North Central College Music Workshops and ILMEA Clinics

August 23, 2025 1:00pm

Wentz Concert Hall/Fine Art Center, Naperville, IL.

All 9-12 grade instrumentalists and singers are invited to participate in our Music Workshop and ILMEA Clinics on August 23, 2025. Students will take part in informational sessions and masterclasses focused on maximizing their potential in auditions (centered on the ILMEA audition materials), performances, and more! All sessions are taught by North Central College's esteemed faculty. This event is free of charge, but spots are limited. Please register as soon as you can!

What's New This Year

The workshops are also open to students who are not preparing for ILMEA auditions
Singers are invited! There will be three vocal workshops (non-ILMEA)
Strings ILMEA workshops will cover District IX and District I independently
Private lessons with NCC faculty available upon request
Option to eat lunch at NCC cafeteria

[Register] <-- click here to register.

Deadline: 8/20
Registration after the deadlines will only be accepted based on availability.

Workshop Schedule

Morning Workshops

10:30-11:45am (Optional. Both sessions welcome all instrumentalist and singers!)
How to Practice for Auditions - Prof. Paul Lowry
Latin Jazz Experience - Prof. Juan Pastor

12:00-12:45pm (Optional)
Lunch at NCC Cafeteria for Purchase

Welcome Meeting

1:00-1:20pm Welcome Meeting (Required for all participants)

Workshops for Winds, Percussion and Jazz

1:30-2:45pm
ILMEA Classical Instrumental Clinics - All NCC instrumental Faculty
Introduction to Jazz Harmony - Dr. Christopher White
Introduction to Scat Singing - Prof. Abigail Riccards

3:00-4:15pm
ILMEA Jazz Clinics - All NCC Jazz Faculty
Breathing for Brass - Dr. Maxwell Briggs
How to Play in an Orchestra Woodwind Section - Prof. Ember Miller & Prof. Tricia Wlazlo
Altissimo, Double Tonguing, Circular Breathing, and Beyond! An Introduction to Extended Techniques on the Saxophone - Dr. Walt Puyear
introduction to Orchestral Accessory Percussion - Prof. Stephen Symank

4:30-5:45pm
I Just Got a Music Degree. Now What? - Q and A with NCC Faculty Panel
Jazz Jam with NCC Faculty - We will be starting with There will never be Another You and Tenor Madness this year.

Workshops for Strings

1:30-2:15pm
District I ILMEA String Clinics
Chamber Orchestra Reading with NCC Faculty and Students

2:30-3:15pm
District IX ILMEA String Clinics
More Chamber Orchestra Reading with NCC Faculty and Students

3:30-4:15pm
ILMEA All State String Clinics
String Techniques for Orchestra - Prof. Nadel and Prof. LaFranzo

4:30-5:45pm
I Just Got a Music Degree. Now What? - Q and A with NCC Faculty Panel

If you are a student preparing for the District I ILMEA audition, you will sign up for the District I Clinic at 1:30pm, Chamber Orchestra Reading at 2:30pm, and the State String Clinic at 3:30pm. If you are a student preparing for the District IX ILMEA audition, you will sign up for the Chamber Orchestra Reading at 1:30pm, District IX Clinics at 2:30, and the State String Clinic at 3:30pm. If you are not preparing for any ILMEA audition, you can sign up for both Orchestra Reading sessions and the String Techniques for Orchestra workshop. Mix and match!

Workshops for Singers

1:30-2:45pm
Vocal Health 101: Create Your Vocal Profile - Prof. Jennifer Barrett
Introduction to Scat Singing - Prof. Abigail Riccards

3:00-4:15pm
Voice Masterclass - Prof. Angela Korbitz
ILMEA Vocal Jazz Clinic - Prof. Abigail Riccards

