Golden Trumpet Award for outstanding achievement in community relations and the prestigious Edwin J. Shaughnessy Quality of Life Award from the Publicity Club of Chicago. She has since transitioned to academia, and currently directs community affairs at Illinois Institute of Technology.
NATALIE BUTLER, Dean of Learning and Teaching, The People鈥檚 Music School
Natalie Butler grew up in Miami, FL and studied voice, violin, and cello before deciding upon the clarinet as her primary instrument. Natalie received her Bachelors of Music Education from Florida State University and shortly thereafter moved to Chicago to begin her career as a music educator.聽 She took a break from teaching to pursue and receive her Masters of Music from Northwestern University and later successfully completed the process to become a Nationally Board Certified Teacher in Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood Music. Natalie spent over thirteen years teaching general music and conducting bands for students in grades pre-K-12 in the Chicago Public Schools while continuing to study clarinet privately and performing both clarinet and voice. In 2013 Natalie joined the team at The People鈥檚 Music School. She appeared on the Jennifer Hudson Show in January of 2024 to advocate for access to music education for all children. Throughout her career Natalie has conducted, presented, and published her research on the national and international levels.
CHANDRA COOPER, Founder and Executive Director of the Muddy Waters Mojo Museum
Chandra Cooper is a multi-talented entrepreneur and community advocate with a wealth of experience in media and public relations.聽 Ms. Cooper just happens to also be the great granddaughter of Muddy Waters, making her uniquely connected to the musical legacy of Bronzeville. She is an experienced network affiliate, on-air television reporter and producer, youth and women’s advocate with community engagement experience and has experience working in the area of youth social services. Cooper holds a B.A. in Marketing Communications from Columbia College, a Master’s degree in Professional Counseling from Concordia University, and a certificate in Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management from Harvard Business School. Ms. Cooper is also a facilitator for First Aids Arts which is a trauma informed care, expressive arts curriculum based and evidence-based program.
PATRICIA DASH, CSO member, Founder Co-Leader of CSO Percussion Scholarship Program
Patricia Dash was appointed to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by Sir Georg Solti in 1986 at age 24. Dash came to Chicago from the Philharmonic Orchestra of Florida, where she held the position of principal percussionist. In addition to the CSO, she has since performed with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Chicago Pro Musica, the CSO Trombone Ensemble, the Ensemble Intercontemporain of Paris, and in numerous CSO chamber music concerts at Orchestra Hall. In 1995, she initiated the CSO鈥檚 Percussion Scholarship Program (PSP) which she Co-leads with her husband and fellow percussionist, Doug Waddell. PSP offers gifted young students in Chicago weekly percussion instruction on a full scholarship basis and performs throughout the year at Symphony Center. The group has also appeared at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, on WTTW, on WGN and WFMT radio, NPR鈥檚 From the Top, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Conference, and as soloists with the CSO鈥檚 youth concerts series.
ARTHUR LIPNER, Marimbist, Composer, and Educator
Arthur Lipner began his career as a jazz mallet player in New York in the 1980鈥檚 as a member of a group called ETOSHA.聽 Arthur signed on as an Artist/Clinician with Selmer-Ludwig instruments and Mike Balter Mallets in 1986 and began a five-year guest faculty position in Holland. He has performed all over the world, including 18 concert tours of Brazil and performances throughout Europe, Mexico, Iceland, Ghana, and across the United States.聽 He authored the critically acclaimed method books “The Vibes Real Book” and “Jazz Mallets: IN SESSION.” He has served as Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Bridgeport, teacher at Drummers Collective (NYC) and Adjunct Faculty at SUNY Purchase and is the subject of the documentary film Talking Sticks.
BERNARD LOYD, Founder and President of Urban Juncture
Between 1990 and 2003, as a member of the management consulting firm of McKinsey & Company, Bernard helped senior corporate leaders around the world expand existing businesses, create new businesses, and improve operations. Bernard鈥檚 contributions at McKinsey include co-founding its global Agriculture and Food Chains initiative and leading world-wide client development and service in that arena. He also co-founded and led the firm-wide Black Client Service Staff initiative, which drove substantial increases in the number of Black associates and partners. In addition, he co-founded the Chicago Office鈥檚 Social Ventures sector and worked with public sector clients to address key regional issues.聽 Bernard鈥檚 civic efforts are focused on improving access to economic opportunity. In Chicago, he served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Metropolitan Planning Council and of Mayor Rahm Emmanuel鈥檚 Green Ribbon Committee. He recently served as member and chairman of the Board of Trustees of Centers for New Horizons, as co-chairman of the governor-appointed Dan Ryan Taskforce, and as convener of the Friends of the Checkerboard Lounge. He also has served on the board of trustees of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A native of Chicago, Bernard was raised primarily in Germany and Liberia, West Africa. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from MIT, including a doctorate in computational fluid dynamics and a masters of science in business. He and his family reside in Chicago鈥檚 Bronzeville community.
