J. Andrés Robuschi   | Violin

J. Andrés Robuschi was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the age of 6 he started playing violin as a Suzuki pupil. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance degree from the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. He nowadays studies at DePaul University and is a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. One of his greatest passions: sharing love for art and music!

Sydney Johnson |  Violin

Sydney Johnson holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Roosevelt University, and is a second-year graduate student at DePaul University, studying viola performance. She has been a performer and teacher of violin and viola in Chicago for seven years, is an active member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, and is certified in Violin Units 1-3. She is a passionate teacher of all ages and abilities!

Mars Caulton |  Violin, Early Childhood Ed

Mars Caulton is an Interdisciplinary Conceptual Artist, Early Childhood Teacher, and Teaching Artist who sings, does spoken word poetry, drums, and creates theatre with babies, youth, and adults.  She has taught performance poetry with all ages including an original trip-hopera for 1st & 2nd graders (Ravinia Festival), with after school programs and kindergarten classes, and currently with women in transitional housing on the West Side (with Still Point Theater Collective.)  She has studied African drum, Taiko (with Tsukasa Daiko), vocal improvisation (with Michael Zerang), Ethnomusicology, and is a State-licensed Early Childhood Educator. Mars also teaches drumming basics to children (with Old Town School of Folk Music) and she works with voice (contemporary, classical,) trip hop DnB, ukulele and guitar.

Mars has produced several CD recording projects including “Until Freedom Rings for Mumia” (1999,) “Elements of Life, Love & Action” by She Laughs (2002,) “Singing Our Own Words” by the Ounce of Prevention Fund's Birth To Five Program (2004,) “Songs From Children's Games” by the Ounce of Prevention Fund (2005,) and “We Sing Silly Songs” by the Sunshine Classroom of Mary Crane Center (2017.)  She performed in the 1999 National Poetry Slam, in an original performance art solo production (“Goddess: an Autobiography,” 1999) ; in duets with jazz musician Darius Savage; and in performance art festivals with her female poetry/percussion mob She Laughs.

“She consistently demonstrates--through the results produced by her students--how a strong voice, a vivid imagination, the eyes of a poet, and the heart of parent can bring out the very artistic best in children.”
– Michael J. Miles.

Danira Rodríguez | Violin

Danira Rodríguez began playing the violin at the age of 6. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, she obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Violin Performance and the Conservatory of Puerto Rico. Danira has played as an orchestral and chamber musician in world-wide known venues like ElbPhilharmonie, Hamburg; Wiesbaden Symphony Center, Chicago; Disney Hall, LA; Usher Hall, Edinburgh; Luna Park, Buenos Aires; PepsiCo Hall, Ft. Worth, Centro de Bellas Artes, Puerto Rico, Teatro Nacional, Dominican Republic, among others. As a pedagogue, she obtained her certifications in the Suzuki Method and has been steadily teaching both children and adults since 2018. Her students have been selected as soloists with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and awarded scholarships for festivals in Puerto Rico and the United States. Since 2017, Danira has been a permanent member of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra. Currently, Danira is an Associate Member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and in her last year of her graduate studies in violin performance under the tutelage of Prof. Janet Sung, at DePaul University.

Isaac Champa | Violin

Violinist Isaac Champa grew up in Overland Park, Kansas where he had principal roles in ensembles such as as the Kansas City Youth Symphony, the Blue Valley Honor Orchestra, the Kansas All- District and All- State Orchestra, the Blue Valley Northwest Symphony and Chamber Orchestra, and the Midwest Chamber Ensemble. He has participated in music festivals all over the United States including the Stringendo Chamber Festival, Eastern Music Festival, Kent Blossom Music Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival, as well as multiple international appearances in France, Austria, and Germany.

Isaac completed his Undergraduate degree in Violin Performance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music in 2021 with Miami Quartet violinist, Benny Kim, and his Master’s of Music in Violin Performance in 2023 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music studying with SF Opera Concertmaster, Kay Stern. Other teachers and mentors include Elizabeth Blumenstock, Chun-Chien Chuang, Scott & Jackie lee, Libby Phelps, Cornelia Heard, and Pei-ling Lin. Isaac is currently playing a violin made in 1887 by J.B. Dvořák.

Casey Lebkicker | Viola

Casey Lebkicker is a first-year graduate student studying viola performance at DePaul University under the tutelage of Ann Marie Brink. Ms. Lebkicker received her bachelor's degree in viola performance at the University of Delaware, where she studied under the tutelage of Elias Goldstein. She has attended several summer festivals such as Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Credo, Dali Quartet Festival, and Kutztown Music Festival. Notable coaches from those intensive programs include Ann Marie Brink, Peter Slowik, Stanley Konopka, Bradley Ottesen, and Adriana Linares. In addition to performing, Ms. Lebkicker teaches young beginning violinists and violists. Ms. Lebkicker has an exceptional affinity for collaboration and loves teaching, chamber music, and orchestral playing, a field she hopes to pursue further in her career.