About our Teachers
An (pronounced Ann)
is a classical pianist based in Chicago, Il. She has received awards from the Arizona Music Fest, Arizona Steinway Piano Competition and many others. She also performs frequently at such venues as: Walt Disney Concert Hall, Lied Center of Performing Arts, Thayer Hall, the San Jose Center of Performing Arts and Grant Park Music Festival. She has an Associates Degree in Fine Arts and is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s in Piano Performance. As a teacher, Ms An is passionate about creating accessible and positive learning experiences for her students. Using a holistic approach, Ms An incorporates study of theory, sight reading, aural skills, technique, and a wide range of repertoire. Her goal is to imbue her students with the confidence and ability to fully command the keyboard. In her spare time, Ms An has volunteered for Sharing Notes, bringing live music to patients in hospitals located in the Chicagoland area. She enjoys painting, drawing and exploring the city. 
Clare
Ms Clare is a singing and piano teacher, accompanist, mezzo-soprano, and performer located in Chicago. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College Chicago in Music and Theatre. Her credits include Music Directing MT productions at Columbia College; collaborating on projects as an accompanist, performer, and educator; and educating students through BAMtheatre in the suburbs of Chicago. Ms. Clare immensely enjoys working with children and peers of all ages to help them meet their various musical goals. She loves playing piano, singing, and feels fortunate that she can share her knowledge with her students. Her philosophy on music education is simple—consistency, healthy habits, and attention to technical execution will give every student a strong foundation. Recognizing that each student is unique, Ms. Clare is flexible and creative in her teaching approach. She believes in her students’ abilities and that everyone can thrive as a musician if they are given the individual attention necessary to do so. In her spare time, Ms Clare enjoys composing, playing Jazz, discovering the Chicago neighborhoods and entertaining two kittens, Mabel and Doris, who do their own impromptu improvisations on the keyboard! 
Héctor
is from Monterrey, Mexico and is currently obtaining his Master's Degree at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. He actively performs in Houston, where he lived for 5 years, and also Spain and France. In 2018, he obtained the first prize in the First International Piano Festival of Xalapa, where he played with the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra conducted by Philippe Entremont. Hector has never known a life without music. Born into a family of musicians, he received intense musical education from the age of 4. His own mother is a veteran piano teacher, expert in the Suzuki teaching method, and he saw and heard music lessons taking place every day in his own home. Under his mother’s mentorship, he started teaching at the age of 16. Since then, he has taught students of all ages in both English and Spanish. His main goal is to help his students to share the joy of music-making that he experiences every day. 
Jenny
is a classically-trained pianist and guitarist with several years of teaching experience in all genres of piano and guitar. A multi-disciplinary artist, she is also pursuing a degree in Neuroscience from the University of Illinois Jenny believes that learning is most successful when lessons are tailored to fit the student. She strives to build relationships with her students to ensure that they feel safe, open, and ready to learn at their own pace. Her primary focus is to give students the lasting skills they need to be able to achieve their personal musical goals both present and future. She is passionate about making sure each student's musical journey is a personally meaningful one to encourage students to develop their love for music even beyond the studio walls. In her spare time Jenny loves learning languages for fun and is currently working on six! She draws and paints in her free time, and will read everything she gets her hands on. She also likes spending time in nature and researching and taking care of plants. 
Kari holds a bachelor’s degree and MFA in music composition and has taught voice and piano in private studio, the Chicago High School for the Performing Arts and Columbia College for the past 12 years. Kari's teaching philosophy includes the belief that teachers should always be learning so they remember what it is like to be a student. She has also directed, composed music, and led rehearsals for performances at The Steppenwolf Theater Company and Storycatchers Theater and served as the music director and composer of Chicago Voices, a performance at Chicago’s Lyric Opera for the organization Harmony, Hope and Healing to raise awareness of homelessness in Chicago.