DARRELYN MARX, Vocal Music and Theatre Educator
Darrelyn Marx received her B.S.Ed. degrees in Vocal Music and Speech/Theatre from Minnesota State University Moorhead; and her M.F.A. in Theatre – directing from the University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana.聽 She is an experienced vocal music and theater educator who has directed choirs, and stage directed numerous plays and musicals at the high school and college level.聽 Darrelyn鈥檚 last appointment was at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois where she taught classes; directed; and assumed leadership in curriculum development for the departments of Music, and Speech/Theatre.聽 At present, she is a member of the alto section in the DePaul University Community Chorus under the baton of Stephen Blackwelder.
KEN MARX, Middle School Music Educator
Ken Marx served as the Director of Bands in School District 113A in Lemont, Illinois from 1979-2012. During his career, he supervised numerous student teachers who have become successful music educators. He received his Bachelor of Music Degree from DePaul University and his Master of Music Degree from the 皇冠彩票.聽 Ken鈥檚 mentors at VanderCook include H.E. Nutt and Victor Zajec.聽 He is the recipient of the Excellence in Education Award from the Illinois State Board of Education; PTA Teacher of the Year Award; and the Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator Award.聽 Currently, Ken is singing baritone in the DePaul University Community Chorus under the direction of Stephen Blackwelder.
LEONARD MCGEE, President of GAP Community Organization
Leonard McGee is a former member of the Board of Trustees of 皇冠彩票 and President of the GAP Community Organization.聽 The mission of GAP is to unlock the potential in the Bronzeville of Chicago and to provide services to the greater Chicago area through education, health awareness, advocacy, and community-linked services.聽 He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Harvard Club of Chicago and the Bronzeville Alliance, and was instrumental in bringing together the Chicago Police Department with neighborhood residents and businesses by implementing the CAPS program in near South neighborhoods of Chicago.
RACHEL BARTON PINE, Violinist, Recording Artist, Educator, and Philanthropist
Heralded as a leading interpreter of the great classical masterworks, American concert violinist Rachel Barton Pine thrills international audiences with her dazzling technique, lustrous tone, and emotional honesty. With an infectious joy in music-making and a passion for connecting historical research to performance, Pine transforms audiences鈥� experiences of classical music. Pine performs with the world鈥檚 leading orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, and the Chicago, Vienna, and Detroit Symphony Orchestras. In August 2023, Cedille Records released Dependent Arising, an album that reveals surprising confluences between classical and heavy metal music by pairing Shostakovich鈥檚 Violin Concerto No. 1 with Earl Maneein鈥檚 Dependent Arising 鈥� Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, written for Pine and performed with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under the baton of Tito Mu帽oz. In September 2022, Cedille released Violin Concertos by Black Composers Through the Centuries: 25th anniversary edition. She has appeared on The Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, PBS NewsHour, Prairie Home Companion, NPR鈥檚 Tiny Desk, NPR鈥檚 All Things Considered, and Performance Today, and in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. She holds prizes from several of the world鈥檚 leading competitions, including a gold medal at the 1992 J.S. Bach International Violin Competition. An active philanthropist, Pine has led the Rachel Barton Pine (RBP) Foundation for over two decades. Early in her career, she noticed that young people learning classical music seldom have the opportunity to study and perform music written by Black composers. Since 2001,鈥疨ine and her RBP Foundation鈥檚 Music by Black Composers (MBC) project have collected more than 900 works by 450+ Black composers from the 18th鈥�21st鈥痗enturies. She performs on the 鈥渆x-Bazzini, ex-Soldat鈥� Joseph Guarnerius 鈥渄el Ges霉鈥� (Cremona 1742), on lifetime loan from her anonymous patron.
