Archives: Team Showcase

Timothy Archbold (Cello) is a freelance cellist in the Chicago area. He currently performs with several area orchestras including the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and Skylight Theater. Archbold grew up in Regional Australia. He received his bachelor’s degree from University of Melbourne. He then went on to complete an Artists Diploma at the Hochschule fur Kunste in Bremen, Germany and his master’s degree at Wichita State University.

Richard Armandi (Bass, Tuba/Euphonium, Jazz Bass) is one of the most versatile and in-demand musicians and educators on the Chicago scene today. As a jazz bassist he has performed with such luminaries as Marion McPartland, Barry Harris, Bobby Shew, David Baker, Jamey Aebersold, Dick Hyman, Scott Hamilton, Carl Fontana and many others, and has performed with such stars as Rosemary Clooney, Bob Newhart, Martin Short, Phyllis Diller, Rich Little and many others. As a tubist he has performed with the Lyric Opera, American Ballet Theater, Grant Park Orchestra, Chicago Brass Quintet, and as featured soloist with the New Philharmonic, Ethos Chamber Orchestra, Concordia University Wind Ensemble, and at the 1992 International Tuba-Euphonium Conference. He has been recorded on many album projects including three with the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band, and on many commercial jingles. He is in constant demand as a bassist and tubist in almost every conceivable musical genre. As an educator he has served on the faculties of College of DuPage (Glen Ellyn, IL), Triton College (River Grove, IL), and Trinity Christian College (Palos Park, IL) teaching bass, low brass, jazz combo and improvisation. He has also served on the faculty of the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops since 1990.

Daniela Folker (Violin), Master of Music Performance, Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL, is the Principal Second Violinist for the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, she is violinist with the Chicago Philharmonic, Chicago Sinfonietta, Ravinia Festival Orchestra and Chicago Opera Theater. Daniela has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago as well as performed for numerous televised programs including Oprah, Late Night with David Letterman, Soundstage, and with Celine Dion for an NBC Special. She has performed with such artists as Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, Seal, Natalie Cole, and many others.

David Govertsen (Voice) recently stepped in on short notice at Lyric Opera of Chicago where he “handsomely replaced the ill Peter Rose as the producer La Roche” opposite Rene Fleming and Anne Sophie von Otter in Capriccio. Mr. Govertsen also appeared on short notice as Arkel in Pellas et Melisande with the Chicago Symphony under Esa-Pekka Salonen and as a soloist in James MacMillan’s Quickening with the Grant Park Orchestra.A former member of the Ryan Center at Lyric, his other mainstage assignments have included roles in Die ZauberflA?te, Boris Godunov, Werther, Die Meistersinger von NA?rnberg, Madama Butterfly, and Rom et Juliette. He returns to Lyric this season as the Sprecher in Die ZauberflA?te and Priam in Les Troyens.

Mr. Govertsen recently created the roles of David/Bonobo in Matthew Aucoin’s new opera Second Nature for Lyric Opera Unlimited. Other operatic highlights of the past season include a reprise of La Roche at Santa Fe Opera, 2nd Soldier and 5th Jew in Salome with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the title character in Cimarosa’s Il Maestro di Capella with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. On the concert stage this season he appeared with the Madison Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Bach Week Festival, Battle Creek Symphony, and Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Mr. Govertsen made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2011 as the Herald in Otello with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti. He is an alumnus of both the Santa Fe Opera and Central City Opera apprentice programs and holds degrees from Northwestern University, Northern Illinois University and the College of DuPage. Locally in Chicago he has performed dozens of roles, among them the title roles in Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Pasquale, and Gianni Schicchi, the Four Villains/Les Contes da Hoffmann, Sarastro/Die ZauberflA?te, Colline/La BohA?me, Basilio and Bartolo/Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Magnifico/La Cenerentola, Zaccaria/Nabucco, Sparafucile/Rigoletto, Padre Guardiano/La Forza del Destino, Nick Shadow/The Rake’s Progress, and Friedrich Bhaer/Little Women.

