Lindsay Fredrickson, executive Director
Lindsay Fredrickson founded Chicago Arts and Music Project in November, 2017 with the dream of starting an orchestra program dedicated to musical excellence and social activism in Chicago. Her passion for the El Sistema movement stems from her internship at ROCmusic in Rochester, NY, where she was introduced to the idea of teaching music to affect social change. She later spent four years as a teacher and administrator at Sistema Ravinia in Austin, Chicago. Intimately familiar with many of the same challenges her students face, Lindsay knows the transformational power of music to add value and purpose to a person's life. She intends to spend her career spreading the joy of music to children.
In April, 2019, Lindsay gave a TEDx Talk at DePaul University titled “El Sistema: Changing the Face of the American Orchestra.” Lindsay participated in a fellowship program with the Global Leaders Program in April, 2018 in Honduras, where she taught clarinet to students participating in YOA (Youth Orchestra of the Americas). Lindsay Fredrickson holds degrees in clarinet performance from the Eastman School of Music (M.M.) and the DePaul School of Music (B.M.).
Lindsay Fredrickson spends the majority of her time with her dogs Addison and Martie, watching Netflix, cooking, and cracking jokes with her friends.
ana marroquin, program assistant
Ana Marroquin began her music journey at age 8, playing violin in her elementary school orchestra in Melrose Park, IL. She went on to college at Concordia University-Chicago, getting her bachelor's degree in Music Education.
During her time in college, Ana realized that her teaching philosophy was very similar to the El Sistema ideals and philosophy. She believes that musical excellence can be used as a vehicle for social change. Ana wants to help her students overcome adversity by teaching teamwork, perseverance, and confidence through music.
Ana began her work for an El Sistema-inspired program in 2011 as one of the founding instructors for Sistema Ravinia, located in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. She is currently the assistant conductor and lead teacher, focusing on the string orchestra. She also works as a violin instructor for the Ravinia Lawndale Family Music School, located in the North Lawndale neighborhood in Chicago.
When Ana is not teaching music, you can find her playing violin and viola for different events, singing soprano in various community choirs, learning to play new musical instruments, and practicing yoga.
Nayelii Duran, violin teaching artist
Nayelii is a classically trained violinist with a bachelor degree in Music Education from North Park University. Her passion for non-profit work has led her to teach students of all ages, styles, and levels of playing with various music programs around Chicago, such as The People’s Music School and the Chicago Arts and Music Project. Nayelii’s primary focus in teaching is to provide holistic educational experiences which nurture the character of the student, as well as their musical ability, and is double-certified in the teaching method Education in Human Values. Nayelii also has several years of experiences teaching children and adults with special needs, and teaching ESL students of all ages.
omkara guaraco gil, cello teaching artist
Venezuelan cellist, Omkara Gil, recently graduated with her bachelor's degree at Chicago College of Performing Arts in the studio of Prof. Richard Hirschl and an associate member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She began her musical studies at the "Vicente Emilio Sojo" Conservatory of Music, El Sistema and the "Academia Latinoamericana de Violoncello" at the age of 10. A member of the National Children's Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, Ms. Gil served as principal cellist of the Lara Youth Symphony Orchestra under the conduction of Sir Simon Rattle, Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel and many other noteworthy conductors. Her affiliation with the orchestra further led her to her concerto debut in 2017.
She has participated in summer festivals including Chautauqua Music Festival, Academia Internacional de Solsona (Spain) and "Festival Hiberoamericano de Violoncello" (Venezuela). She has participated in master classes with John Sharp, Dr. Tanya Carey, Dr. Horacio Contreras, Felix Wang, Johan Stern, Phillip Tribot, Florian Ebersberg, William Molina Cestari. In her free time she likes to read books and watch soccer matches and drama movies.
colin rambert, percussion teaching artist
Colin Rambert is a Chicago-based percussionist and drummer who actively performs in a multitude of contemporary and classical music settings. He has appeared with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia da Camera, the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, and the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, along with ensembles showcased at the Jazz Education Network Conference, the North American Saxophone Alliance Conference, and the College Band Directors National Association Conference. Colin can most regularly be seen playing with The Phantom Broadcast, an experimental rock outfit that pushes the boundaries of indie, post-rock, classical, and jazz, and can be heard on their latest full-length album Antiquities (2019). He can also be found playing drums for the Chicago pop-rock band King Mixer.
