Drostan Hall conductor, violinist and founder of the Hall School of Music and Camerata Chicago www.cameratachicago.com , is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England.  He has performed globally, participating in festivals in Europe and the United States.   Maestro Hall conducted the world premier of The Story of Ferdinand orchestrated by Jonathan Blumhofer at the Utah Music Festival in 2003.  He has guest conducted the Elmhurst Symphony with the Illinois premiere of The Story of Ferdinand.  He collaborated with violinist Shmuel Ashkenasi in February  of this year performing Mozart’s 5th Violin Concerto.   He also conducted performances of Mozart’s opera Bastien & Bastienne with The Comic Intermezzo, (Peter & Kathleen Van De Graaf) at the Chicago Cultural Center for their celebration of Mozart’s 250th anniversary celebration. Drostan Hall is the president and founder of the Hall School of Music in Wheaton, Illinois.     He is also the producer of the highly successful children’s educational CD Ferdinand & Friends which has now sold over 5,000 copies worldwide.   Drostan Hall can be heard frequently on WFMT conducting Camerata Chicago.   Maestro Hall holds the belief that music is a gift and wishes to dedicate his music making  to God, the author of that gift.

Dorothy Hall (Violin) received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from DePaul University and studied the violin with the eminent Russian teacher Mark Zinger. She was formerly a member of the Chicago Sinfonietta Orchestra with which she toured the World. She has collaborated with such distinguished artists as Mathias Tacke of the Vermeer String Quartet and David Taylor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Dorothy is a three time recipient of The Chicago Musician’s Club of Women Farwell Award and frequently performs on their recital series. For five years Dorothy was the concertmaster of the Elmhurst Symphony and also has appeared as soloist with them. Dorothy has recently been featured as the narrator for the acclaimed children’s compact disc Ferdinand & Friends released by DMD Classics. Dorothy is also the co-founder of the Hall School of Music in Wheaton. Dorothy Hall holds the belief that music is a gift and wishes to dedicate her music making  to God, the author of that gift.

Rebecca Zimmerman began studying piano at the age of four and cello at the age of ten. Throughout her early development as a cellist, Rebecca studied with several teachers including Dajing Yang, Jim Wilson of the Shanghai Quartet, and Neal Cary, principal cellist of the Richmond Symphony. Rebecca graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2003 with a BM in Cello Performance, studying under Stephen Gerber, former principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra. Rebecca has attended the Eastern Music Festival, Tanglewood, Kent-Blossom Music Festival, and the National Orchestral Institute, all of which she served as principal cellist. Rebecca's competition winnings include the 1999 Richmond Symphony Concerto Competitionand the 2000 Eastern Music Festival Competition. She has also performed the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Richmond Symphony and the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Eastern Music Festival OrchestraRebecca enjoyed a one-year position with the Richmond Symphony as well as a fellowship with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. She is currently Assistant Principal of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra and performs and teaches throughout Chicago.

Sue Young (Piano Classical and Jazz / Flute / Recorder / Theory / Musicianship) is a Graduate Summa Cum Laude from Northwestern University with an MA in flute performance and theory.  Mrs. Young has also served as flute professor at Northern Iowa University.

Elizabeth Choi graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as a chamber music performance major. She received her undergraduate studies at Depaul University in violin performance. Her teacher in San Francisco was Ian Swensen and Mark Zinger at Depaul.

As an orchestral musician, Elizabeth was associate concertmistress in the South Bend Symphony Orchestra before she pursued her studies in San Francisco. She has also played with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, East-West Divan Workshop, Illinois Philharmonic, Green bay Symphony, Monterey Symphony, Marin Symphony, and the Golden Gate Opera with many soloists including Maxim Vengerov and Rachel Barton.

As a chamber musican, Elizabeth won 1st and 3rd prizes at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and has performed with great artists including Gil Kalish, Seth Knopp, Joseph Swensen, Paul Hersh, and Alisa Barston. She is a current member of Camerata Chicago and the Advent Chamber Orchestra. She has played in masterclasses for Ruggiero Ricci, Miriam Fried, Abram Stern, Robert Mann, and Menahem Pressler.

Ms. Choi’s teaching experiences include being an adjunct faculty member at Olivet Nazarene University, teaching group classes at the Merit School of Music, coaching chamber music for Midwest Young Artist’s summer program, and having many private students of all ages.

Elizabeth's Teaching Approach - “Teaching is truly a learning experience for both the student and the teacher. Trying to find infinite approaches in which each individual student comprehends best is the greatest joy and biggest challenge a teacher has. I love to inspire my students with the beauty and complexity of the violin and try to show them all it has to offer.”

Kenneth Potts holds the Bachelor of Music, Magna cum Laude, in Percussion Performance from the Millikin University School of Music where he studied performance techniques and pedagogy with Brian Justison, Jeremy Brunk, and Thomas McGowan. Kenneth has performed at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention and can be heard on the CD recording “Best Kept Secret” produced by First Step Records. As an orchestra director, Kenneth studied conducting with Maestro Michael Jinbo at the Pierre Monteux School. He has served as the Assistant Conductor for the Decatur Youth Symphony and the Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony.

Kenneth also holds the Master of Arts in Humanities from Concordia University Chicago and currently serves on the humanities faculty at College of DuPage and Waubonsee Community College where he teaches courses in art criticism, non-Western music and art, and world religion.