Dr. Steven L. Havens (Piano) earned a Master of Music in piano performance from the University of Texas at Austin, and his PhD from the University of Iowa. Dr. Havens also studied at the Hochschule fA?r Musik [Mozarteum] in Salzburg, Austria as a Rotary International Scholar. Principal areas of academic concentration include piano performance, collaborative piano, and piano pedagogy. Primary instructors include Michael Campbell, Danielle Martin, and Ren Lecuona. Dr. Havens holds membership in Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, and Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society. Dr. Havens was selected to participate in the International Festival-Institute at Round Top, Texas, as well as the Vienna International Masterclasses in Austria. He has performed in Austria, Germany, France, England, Belgium, and the Netherlands. He has served on the piano faculty of the University of Iowa All-State Music Camp, has been affiliated with Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, and served as a teaching assistant at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp in Michigan. Dr. Havens is currently a member of the piano faculty at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, where he was named one of the outstanding faculty members in 2005. For further information, please visit stevehavens.net

Teaching Philosophy:

“It is my sincere commitment to offer my students all I can to inspire outstanding performance and skill development in a manner that is inviting, accessible, and meaningful. As an instructor of piano, my primary objective lies in helping to foster and cultivate in each of my students his or her highest capacity in confident, expressive, imaginative, and intelligent music making. Success in music study – both in process and outcome – is dependent upon a number of factors, among them: thoughtful planning, effective communication, constructive guidance, creativity, and good humor on the part of both student and instructor.

Over several years of teaching, my students have taken part in a number of solo and concerto competitions. In addition to local and regional contests and events, these include: the Tuesday Morning Music Club Competition, the World Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerto Competition. My students have also attended programs such as the Credo Chamber Music Program at Oberlin College, the National Music Camp at Interlochen, and the University of Texas at Austin Summer Workshop for High School Pianists. Students have gone on to distinguished educational institutions such as Northwestern University, Roosevelt University, Elmhurst College, Wheaton College, Michigan State University, and Indiana University, among others.”

Nathan LeMahieu (Organ) currently serves as Organist and Co-Music Director at St. John Lutheran Church in Wheaton, Illinois. He is a Ph.D. candidate in New Testament at Wheaton College and teaches at Wheaton’s School of Biblical and Theological Studies. Prior to moving to Wheaton, Nathan was the Campus Pastor of Christ Church Highland Park, Illinois, a multi-site congregation that he helped to launch in 2011. He has also previously served as the Minister of Music at the First Baptist Church of Oak Park and as an Organ Scholar at the University of Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart.  Nathan holds the Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and the Master of Sacred Music degree from Notre Dame.  He is also a graduate of Northwestern University with degrees in both organ performance and political science.  While in Evanston, he served as Organist at the Alice Millar Chapel and was the Music Director of Canterbury Northwestern.  He has studied with American organists Craig Cramer, Margaret Kemper, and Douglas Cleveland and also with Michael Radulescu and Ullrich Böhme at the Hochschule für Musik und Theatre Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Leipzig, Germany.  Nathan has performed in recitals and master classes throughout several states as well as in Germany and the Netherlands and has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships.

Carolyn May (Flute) received her bachelors’ degree in Music Education from the University of Illinios-Urbana and her Master of Music from Northwestern University. Ms. May has been principal flutist of New Philharmonic at the College of DuPage since its inception in 1977 and has been a soloist on numerous concerts. She has taught flute lessons at the College of DuPage since 1980 to students from age 7 to age 70! Also an accomplished pianist and accompanist, Mrs. May is a retired band director in School District 102, LaGrange. She also teaches privately at her home in LaGrange, and freelances in the Chicago area.

Marlene Meyer (Voice) earned a Master of Music in vocal performance from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She is a past winner of the Rose Fae Thomas Competition, the American Opera Society of Chicago Competition, the Union League Emma Roe Competition, and both District and Regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions. She has been a soloist with the Chicago Symphony, the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus, and the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Festival.