Colin enjoys teaching young musicians of all ages throughout the Chicagoland area. Aside from his work with the Chicago Arts and Music Project, he serves as a percussion teaching artist with Sistema Ravinia, an El Sistema program based in Waukegan. He also teaches privately and instructs marching percussion at a handful of public schools, most notably John Hersey High School, Buffalo Grove High School, Elk Grove High School, Glenbrook North High School, and Homer Jr. High. Colin holds a Master of Music degree in Percussion Performance and Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2015) and a Bachelor of Music degree in Commercial Music from Millikin University (2012).
eric leise, flute teaching artist
Eric Leise is a flutist and educator based in Chicago, Illinois. An avid orchestral flutist and chamber musician, he has served as the second flutist for the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra since 2016 and has previously been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. An active freelancer, he has performed around the midwest with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Milwaukee Symphony, and the Quad Cities Symphony. He is also a regular collaborator with the Fifth Wave Collective, an ensemble that performs exclusively music by female composers.
In addition to his work with the Chicago Arts and Music Project, Leise works with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, Music Inc, and he maintains a private flute studio. During the summer, he has worked with the Grant Park Music Festival to help produce free masterclasses, educational events, and assisting with their Fellowship program designed to encourage diversity within the classical music field.
Leise holds a Masters degree in Flute Performance from DePaul University and degrees in Flute Performance and Music Education from the University of North Texas. His primary teachers include Stefan Hoskuldsson, Terri Sundberg, James Scott, Sonja Giles, and Erica Peel.
victoria gabrielsen, string teaching artist
Victoria Gabrielsen was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has been playing violin since she was 10 years old. Victoria’s music education studies began in 2011 at Northern Michigan University, where she was a recipient of the Harden Scholarship, a four-year full scholarship. During her time in Michigan, she taught with various beginner strings programs and youth orchestras in the Marquette area. She received her Bachelors in Music Education in 2015, with honors from both the Music and the Education Departments.
In addition to teaching private lessons at CAMP, Victoria currently teaches private lessons at LYRIQ Music School. She is also on the Leadership Team and Finance Team of the Human Values Collective, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating loving and supportive classrooms through teacher training, community mentorship, and weekly lesson plans for practicing values of Love, Truth, Peace, Non-Violence, and Right-Action. Victoria’s hobbies include reading, hiking, learning mandolin, playing video games, and attending as many live concerts as possible.
diana lopez, Brass Teaching Artist
A native of Colombia, Diana Lopez began to play the trumpet when she was eight years old. At eleven years old, Diana was accepted to study in the Music Conservatory of Tolima. Diana has participated in many competitions in her country such as the Conservatory of Tolima Concerto Competition, National Trumpet Competition, Young Artist Competition, among others. From 2013 to 2016 she was a member of Bogotá Philharmonic Band and performed with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bogotá and National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia.
Diana earned her Bachelor of Music degree in trumpet performance at Lynn University Conservatory of Music with professor Marc Reese, and an Advanced Certificate in Orchestral Studies from The Orchestra Now (Bard College). She has also studied with Benjamin Wright of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Diana is the founder of the Women’s Brass Association of Colombia (Fembrass) of which around 80 women from different Latin American countries belong. She created it to provide education, opportunities and community to inspire female brass players in Latin America.
Jeremiah burton, Cello teaching artist
Jeremiah Burton is a gifted instrumentalist and writer whose musical journey has been marked by immeasurable passion, dedication, and commitment to his craft. With a fundamental education from the Chicago High School for the Arts as his foundation, his journey has been one of continuous growth and exploration, in which he has captivated audiences with his own original work and the work of well-known artists in many intimate jazz clubs, grand concert halls, wedding venues, and everything else in between. Jeremiah focuses on the classical instrumentation of strings, woodwinds, and brass, while also studying piano, orchestration, and composition. He continues in higher education in the vibrant city of Chicago...