Harp, Piano and Composition

Please contact Dr. Susan Chou directly: schou@noctrl.edu

Questions? Please contact Dr. Susan Chou, schou@noctrl.edu

Participating NCC Faculty

Jazz

Abigail Riccards - Vocal Jazz

Mitch Paliga - Saxophone

Tim Coffman - Trombone

Juan Pastor - Drum Set/Rhythm Section

Chris White - Piano

Dakarai Barclay - Trumpet

Dan Anderson - Bass

Classical

Ellen Huntington - Flute

Tricia Wlazlo - Oboe

Kimberlie Visconti Richter - Bassoon

Walt Puyear - Saxophone

Dan O'Connell - Horn

Paul Lowry - Trumpet

Maxell Briggs - Euphonium and Tuba

Ember Miller - Clarinet

Andrew Rozsa - Trombone

Stephen Symank - Percussion

Nina Saito - Violin

Mara Gallagher - Viola

Claire Langenberg - Cello

Dan Anderson - Double Bass

Voice Faculty

Angela Korbitz - Voice

Jennifer Barrett - Voice

Other Faculty

Benjamin Nadel - Director of Orchestra

Andrea LaFranzo - Conducting

Nichole Young - Harp, by appointment

Jonathon Kirk - Composition, by appointment

Lawrence Van Oyen - Director of Bands

Susan Chou - Piano and Department Chair of Music

Faculty Bios

Dakarai Barclay

Dakarai Barclay is a trumpeter and educator from and based in Chicago, Illinois. Dakarai began playing music at Whitney Young High School and jazz via the Thelonious Monk High School program – Gallery 37 For The Arts – under the direction of Jarrard Harris. After high school, Dakarai would later go on to obtain a degree in mathematics at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, but continued to study music at the college under professors John Head and Melvin Jones as well as Gordon Vernick at Georgia State University.

After completion from school, Dakarai relocated back to Chicago to take up a career in technology consulting but continued to vigorously pursue music. In 2021, Dakarai would relocate once more to New Jersey to enroll at William Paterson University to study under the direction of Dr. David Demsey, Bill Charlap, and most directly with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt. Dakarai obtained his master’s degree in jazz performance in May 2023 and relocated back to Chicago shortly after to properly begin his musical career. As of April 2025, Dakarai was named a Luminarts Foundation Jazz Fellow.

Dakarai has had the privilege of performing with mentors and elder musicians such as Willerm Delisfort, Winard Harper, Jarrard Harris, Ernest Dawkins, Marlene Rosenburg, and many more. Dakarai can be seen playing in venues throughout Chicago, New York and elsewhere.

Jennifer Barrett

Mezzo-Soprano Jennifer L. Barrett holds a BA in Vocal Music Education from North Central College, and a MA in Vocal Pedagogy from Northeastern Illinois University. Recent performance highlights include the US debut of John Plant’s I will fly like a bird, with Thompson Street Opera. Her performance as Zofia was acclaimed by Chicago Classical Review, Chicago Theater Review, and Vocal Arts Chicago.

Other credits include shows with Natural Talent Productions, The Savoyaires, New Philharmonic Orchestra, Third Eye Theatre Ensemble, Opera on Tap Chicago, Main Street Opera, and The Floating Opera Company. She is a company member of New Moon Opera in Chicago.

Jennifer has been teaching private voice for over 25 years, in her home studio and as a professor of Classical and Musical Theater Voice at North Central College. At North Central she also serves as the director of the Opera Workshop ensemble. When not on campus, Jennifer performs as the Alto section leader at First United Methodist of LaGrange and is a member of Consonance Chicago.

Maxwell Briggs

Having earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Illinois Wesleyan University, followed by a Master of Music degree and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Northwestern University, Dr. Briggs possesses a solid foundation of academic excellence, studying under the guidance of Ed Risinger, Rex Martin, and Gene Pokorny. Dr. Briggs play with several ensembles in the Chicago area and has won the Falcone Solo Competition, the Chicago Brass Festival Solo Competition, and performed as a featured soloist with the VanderCook College Symphonic Band at the 2022 Midwest Clinic. Dr. Briggs teaches at various institutions, including North Central College, VanderCook College of Music, and Lake Forest College. His teaching approach is rooted in the pedagogy of Arnold Jacobs, emphasizing the development of a resonant tone, solid technique, and a deep understanding of musicianship. By instilling these foundations in his students, he equips them with the tools to excel in their musical endeavors.