“I believe there should be no barriers to studying voice. I particularly enjoy working with young students just discovering their voice, helping them develop their core skills and helping them prepare auditions to further their studies. I also enjoy working with older students wishing to maintain their skills as they age, or those who are beginners to the joy of singing and wish to supplement their enjoyment of participation in community or church choirs.”

Emi Murata (Piano), MM, NCTM has taught Class Piano, Keyboard Kapers and offered private instruction at the College of DuPage since 1991. She enjoys teaching a diverse population, including children as young as age 3, college majors, as well as retirees. Ms. Murata focuses on her students unique and individual needs, whether they are taking lessons for leisure, for more serious study, or choosing a career in music. Competition winners, students who have limited time to practice, as well as those who have specific goals or special needs, have found success in her studio. Ms. Murata believes that good communication is a major key to success and works towards giving her students experience in a variety of musical styles and genres.

Over 39 years experience teaching piano, theory, sight singing and ear training to all ages and abilities, Ms. Murata served on the faculty in institutions such as Columbia College, College of DuPage, and Sherwood Conservatory. Equally adept at instructing beginner through college levels, Ms. Murata also has a private studio in Oak Park, and is an experienced clinician, has published articles, and enjoys presenting master classes throughout Illinois. An avid spokesperson on the benefits of ensemble playing, her students have performed in this capacity at state and national levels.

Ms. Murata made her debut at age sixteen as concerto soloist with the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra. She earned her B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science, with distinction in Music from University of Illinois at Chicago, and received her Masters of Music in Piano Performance at University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. In addition to performing as a soloist, Ms. Murata is a member of the Murata Piano Trio, Piano à la Quartette and co-organizes the Glorious Grands: A Piano Extravaganza!!!, an 8 Steinway grand piano concert held here at COD’s McAninch Arts Center, and at Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Symphony Center for their Keys To The City Piano Festival.

Emi Murata is an active member of several performing and educational organizations. Former president of both Musicians Club of Women and Salt Creek Music Teachers Association (awarded Music Teachers National Association’s 2011 Local Association of the Year), she was voted Member of the Year by her colleagues at Chicago Area Music Teachers Association as well as Salt Creek Music Teachers Association, and was chosen to be a 2014 MTNA Foundation Fellow, a distinction held only by two other SCMTA members in the Foundation’s 20 year history.

Emi’s passion for teaching is evident, as her students travel from as far as Michigan to study with her, and stay active in her studio for many years. Emi is looking forward to working with you and your individual learning style and catering to your unique needs.

Elizabeth Murphy (Voice), Lyric Soprano, has been a member of the College of DuPage music faculty since 1994. Throughout her tenure, Ms. Murphy’s educational excellence has been recognized on a number of occasions; these include her appointment as the COD Music Department’s first lecturer, and her being named an Outstanding Faulty Member by the College at large.

Elizabeth appreciates being part of COD’s collaborative fine art community, welcoming diversity and enriching all creative potential. She appreciates the opportunity to develop meaningful connections with her students helping many keep music in their lives, no matter their major. She is dedicated to adapting/teaching classes that are inclusive, facilitating the success of students at all levels. She is very proud to have helped establish the Music Department’s newest student club last year, The Songwriters Club. She continues as its adjust faculty advisor.

With more than 25 years of teaching experience, Elizabeth has maintained a varied portfolio of educational involvement. Examples of such include: establishment of a large and diverse private voice studio, musical direction of musicals, adjudication of music festivals, and invited clinician for voice ensembles. More recently, Elizabeth has been working with Drs. Robert Bastian and Brent Richardson as a referred vocal health specialist.

Ons tage, Elizabeth’s performing includes both Classical and Theatrical credits and has been featured in The Britten Pears Festival (Aldeburgh, England), the Chautauqua Institution (Chautauqua, New York), and The Blossom Festival (Cleveland, Ohio). Locally, she has also performed with Chicago Opera Theater, DuPage Opera Theater, Illinois Opera for the Young, Light Opera Works, and has soloed with several regional orchestras.