Matt Farias is a professional brass musician who has been playing for over 20 years around the northern Illinois area. A native of the suburbs of Chicago, Matt got his bachelor's degree in tuba performance from Northern Illinois University in 2016 under the instruction of Charles Schuchat. Though tuba is his primary instrument, Matt is also very versed and trained on all brass instruments such as Euphonium, Trombone, and trumpet, and also is a professional Bass Guitarist having gigged regularly around the area on all of those instruments.  

As a gigging musician, Matt has played with some legendary musicians such as Andy Martin (Professional Jazz Trombonist and soloist for the Pixar movie Soul) and Jim Cornelison (Chicago Blackhawks regular singer of the Star Spangled Banner), and has played with quite a few groups including the NIU Wind Ensemble, The NIU Jazz Orchestra, Wheaton Drama, The Spring Valley Concert Band, and many more.

Aside from gigging, Matt is always looking to better improve his education skills and takes his instruction very seriously with the goal of getting his students into their goals and their dreams as well. Whether it be getting students of the high school level ready to perform for a collegiate scholarship and acceptance to their university, or a successful audition into an ensemble outside of their regular school studies such as ILMEA, or getting a student to break through the wall of struggle that every student goes through at some point, He is always looking for new and unique ways to not just educate students, but inspire students as well for them to eventually achieve whatever goal is desired in music.

Nils Higdon is one of Chicago’s most prominent young percussionists, having performed at Orchestra Hall, The Green Mill, The Logan Center for the Arts, The Chicago Cultural Center, The Jazz Showcase, and six appearances at the Chicago Jazz Festival.

As an instructor, Nils teaches applied percussion lessons at Ridgewood and Riverside-Brookfield High School and independently, as well.  He routinely writes compositions and arrangements for his students and has completed an original teaching manual, Percussion Practicing Guidebook. Nils has also been a teaching artist for the Chicago Metamorphosis Orchestra Project and, on multiple occasions, a percussion judge for the Illinois Music Education Association, District 1. Under his instruction, students of his have earned positions in ILMEA Jazz Ensemble 1, the Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage, and the Metro-Suburban Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensembles. Former students of his have been accepted to and earned scholarships from the music schools of Elmhurst College, Roosevelt University, North Central College, University of Illinois, Concordia, and Northwestern University.

Kyle Dudley is a recent graduate from Flute Performance at Northwestern University, where he completed his Master’s in music performance under the instruction of John Thorne. Before moving to Chicago, he graduated summa cum laude from California State University, Long Beach, and earned his Bachelor of Music degree studying with Dr. John Barcellona. During his undergraduate program, Kyle performed with the CSULB Wind Symphony and BCCM Symphony Orchestra. In his time at Northwestern, he performed in the Sunrise Wind Quintet, the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, the Symphonic Orchestra, and Contemporary Music Ensemble. He has performed in masterclasses with several teaching artists, including Jim Walker, Carol Wincenc, Catherine Ransom Karoly, Elise Shope Henry, Yevgeny Faniuk, Emma Gerstein, and Erica Peel. Kyle has appeared in commercials, television shows, and film. You may have seen him playing piccolo on Disney’s Walk the Prank or in Netflix’s Sierra Burgess is a Loser. Recently, Kyle has been collaborating with other Chicago-based musicians to put on events celebrating new music. 

Micah Friesen, a private clarinet instructor and freelance clarinetist, finds great joy in both performing and in helping students on their own musical journeys. As a private teacher and chamber coach, he strives to always be patient and practical. He has been called “dedicated, … encouraging, … and reliable” and “a patient instructor” by students. In addition to his own studio, he also teaches clarinet lessons at Ridgewood High School, St. Charles North High School and Noteable Notes Music Academy in Wheaton, IL.

Also a performing musician, Friesen currently performs with the Wheaton Municipal Band, the Fox Valley Orchestra, and The Naperville Winds, and actively gigs in Chicagoland. He has experience performing solo, orchestral, band, and chamber music. His performance of Aaron Copland’s Concerto for Clarinet won the winds and percussion division of the Wheaton College Concerto Competition in 2020, and his chamber ensemble was awarded an honorable mention in the college’s 2022 chamber music competition.

Friesen graduated from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music with a degree in clarinet performance and was awarded numerous music scholarships, including the President’s Honor in Music. While there, he took a number of pedagogy courses and studied clarinet privately with Trevor O’Riordan of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra.

Chicago-based saxophonist and composer Arman Sangalang has been garnering attention as one of the up-and-coming jazz musicians on the scene. Sangalang’s intricate originals weave together lyricism and colorful textures to deliver atmospheric soundscapes. Drawing inspiration from Chicago’s genre-bending creative music scene, his music ranges from contemplative to groove-oriented. His current project, the Arman Sangalang Quartet, brings freewheeling and fiery improvisations to audiences. His debut record Quartet (2023, Calligram Records) was awarded Best First Release as Leader by RadioRadioX. Sangalang is set to release his sophomore album Waypoints on Calligram Records in August 2026.

Throughout his career, he’s had the honor of sharing the stage with notable jazz artists such as Jon Irabagon, Dana Hall, Clark Sommers, Bruce Forman, Sharel Cassity, Essiet Okon Essiet, Sylvia Cuenca, and countless others. His music has been performed at prestigious venues like the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, and Chicago Jazz Festival. Other notable venues include The Green Mill, Andy’s Jazz Club, the Hungry Brain, The California Clipper, The Whistler, Mr. Tipple’s Jazz Club and the Logan Center for the Arts.

Sangalang has also received various accolades in the last few years. He was awarded grants from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events for his debut album. In 2023, he was selected to be a part of the Boysie Lowery Living Jazz Residency in Delaware. In 2022, IRIS, a collective formed by Sangalang, was one of four groups across the U.S. selected for the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Academy. The same year, he was also the awardee of the Jazz Institute of Chicago’s Jazz Links Fellowship program.

Sangalang holds a bachelor’s degree in Jazz Studies (Saxophone) from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where he studied with Greg Ward, Tom Walsh, and Walter Smith III. He finished a master’s degree at Northern Illinois University in 2022 where he studied with Geof Bradfield.

In addition to being an active performer, Sangalang is a committed educator. He is currently on the faculty at the Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts) as the Music Theory instructor and the saxophone instructor at Ridgewood High School. While at NIU, Sangalang held a graduate assistantship where he coached jazz combos and taught courses. During the summer he is a teaching assistant at Birch Creek Music Performance Center. He also held positions with Youth Orchestra Salinas (YOSAL), Santa Catalina School, After School Matters, Stafford Music Academy, and the NIU Community School for the Arts.