Timothy Coffman

Tim Coffman is one of the most active trombonists and teachers in the Chicago area. A graduate of the prestigious Jazz Studies program at Indiana University, Mr. Coffman worked closely with David Baker and Keith Brown. He was awarded the Performer’s Certificate following his Senior Recital.

Mr. Coffman is in demand for studio and show work and has performed with Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Natalie Cole, Lou Rawls, Louie Bellson, Aretha Franklin and many others. In 2009, Mr. Coffman performed with the WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany for two weeks, with special guest Arturo Sanduval. In 2022 Mr. Coffman toured with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. He is a former member of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble and The Rob Parton Big Band and is currently a member of the New Standard Jazz Orchestra, The Bob Lark Alumni Big Band and the Bob Lark Septet. Mr. Coffman was on the Jazz Studies faculty at DePaul University from 1997-2021. He is now on the faculty and is the Jazz Studies Coordinator at North Central College in Naperville, IL. During the summer, he has been a faculty member at the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshop at the University of Louisville since 1992.

Ellen Huntington

Ellen Huntington has appeared internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. She holds the second flute position with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, New Philharmonic, Rockford Symphony, and others. As a chamber musician, she is a founder of the Lyrebird Ensemble, and has recorded the CD Taking Flight, which presents a unique variety of virtuosic music for the flute and harp duo from the modern era. Dr. Huntington previously taught at North Park University and Loyola University Chicago. She is the director of the Naperville Youth Symphony Orchestra Flute Choir. Dr. Huntington studied in Stuttgart, Germany as a Fulbright Scholar, received her Doctor of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from Northwestern University, and Masters of Music from The Ohio State University. She has served secretary of the National Flute Association, she is currently treasurer of the Chicago Flute Club and on the editorial board of the Flutist Quarterly.

Angela Korbitz

Angela Presutti Korbitz holds degrees in voice performance and vocal pedagogy from The University of Illinois and Roosevelt University. She has also studied at the International Institute of Vocal Arts in Chiari Italy and The Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh, England. With a voice that has been described as “Absolutely Exquisite” by former Chicago Symphony President Henry Fogel, Angela has appeared as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Grant Park Orchestra of Chicago, Bel Canto of Milwaukee, The Fox Valley Orchestra, The Park Ridge Civic Orchestra, Salt Creek Sinfonietta, Sinfonietta Bel Canto, The Elmhurst Choral Union, and The Naples Philharmonic Orchestra. Her recital work includes performances on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, Fairmont Chamber Society, Musicians Club of Women and multiple appearances on “Live from WFMT.”

Ms. Presutti began collaborating with guitarist and husband, Ron Korbitz in 2000. Their work has been featured multiple times on WFMT radio and on numerous concert series including The Chicago Classical Guitar Society, Summer Suburban Symphony, Mayslake Summer Concerts, Lake Geneva Lyric Opera Guild, and several colleges and universities throughout the Chicagoland area. The Star Newspaper described them as “a rare chamber duo” and WFMT radio host Kerry Frumkin declared, “our audience loved them.”

Angela currently serves as Voice Area Coordinator at North Central College and is on faculty at VanderCook College of Music. She is also a professional member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Grant Park Chorus.

Claire Langenberg

Originally from Lancaster, PA, cellist Claire Langenberg has performed throughout the United States as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. She is a member of the New Philharmonic and Quad City Symphony. In addition to her orchestral playing, Claire is an active freelance musician and has performed with Josh Groban, Barry Manilow, Peter Gabriel, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Kristin Chenoweth, and Paul Potts, and is also the artistic director of Windy City Chamber Musicians, performing for weddings and corporate events throughout the Chicago area. Claire also teaches cello at her home in Aurora as well as North Central College. Her primary teachers were Laurien Laufman, David Wells, and Richard Hirshl, and she holds performance degrees from the University of Illinois and the New England Conservatory of Music.

Ember Miller

Ember Miller holds a Bachelor of Music Performance from Michigan State University and a Master of Music Performance and Literature from Northwestern University, studying under Caroline Hartig and Steve Cohen, respectively. After her studies, Ember freelanced throughout the Midwest, performing with orchestras like the Green Bay Symphony, Illinois Symphony, Kankakee Valley Symphony, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. However, she soon found her true passion in teaching and sharing her love for the clarinet with students.

