Andrew Doney
After studying piano and voice at Sonoma State University, Andrew earned his bachelor’s degree in jazz piano performance in 2009. His easy-going attitude and sense of humor, combined with his love for all types of music, help his students to flourish while playing music they truly enjoy. To keep his love of music fresh, Andrew performs regularly with rock bands all around Chicago.
Andrew holds a firm belief that everyone can find joy in music, regardless of experience or skill level. A full-time teacher since 2010, he’s coached students through all stages of the musical learning process — their first notes, first recitals, college auditions, and even performances at Lollapalooza.
Stephanie Gomez
Originally from Orlando, Florida, Stephanie began her piano studies at age five. As she grew, she developed a wide-reaching passion for all things musical. She became deeply involved in her high-school choir program, where she gained experience conducting, leading rehearsals, and writing arrangements. She was awarded a scholarship to receive private classical voice lessons throughout high school.
Stephanie moved to Chicago to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she earned a degree in visual and critical studies. Throughout her time at SAIC, she incorporated her musical skills in a variety of ways, from conducting a gospel choir for a graduate student’s thesis performance and leading a student a cappella group, to creating soundtracks for and singing in works by her professors and colleagues. She also studied composition at Roosevelt University’s music conservatory.
Stephanie has a passion for learning new musical skills, whether through teaching herself a new instrument, collaborating with local artists and musicians, or expanding her music theory knowledge through independent study. In addition to voice and piano, she plays guitar, violin, and trumpet. She also composes and records music and hopes to release her first album in the near future.
Stephanie has a long-standing passion for teaching and mentorship. She loves introducing new skills and concepts to students, meeting them at their level of experience and interest, and crafting a plan that builds on their unique learning style.
Noah Haines
Noah began his life-long love affair with music at an early age, singing every word to “Hey Jude” while still in diapers. From there, he spent most of his childhood playing various sports (in a mediocre fashion) until a guitar landed in his lap around age 10. Immediately, the world began to make sense in new and different ways, and he traded in the baseball diamond for the stage.
A background in classic rock and folk music merged with a developing love for musical theater, and, somehow, someway, over a decade later, he finds himself as a full-time teacher, composer/lyricist, and music director! Noah now has a couple handfuls of original theatrical musicals under his belt, and a career highlight of an original show playing in an NYC off-Broadway theater.
A gifted, personable, and committed teacher, Noah has an enduring love for helping his students find the stories and feelings in every note they play.
Mallory Harding
Mallory received her bachelor’s in music education, as well as her K-12 teaching certification, from North Central College, and her master’s in voice at the University of Missouri-Columbia. An active performer, Mallory was recently heard singing as Countess in The Marriage of Figaro with New Moon Opera.
Mallory has been teaching piano, voice, and clarinet lessons for over a decade. She has worked with a wide range of students, from ages four to 92, from beginners to advanced musicians, and from home musicians to members of touring rock bands. Her engaging style and comfort with all musical genres help her make great connections with her students. She is excited to work with more Piano Power families.
Marissa Howard
Marissa received her bachelor’s at Roosevelt University, where she performed with the Chicago Sinfonietta and Chicago Symphony Chorus. While obtaining her master’s at the University of Memphis, she made her professional debut with Opera Memphis. Over the years, she has collaborated with Cedar Summerstock Theater, the Miami Classical Music Festival, and the Memphis Youth Symphony. A Colorado native, Marissa attended the prestigious Denver School of the Arts, where she used her piano expertise to accompany her choir on trips across the United States.
Marissa’s teaching approach encourages passion and fun, allowing each student to develop their unique gifts. She enjoys teaching piano and voice across genres, from pop to Broadway to classical. Combining a focus on fundamentals with creative and engaging repertoire selections, Marissa launches her students into a lifelong and personalized relationship with music.
Mariah Kaplan
A native of Springfield, Illinois, Mariah holds a master’s degree in music education from Rutgers University, and bachelor’s degrees in voice and psychology from Indiana University. At Indiana, Mariah performed in the operas La Traviata and The Last Savage while also singing with the University Singers choir.
For over five years, Mariah has taught private lessons in piano, ukulele, and voice. She loves incorporating imagination into music training to enhance self-expression. This combination of psychology and pedagogy results in a patient, nurturing approach, making Mariah a favorite with students of all ages and levels.
Nicole Kelly
A native of Florida, Nicole started singing at age eight and has pursued an ever-expanding range of musical interests ever since. Taking a strong interest in classical voice and opera, Nicole studied as an apprentice in the Palm Beach Opera for two years, honing her craft and performing alongside incredible voices.
Nicole’s music education encompasses piano, classical and electric guitar, original composition, and formal study of music theory. After moving to Chicago, she earned a degree in music composition at DePaul University. Nicole currently leads Violet Meridian, a jazz/math-rock hybrid, for which she writes, sings, and plays guitar.
Through her teaching Nicole aspires to bring the joy and pleasure of music to the forefront by nurturing organic curiosity, play, and experimentation. She encourages her students to try their own hand at creative self-expression, while drawing inspiration from music’s rich history. Nicole’s passion is helping her students utilize music to grow, engage, and connect with others.
Lena Kornreich
A native of Ithaca, New York, Lena began her piano studies at age four, and over the next 15 years, she explored classical, jazz, and pop. Around the age of 10, Lena began to develop her voice, participating in numerous musicals, vocal ensembles, and competitions. She also began composing her own music and creating new versions of her favorite pre-existing songs.