MYRA RHODEN, Founder of Athena Music and Leadership Camp
Dr. Myra Rhoden is the founder of the Athena Music and Leadership Camp (athenacamp.com), an all-girls music program created to promote musical excellence while emphasizing leadership skills. She also serves as the Director of Bands and Fine Arts Department Chairperson at Fayette County High School (GA). Rhoden frequently serves as a guest conductor for state, regional, and university honor bands and is honored to have presented sessions at The Midwest Clinic, various national, state and regional conferences, and for school systems and professional development clinics throughout the United States and Canada. A native of Tuskegee, Alabama, Dr. Rhoden was named the NAfME 2018 National Band Director of the Year, has been awarded the Outstanding Service to Music Award from Tau Beta Sigma, the Golden Rose Award from Women Band Directors International, multiple Citations of Excellence from the National Band Association, and has been named STAR Teacher and Teacher of the Year. She had the distinct pleasure of being a guest conductor for the United States Army Field Band of Washington, D. C. and the Tara Winds of Atlanta, Georgia. She is honored to be a member of the Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity, serves as a Conn Selmer Educational Clinician and was elected to the prestigious American Bandmasters Association in 2023. She holds degrees from the University of Alabama and the University of Southern Mississippi.
RUTH RHODES, Professor Emerita, 皇冠彩票
Professor Ruth Rhodes taught woodwind courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, and previously served as graduate dean, director of continued education and professor of clarinet at VanderCook. After receiving her bachelor鈥檚 degree from VanderCook, Ms. Rhodes earned a master of music degree from the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University. She is a clarinetist with the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra; co-founded and performed with the chamber group Ensemble d鈥橝ccord (including live broadcasts in the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series on WFMT); and performed with the Opera Theater of Illinois for several seasons, in addition to the Orchestra of Illinois and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Ms. Rhodes has had great fun performing on stage with the Moody Blues, Kansas, Led Zeppelin, ABBA, Manheim Steamroller, Itzhak Perlman, Marilyn Horne, Frank Sinatra Jr., and Tony Bennett, among others. Her articles have been published in Bandworld magazine and in The Instrumentalist. She served as a woodwind consultant on the 鈥淓ssential Elements Band Method DVD for Hal Leonard Publishing, and was an adjudicator for the Boosey & Hawkes Buffet-Crampon Clarinet Competition. She received an honorary Doctorate from VanderCook in 2023, and is proud to have served her alma mater for more than 40 years as both a faculty member and an administrator.
DAVE SAMBER, Chef, Owner, and Innkeeper of the Polo Inn
Dave Samber has been running one of Bridgeport鈥檚 most notable and welcoming institutions, the Polo Inn, for 39 years.聽 Currently, the Polo Inn serves as a restaurant, Bed and Breakfast, and banquet hall, and is the home of Chicago鈥檚 famous Gospel Brunch.聽 Over the years, the Inn has filled various needs in the community from candy store to Christmas shop to music venue.聽 In 1996, a scene for the movie Hoodlum with Laurence Fishburn was filmed at the Inn.聽 United Artists studios spent $1.5 million and 90 days shooting the scene.聽 Prior to opening the Polo Inn, Samber worked as an accountant and a real estate developer before pursuing joy through neighborhood hospitality at the Polo Inn.聽 Music plays a meaningful role in his life, both as a singer and as a Suzuki parent.
BONNIE SANCHEZ-CARLSON, President of Near South Planning Board
Bonnie Sanchez-Carlson has worked with the Near South Planning Board for the past 27 years, serving as its Executive Director since 2003. Under her leadership, the organization has provided support to hundreds of businesses, working on their behalf to solve problems, provide resources, serve as liaison to the city and aldermen. She has increased the visibility of the organization, its businesses and the community through an enhanced website, increased social media presence, and through numerous marketing promotions. She has expanded the organization鈥檚 literacy programs, especially Authors in the Schools, in order to help more children in the public school system have access to books and to published authors by provide reading and writing workshops. She has been a charter member of the Rotary Club of Chicago Near South for the past 14 years and served as Assistant District Governor, for a three-year term, from 2014-2016. She is a member of the Lambda Alpha Ely Chapter Honorary Society for the Advancement of Land Economics and serves on the Illinois Comptroller鈥檚 Hispanic Advisory Board. The National Women鈥檚 Hall of Fame named Ms. Sanchez-Carlson Woman of the Week in December of 2017.