The Ember Miller Clarinet Studio comprises approximately 60 students, many of whom secure top chairs in ILMEA district and state competitions, Midwest Young Artists Conservatory, and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. Her students have won national competitions and college scholarships, earning spots in some of the most competitive college clarinet studios in the country.

Ember also serves on the faculties of North Central College and Lake Forest College, where she continues to mentor the next generation of clarinetists. Currently, she is the Principal Clarinetist with the Chicago Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and the Lake Shore Symphony Orchestra and enjoys performing in chamber ensembles. In her spare time, Ember loves walking her two French Bulldogs, traveling, exploring Chicago with her husband Luke.

Dan O'Connell

Dan O’Connell is the horn instructor at North Central College, Birch Creek Music Center, and maintains a private studio. He's proud that many of his students have gone on to careers in music, and equally happy when others maintain a practice that keeps them involved in music making. As a performer, he has played with most of the Chicago area’s great orchestras and ensembles. He attended Western Illinois University, received a BM from The New England Conservatory, and an MM from DePaul University.

Mitch Paliga

Mitch Paliga has a Master’s Degree in jazz pedagogy from Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s Degree in music from Eastern New Mexico University. In 1993, he received a National Endowment of the Arts grant for individual study with master jazz musician David Liebman. In 2002 he received a City of Chicago Community Arts Assistance Program Grant.

In 2007 Mitch joined actor Gary Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band. Since joining the band, he has performed on U.S. military bases and hospitals in the U.S., Afghanistan, South Korea, Japan, Europe, Guantanamo Bay Cuba, Puerto Rico and Kuwait as well as the National Memorial Day Concert, Pentagon, the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, West Point, Air Force, Naval and Coast Guard Academies, and CBS Television City.

In 2008 he performed with the band Kimotion at the Ho Chi Minh Conservatory of Music and the Hue Festival in Vietnam. He has also performed with Vinnie Colaiuta, Christopher Cross, Danny Gottlieb, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, California Transit Authority (Danny Seraphine and Bill Champlin), Steve Rodby, The Temptations, Bob Newhart, Marie Osmond, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. In 1993, he received a National Endowment of the Arts grant for individual study with master jazz musician David Liebman. In 2002 he received a City of Chicago Community Arts Assistance Program Grant.

He has two recordings under his own name, Blithe Moments and Fall Night, on the Origin label. He has recorded over 30 original compositions and arrangements with a variety of artists, and is a founding member of the Chicago Jazz Composers Collective. Mitch Paliga endorses Theo Wanne Mouthpieces, AMT Microphones and is a D’Addario artist.

Juan Pastor

Juan Daniel Pastor is a renowned jazz percussionist, composer, and educator from Lima, Peru. His work blends Afro-Peruvian rhythms with modern jazz, leading to international acclaim. Juan studied jazz at Northern Illinois University and DePaul University, where he was mentored by Greg Beyer and Dana Hall. In 2013, he founded Chinchano, an ensemble that combines Peruvian folk music with North American jazz. Chinchano has released several albums, including "Chinchano," "Un Cambio," "El Regreso," and "Cachito," with a fifth album underway, supported by a DCASE Grant from Chicago. Juan has performed globally, including at the North Sea Jazz Festival and Chicago Latin Jazz Festival, and is the Coordinator of the Jazz Program at North Central College. He is also the author of the upcoming book Batería Peruana, exploring Peruvian polyrhythms. His collaborations span across notable figures such as Fareed Haque, Makaya McCraven, Marquis Hill, Miguel Zenón, Paquito de Rivera, Howard Levy, and Kurt Elling.

Walt Puyear

Walt Puyear is a Chicago-based saxophonist and educator, serving on the faculties of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and North Central College, and teaching summers at Interlochen Arts Camp and the MPulse Saxophone Institute. A prizewinner in the 2022 Walter Naumburg International Saxophone Competition and 2021 Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition, he has appeared as soloist with ensembles including the Ann Arbor Civic Band, Carole Mawby Chorale, UMKC Conservatory Wind Symphony, and University of Michigan Chamber Winds.