Lena soon made her way to classical voice, starting her study of opera in her early teens. The love of opera stuck with Lena, as she went on to pursue a vocal-performance bachelor’s degree, from Indiana University’s prestigious Jacobs School of Music. While at Jacobs, she performed in numerous operas, most notably Georges Bizet’s Carmen and Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes, and a number of solo recitals.
Lena arrived in Chicago in the summer of 2019, having spent the previous year teaching private piano, voice, and guitar lessons in Boston to almost 50 students, spanning all ages and abilities.
Lena’s passion for teaching shows in her bright personality and in her excitement to share the world of music with others. Lena has a positive, respectful, and motivating style. She has a natural and easy rapport, which she combines with her formidable musicianship and keen intuition. Lena loves to engage her students in critical thinking, enhancing their independence and problem-solving abilities.
When she’s not teaching, Lena can be found walking her dog Harvey by the lake, or checking out the many wonderful restaurants Chicago has to offer.
Audie Lomboy
Audie received his B.A. in music from Loyola University Chicago, where his emphasis was in vocal performance. He has sung as both a soloist and a chorister, in everything from classical to musical theatre. His piano expertise comes from years of technical instruction, along with personal exploration of chord-reading, improvisation, and arranging.
He loves singing while accompanying himself at the piano, and he loves teaching this skill as well. In his spare time, Audie writes songs and has jam sessions. He plays and sings for Bonanzarafa, a group of friends who love music and love to have fun.
As an instructor, Audie facilitates growth — musical, academic and personal — in his students. He is thrilled to be a part of the Piano Power team!
Kieran Minor
Kieran is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and actor. Originally from Danbury, Connecticut, he began his career at age four (in a wordless — yet stirring! — performance in A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and has since appeared onstage and in the orchestra in dozens of productions. He is a graduate of Oberlin College, where he studied jazz voice under La Tanya Hall and served as principal arranger for ‘Round Midnight, a jazz/folk a capella group.
Kieran brings to Piano Power an eclectic mix of international experience in arts and youth education. He has lived, studied, and worked in England, Australia, India, and Egypt, as well as across the United States. He is the co-founder of a youth program on the Navajo Reservation that uses arts education to teach environmental history, ecology, and climate change.
Kieran’s teaching philosophy is highly collaborative, emphasizing technique and interpretation in equal parts. He believes that humor and creativity are the keys to any good lesson. Kieran looks forward to working with new students of all ages and genres.
Rioghnach Robinson
Rioghnach is a pianist, vocalist, and songwriter from North Carolina. She began her piano studies at age three with the Suzuki method. Ten years later, she discovered her love of singing, which carried her into the worlds of musical theatre, a cappella choir, and pop composition. While continuing classical piano and voice training at Kenyon College, she sang with Kenyon’s chamber choir and served as music director for the college’s all-female a cappella group.
Over the years, Rioghnach has worn many musical hats. She has played keys for funk bands, self-produced an LP, accompanied at Underscore Theatre, and composed theme music for the podcast Still Lives. A working novelist since 2016, she is an enthusiastic believer in music as a similarly diverse and powerful form of storytelling.
Rioghnach trusts that a sense of fun, play, and innate motivation will create lifelong musicians at any age. She nurtures each student’s individual voice and interests, while providing the bedrock of technical training that enables a sense of possibility and exploration.
Leah Rockweit
Leah has been a proud Chicagoan for a decade. She has appeared throughout the city with companies like New Moon Opera and the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company. She also toured the midwest with Opera for the Young. In 2020, Leah’s movie star dreams came to life when she played The Witch and Mother in Opera for the Young’s film production of Hansel and Gretel.
When performances shut down during COVID, Leah co-founded a virtual quarantine concert series called Live From Winona, which live-streamed music ranging from opera to pop to Disney. Her series continued for almost a year, drawing notice from the Chicago Tribune along the way.
Leah has a master’s in music from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a BME in choral and general music education. She has been teaching private voice and piano lessons for over a decade. Leah teaches students of all ages and thrives on customizing lessons for each student.
Leah believes that lessons should be full of exploration and play, and that it is truly never too late to begin something new. Leah herself began studying the fiddle and the German language during the pandemic, and she understands the intimidation, challenges, and rewards of exploring new horizons.
Outside of music, Leah loves gardening, traveling, watching TV and movies, and hanging out with her pup.
Deanna Varagona
The product of a musical Tennessee family, Deanna’s music career began at age three, playing one-string bass in her family’s Italian folk group. Violin, piano, saxophone and guitar soon followed.
Her love of music continued to grow, and she now has 15 musical instruments under her belt. Deanna has toured extensively, playing everything from classical to country to indie rock. Her resume includes stints with Will Oldham, Lambchop and Bobby Bare, Jr., as well as tours of her original compositions.
With more than 30 years of teaching experience, Deanna excels as an instructor. Her friendliness, passion, and patience are complemented by a strong sense of clarity and structure. She encourages her students to explore their instruments and put their personalities in their playing, teaching both solid technique and the art of individual expression. “Even while learning the basics,” she says, “you’ve got to have fun!”
Anna Wegener
Anna has been playing piano for over 20 years. She holds a bachelor of music degree from Illinois Wesleyan University, with a major in piano and minor in voice. In addition to teaching, Anna performs with musicians around the Chicagoland area. Recent appearances at the piano or keyboard include Big Deal Productions’ Evita, Big Noise Theatre’s 9 to 5, Side by Side by Sondheim with Four Star Arts, and numerous cabarets and recitals.
Anna’s favorite way to teach is through collaboration with her students. She nurtures their enthusiasm for music by getting to know their personalities, preferences, strengths, and challenges. Anna’s fun and relevant music choices make lessons a blast.