Jeremiah embodies the spirit of collaboration, often finding himself in the heart of ensembles where the magic of music truly comes alive. He has been featured in many musical groups, most recently Acid Management, Poetic Strings Trio, and the opening performer for the Prince George's Philharmonic(Maryland). He can be recognized as a street performer in many high-traffic locations in the Chicago Downtown Theater District as well as in multiple advertisements by the Chicago-based retail company Notre.
Beyond his musical endeavors, Jeremiah's commitment to service and excellence led him to join the U.S. Army Reserve as a Specialist. This dual identity as an instrumentalist and a service member paints a picture of a person driven by discipline, dedication, and a desire to contribute positively to his community and country.
Jeremiah Burton is not a musician but a creator that uses music as an outlet to reach others, and as he continues to make his mark in the world of music, his journey serves as an inspiration to aspiring instrumentalists and artists alike.
Charlotte Kazalski, teaching artist
Charlotte Kazalski is a recent graduate of Ithaca College, where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Performance. During her time at Ithaca, she had the privilege of studying under Wendy Mehne and Allison Parramore. Charlotte also had the opportunity to perform in a masterclass with the acclaimed flutist Rhonda Larson and served as the principal flutist of the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to her musical achievements, Charlotte was honored as one of the BOLD Women's Leadership Scholars at Ithaca College, a program designed to empower and inspire young women to pursue leadership roles in their careers and communities. She is currently building on this experience through her fellowship work with CAMP, where she continues to develop leadership skills and engage in meaningful professional opportunities.
Charlotte is deeply passionate about the power of music and believes it is a universal language that should be accessible to everyone. She is committed to sharing her love of music with others, whether through teaching, performance, or community outreach.
kevan feyzi, brass teaching artist
On trombone and euphonium, Kevan Feyzi performs regularly around the Midwest in a variety of genres including jazz, Latin, blues, R&B/soul, classical, and chamber music. As a sideman in Chicago, Kevan works with jobbing bands like the Bluewater Kings and LPE Snapshot. He also regularly backs visiting Latin artists such as Willie Gonzalez, Ruben Sierra, and Roberto Lugo. In jazz, he has gigged and recorded with the Shout Section Big Band and the Chicago Skyliners, among others. With classical groups, Kevan has performed in some of the United States’ great concert venues, including LA’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, Chicago’s Symphony Center, and New York’s Lincoln Center. He substitutes with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Chicago Brass Band, and Sinfonia Da Camara. A former member of award-winning blues band The Jimmys, Kevan can be heard on their third studio album Gotta Have It, plus toured with the group both around the United States and abroad.
As an educator, Kevan is the trombone or low brass teacher at three Chicago-area high schools after several years teaching in Southern Wisconsin. Each year, several of his students have qualified for junior or senior ILMEA District and State Honors ensembles. He also taught at the University of Illinois, where he directed the school’s trombone choir. In 2013, he founded the Madison Area Trombone Ensemble, a volunteer group of area trombonists ranging from student to professional levels. Kevan holds degrees in music from the University of Southern California, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Illinois.
Heidy rodriguez, woodwind teaching artist
Cuba- born Heidy Rodriguez Delgado is a Chicago-based freelance musician and educator. Ms.Rodriguez Delgado frequently plays with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic and the Classical Music Institute in San Antonio, Texas. While in Cuba, she was a member of the Symphony Orchestra of the Great Theater of Havana Alicia Alonso. There, she also performed with the National Symphony of Cuba and the Banda Provincial de Concierto de la Habana.
A fervent educator, Mrs. Rodriguez Delgado, instructed clarinet and chamber music at the Amadeo Roldán Music Conservatory in her home country. Currently, she serves as a Teaching Artist with Chicago Arts and Music Project (CAMP).
A fellow of the 14th annual Imani Winds chamber music festival at the Juilliard School of music; Heidy holds a master's degree in music performance from the Chicago College of Preforming Arts at Roosevelt University where she studied with John Bruce Yeh of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Teresa Reilly. Prior to her studies in Chicago, Heidy graduated Suma Cum Laude from The University of Arts (ISA) in Havana, Cuba with a Bachelor ́s degree in Music Performance.