As alto saxophonist of the award-winning Aero Quartet, Gold Medalists at the Fischoff

National Chamber Music Competition, he has performed across the U.S., recorded for

Orchid Classics, and appeared on Chicago’s WFMT Radio. Walt holds degrees from the University of Missouri–Kansas City and the University of Michigan, where he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts and received the Earl V. Moore Award.

Andrew Rozsa

Dr. Andrew Rózsa is bass trombonist with the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, and is applied faculty at College of DuPage, Elgin Community College, and North Central College.

A frequent guest musician, he has performed with the Montréal Symphony, Madison Symphony, Chicago Philharmonic, Millar Brass Ensemble, Des Moines Symphony, Orchestra Iowa, Elgin Symphony, Northwest Indiana Symphony, Thunder Bay (Ontario) Symphony, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, New Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Rockford Symphony, among others.

Dr. Rózsa is also an active classroom educator; he currently lectures in music theory, ear training, and history at the College of DuPage. Previously, he served on the classroom faculty at McGill University, the applied faculty at McGill Conservatory, and numerous high schools in the suburban Chicago area.

Rózsa earned a Doctor of Music degree in 2015 from McGill University in Montréal, Québec, Canada. He also holds a Performers’ Certificate from DePaul University and a Master of Music degree in performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music; he completed his Bachelor of Music in composition and theory at the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music. His major trombone teachers were Doug Bennett, Allen Kofsky, Thomas Klaber, Charles Vernon, Mark Fisher, Floyd Cooley, James Box, and Pierre Beaudry.

Chris White

Originally from Toronto, Chris White has gained recognition as a leader with the albums Young at Heart and Tributaries. At home in a host of genres and settings, he has made his name as a go-to freelance pianist, arranger and accompanist in the Chicago area. His performance credits include the Chicago Jazz Festival, The Jazz Showcase, The Green Mill, Winter’s Jazz Club, Cliff Bell’s, Catalina Jazz Club (LA) and Feinstein’s/54 Below (NYC) among others. He earned his Master’s in Jazz Studies at Indiana University’s prestigious Jacobs School of Music, studying with the late renowned educator David Baker, and went on to complete his DMA in Jazz Performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has studied piano with Barry Harris, Joanne Brackeen and Hal Galper among other greats, and performed with Miguel Zenón, Ira Sullivan, Russell Malone and Oliver Nelson, Jr.

Tricia Wlazlo

Since 2005, Tricia Wlazlo has served as the Adjunct Instructor of Oboe at North Central College while also maintaining a private oboe studio in the Naperville area. Throughout her teaching career, many of her high school students have achieved recognition by being selected to honors orchestras, bands, and to the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) festival, with several continuing their careers at the collegiate level.

Tricia Wlazlo attended the University of Michigan for her undergraduate degree, and then received her Master’s degree in oboe performance at the University of Southern California.

An accomplished performer, Tricia has performed with many notable orchestras and lent her talents to Broadway productions in the Chicago area including “Wicked.” Tricia Wlazlo is a founding member of the Amber Oboe Trio ,The Kaleidoscope Trio and Cadence Music Ensemble, and is a highly sought after liturgical musician.

Nichole Young

Nichole Young’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. As an active harp teacher, Nichole loves passing along her passion for the harp while guiding others. She is the harp instructor at North Central College in Naperville, at Chicago Academy for the Arts in Chicago, IL, and at Fox River Academy of Music and Art in Oswego, IL.

Nichole performs regularly with many orchestras throughout Illinois and Iowa—and she has been the principal harpist for the Peoria Symphony, New Philharmonic, and the DuPage Symphony. As an orchestral musician, Nichole has had the opportunity to perform with Itzhak Perlman, the Beachboys, Audra McDonald, Joshua Bell, Rachel Barton Pine, the Celtic Women, Van Dyke Parks, & Lisa Vroman, amongst others. Nichole earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Harp Performance, at Northern Illinois University and at Northwestern University, studying with the acclaimed Elizabeth Cifani, the former principal harpist with the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

(more bios to be updated soon!)

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