Kari is a versatile and highly experienced voice and piano teacher with extensive experience teaching students of all ages, including neurodivergent and learning-disabled students. She cares about her students as human beings as much as she cares about their artistry and treats everyone with warmth, empathy, and respect. Kari’s students say she has a rare balance of fun and relatability along with conservatory-level standards of technique and mastery for both voice and piano. She loves to customize her teaching style for an individual student’s needs. 
Our Founder, Holly, has been teaching piano for over 20 years. Her students have gone on to major in music, join performing groups and simply enjoy playing for themselves. She is the Owner of the Champaign School of Music which has had the privilege of helping thousands of students learn to play piano, guitar, voice, drums, woodwinds, brass and participate in early childhood music classes since its inception in 2003.
Holly now resides in the South Loop of Chicago and has opened South Loop Piano Lessons. South Loop Piano Lessons is for beginning through advanced students of all ages who love music and are passionate about achieving their potential in music and life. Her students say that she is: "fun, funny and energetic". She adds, "….especially after a double espresso! We work hard, but enjoy laughing together!" Her Certifications, Honors and Leadership include:
Influential teachers have included: Concert artist Pawel Chenchinski, Pedagoge Jane Tan, Technique specialist Seymour Fink and Chicago Blues teacher Erwin Helfer. Holly also had the opportunity to study with Seymour Bernstein in New York. Holly draws from a background in meditation, dance, body building and public speaking to give her students the edge in: developing a healthy, relaxed piano technique, developing expressiveness in music and preparing for performance. To begin learning to play the piano, call us or fill out our Request Info Form. Its never too late and, rarely too early! 
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Testimonials
"An institution with exceptional instructors!"
- Imran Khan, Attorney at Law "I wanted to let you know that I will be attending the University of Illinois-Urbana as a music major next fall. I know all of those piano lessons I had with you helped in my success so far!! My mom tells me that the strong music foundation and practice habits I learned when I worked with you is what has made it possible for me to develop my music to this point. I had very successful auditions at several different colleges and have been offered music talent scholarships, too." - Kate M. "I am a 7 year old girl and I am half Japanese and half ' American. I go to piano class once a week. I have been learning piano for about 10 months and can play over forty songs on the piano. I have had 2 piano recitals that were really fun and really crowded. My piano teacher is awesome. She is so nice and she always pushes me to become a better pianist. My favorite thing about piano school is learning new songs and then playing them for my mom and dad!" --Terra B. Age 7 "In my opinion, the quality of any school simply boils down to the quality of its instructors and my daughter's piano teacher is fantastic. It is clear her teacher's life revolves around music and her passion for teaching inspires all of us. I really don't want to have to force my children to practice - so the fact that her teacher both challenges and inspires her to learn - which results in her wanting to practice makes music in our home a joy rather than a struggle." --Kurt B. I thoroughly enjoyed taking lessons. I'd always wanted to learn how to play, even have a piano, so at 42 I decided it was time. My Grandmother had passed away and it would have meant a lot to her to know she helped pay for some classes for me. My teacher was wonderful. She was cheerful, very, very knowledgeable and full of enthusiasm for teaching the class. She wasn't afraid to make us play what we were learning, never scolded us for not learning quickly enough [like a younger student might have] and made it a truly enjoyable experience. I'm not going to be performing in public anytime soon, but I feel more confident sitting down at my piano now. She helped us with her encouragement and her endless enthusiasm. Mistakes were not a problem. She wanted us to play loudly and enjoy hitting the keys. - just like kids. That's a lot of why I wanted to take the class and stuck with the entire session. I wanted to come play and learn. --Janet M. Age 42 "Katie's progress in playing piano constantly amazes our family. She always looks forward to her lessons and what new things she can learn. Katie performed recently at a small talent show. Their were many other children playing piano, yet Katie's performance caught the attention of many of the parents. As we were leaving the talent show I had one parent congratulating Katie and asking where she took piano because they were so impressed with her performance." --Marilyn and Mike F. In the News
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