Directors

Anthony J. Svejda 

(B.S., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1996; M.M., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000) is in his nineteenth year directing bands at Oak Park and River Forest High School, coming to Oak Park after six years at Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora, Illinois, one year at Lockport Township High School in Lockport, Illinois, and one year at Hadley and Schilling Elementary in Homer Township, Illinois. Mr. Svejda is a member of the Music Educators’ National Conference and has formerly been a member of the National Association for Saxophone Alliance. He has performed as principal Alto Saxophonist with the Chicago Civic Orchestra for the 1998-1999 season.  In December of 1998 he won a position with the United States Navy Band in Washington, D.C. Over the past 18 years, he has been invited to guest direct various ILMEA jazz bands throughout the state of Illinois including being selected to direct the ILMEA All-State Jazz Band in 2015.  He was selected, by his peers, as a winner of the 2016 Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator of the Year from Quinlan and Fabish Music Company.  As director of bands and newly recognized "Oak Park Villager of the Year", Mr. Svejda directs Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Band II, Pep Band and the Marching Huskies.  Anthony currently performs with the Chicago Wind Symphony and the newly formed Reunion Saxophone Quartet.

In addition to his extensive work as a music educator and performer, he was a remix artist/producer.  Anthony has arranged numerous tracks by artists including Taio Cruz, Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey, J Lo and many more.  All of the remixes have been heard over radio world-wide.  Most of these tracks can be purchased and/or downloaded on iTunes.  You can also find most of tracks on YouTube, soundcloud, Amazon, and searching online under the his name, Papercha$er, or Dr. Ant.  

Brendon Culloton 

(B.S., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2021)

is in his third-year teaching music at Oak Park and River Forest High School, where he co-directs the Symphonic and Concert Bands, and teaches guitar, songwriting, and music production. He also runs “Huskie Records” a club to help create and promote original student music at the high school. Brendon is a trombone and euphonium player, audio engineer, and music producer/composer who performs regularly around the Chicagoland area, and takes on a wide variety of projects, from brass quintets to scoring short films. He has presented sessions on music technology in education and creative music making to music educators and college students in Illinois, is active in the Illinois Music Education Association, and was one of two 2020 recipients of the National Association for Music Educations’ Shannon Kelly Kane Scholarship.