NYLE TAYLOR, Director of Bands, Von Steuben, All-City, and People鈥檚 Music
Nyle Taylor touches the lives of hundreds of Chicago youth through the power of music every day.聽 He is a rising star in Chicago鈥檚 music education scene, serving as Director of Bands at Von Steuben High School, All-City Performing Arts, and the People鈥檚 Music School.聽 He appeared on the Jennifer Hudson show in February of 2024 to advocate for music education for all children.聽 He graduated from 皇冠彩票 in 2016.
MADS TOLLING, Violinist and Composer
Mads Tolling is an internationally renowned violinist and composer originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, now living in San Francisco. As a former nine-year member of the celebrated Turtle Island Quartet, Mads won two Grammy Awards, and he was nominated for a third Grammy in 2015. He was the 2016 winner of the DownBeat Critics Poll Rising Star Violin Award. Mads has performed with Chick Corea, Ramsey Lewis, Kenny Barron, Paquito D鈥橰ivera, Leo Kottke and Sergio & Odair Assad. He has been featured on NPR鈥檚 Morning Edition, and his recordings have received rave reviews in Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Strings Magazine and DownBeat Magazine. Since 2021, Mads has been a member of Bob Weir & Wolf Bros project as part of the Wolf Pack and is featured on Weir鈥檚 album Live in Colorado. Mads has written several arrangements of Grateful Dead tunes for the band, some of which are now also part of the Mads Men repertoire. Mads has twice been commissioned to write violin concertos 鈥� for Oakland Symphony and Pacific Chamber Orchestra. He also leads his own groups 鈥� Mads Tolling Quartet and Mads Tolling & The Mads Men. His release, Playing the 60 spent two months on US jazz radio鈥檚 top 30. Mr. Tolling has performed over a thousand concerts around the world, including at The Hollywood Bowl, the Library of Congress and at the Bay Area鈥檚 Paramount and Herbst Theatres. As a featured Yamaha Artist, Mads leads clinics and masterclasses in the US and internationally.
NICOLE WHEATLEY, Community Development Consultant, Steps Inc. Consulting
Highly inspired Nicole J. Wheatly has worked over the past 20 years as a Community Development Planner with a strong emphasis in Business and Housing Development.聽 She was the Founder of Sensual Steps Shoe Salon, a premiere high fashion shoe boutique in the heart of the Bronzeville community. She also owns Steps Inc. Consulting, a community development organization that provides comprehensive community plans to improve the quality of businesses, housing, education, social services and health/security. Nicole is the Founder of Providing U Motivation to Pursue Success, known as P.U.M.P.S., a nonprofit education and neighborhood revitalization organization that is committed to strengthening neighborhoods and lives through home-ownership and business creation.
JOHN BRUCE YEH, CSO Clarinetist and Director of Chicago Pro Musica
In 1977, at the age of 19, John Bruce Yeh was invited by Music Director Sir Georg Solti to join the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as Clarinetist and solo Bass Clarinetist. John was the first Asian musician ever appointed to the CSO. Two years later, he was named Assistant Principal Clarinet and solo E-flat clarinet. Now the longest-serving clarinetist in CSO history, he also served as Acting Principal Clarinet from 2008 to 2011. He has performed as Guest Principal Clarinet of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic in Korea, and the Guangzhou Symphony in China. He was a prizewinner at both the 1982 Munich International Music Competition and the 1985 Naumburg Clarinet Competition in New York. Yeh has performed as a soloist with the CSO several times, including in Carl Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto with Neeme J盲rvi, and in the U.S. premiere of Elliott Carter’s Clarinet Concerto with Pierre Boulez. He continues to solo with orchestras around the globe. An enthusiastic champion of new music, Yeh is the dedicatee of works for clarinet by numerous composers, ranging from Ralph Shapey to John Williams. He appears at festivals and on chamber music series worldwide, including the Marlboro Music Festival, Taipei Music Academy Festival and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Yeh has performed with the Guarneri, Ying, Colorado, Calder and Pacifica string quartets, among others. His more than two dozen solo and chamber music recordings have earned worldwide critical acclaim, including the 2007 release for Naxos entitled Synergy of single and double concertos with clarinet featuring Yeh, his wife Teresa Reilly, and his daughter Molly Yeh. John Bruce Yeh is director and cofounder of Chicago Pro Musica, which received the 1986 Grammy Award as Best New Classical Artist.