Justin de la Cruz, originally from Skokie, Illinois, is the Director of Choirs at Niles West High School in District 219 in Skokie, Illinois. 

He directs all 4 of the curricular choirs at Niles West and oversees the a cappella program, directing the award-winning ensemble Resolve. He teaches an electronic music class, digital piano class, and an inclusive music class for diverse learners. He also serves as the music director for the Niles West musical. 

An active musician in the city of Chicago, he performs regularly as a pianist, guitarist, vocalist, and band leader. 

He completed his Bachelor of Music (BM) in Music Education with a concentration in Jazz Voice at DePaul University, graduating in 2022. He lives in Chicago, Illinois. 

Sonya Ur, who is a native of the North Shore area began her classical training in piano at the age of 4 and violin at the age of 9. She did most of her musical training at the Music Institute of Chicago in Winnetka, Illinois. 

She received her Undergraduate degree for piano performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Masters in piano performance and pedagogy at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. 

She currently instructs private lessons and is an accompanist for the choir program at Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois. She also collaborates for many Suzuki programs and adjudicates festivals all over the North Shore. 

Kait Newcomb grew up in Columbus, Ohio where she found her passion for music and competed with her high school a cappella group on the national level! She then attended The Ohio State University where she earned her Bachelor’s in Music Education. 

During her time at OSU, she sang in The Ohio State of Mind a cappella ensemble, earning two trips to the finals stage in NYC, outstanding arrangement, and outstanding solo awards. This past spring, she co-taught a high school group in Ohio which won outstanding choreo, outstanding soloist, and earned a trip to NYC as ICHSA Finalists! 

She is so excited to continue being a part of the a cappella world here at Niles West and she’s looking forward to a great year of making music! She is the general music teacher at Madison Elementary in District 69.

Bailey Banks is a teacher, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer/arranger from the Illinois Valley. There, she cultivated her love for commercial ensemble singing, and is very excited to keep expanding the pop a cappella program at NWHS as the Director of Tonality! They hold a Bachelor of Music in Music Education (Vocal Emphasis) from Millikin University, as well as certificates in Jazz Studies and Composition. 

Throughout her educational career, Bailey served as the Music Director of Dissonance A Cappella at MU. Also during her collegiate experience, she directed a number of vocal ensembles, as well as founded and directed a pop boomwhacker ensemble lovingly called TUBEZ! (It’s a Boomwhacker Group). Non-conventional music making is an active interest in her professional career.

Most recently, she served as Assistant Piano Conductor for Kokandy Productions’ run of American Psycho. As a performer and songwriter, they are constantly searching for new opportunities to perform around the city. Currently, Bailey also works as the Choir Director at Park View School in District 70. She is so excited to collaborate with such a talented faculty, and lead such a gifted and passionate group of students!