Katie Butitta, Piano, Voice - Katie Butitta hails originally from Neenah, Wisconsin where as a child she sang in numerous church choirs and community concerts with her family. In addition to voice, she began playing the piano at age eight and also cello at the age of ten. Lessons on both instruments continued until the beginning of college, when singing became her primary focus.

She spent her first year of college at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, then transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to finish her bachelor's degree in vocal performance while studying voice with Dr. Sarah Meredith. In 2003, Katie was among the first UWGB students to travel to Florence, Italy and perform in a concert organized by the Del Bianco Foundation, whose mission is to encourage the mutual exchange of knowledge between young students of the arts.

Also during her time at UWGB, she was chosen as recipient of the Wisconsin Arts Council Scholarship, competed in both the Neale-Silva Young Artists Competition and the Wisconsin NATS Competition, and was chosen to be a soloist three years in a row in the UW-Green Bay Honors Recital. With a minor in arts management, Katie graduated magna cum laude in December of 2004.

In Spring of 2005 she moved to Madison with her husband to begin her graduate studies in music at the University of Wisconsin, studying with Julia Faulkner. During this time, Katie performed in several UW Opera productions such as Le Nozze di Figaro, L'enfant et les sortileges, and Hansel and Gretel. She was also seen in many local productions with Stoughton Opera (Amahl and the Night Visitors, Die Zauberflote, and Little Women), and the Madison Savoyards (Patience, The Sorcerer, and The Mikado).

Since earning her masters degree in 2007, Katie has been seen in the Madison Opera chorus in six of their recent productions and is currently studying with Wendy Rowe. She is delighted to have been cast in Opera for the Young's 2010-11 tour of Pirates of Penzance, which will soon be seen in schools all over the midwest. Though classical has been her focus of late, Katie also loves to perform in both musical theater and jazz styles.

Michael Butkus - Bomier, Piano - Michael has also played guitar, electric bass, saxophone, trombone and keyboard. His academic music background includes private lessons as a child with well-known educator Ruth Schoening, a B.M. degree in composition from UW-Madison, master classes in jazz improvisation in NYC with Barry Harris and Hal Galper, and graduate work with John Downey at UW-Milwaukee.

Michael performs throughout Southern Wisconsin so look for his groups in entertainment listings, or visit www.michaelbb.info for updates.

Chuck Evans, Piano - Chuck is a well-known performer and teacher of keyboards, both electric and acoustic. As a teacher with 28 years of experience, he has produced several award winning students in both classical and pop performance. Chuck's public school teaching experience includes elementary through senior high. His professional work includes several recordings, single performances, bands and vocal performances in Madison and throughout the Midwest. Chuck was also a concert artist for the Hammond Organ Co. Chuck instructs all areas of keyboard music for students of all levels and holds a B.M.E. from Washburn University in Kansas and an M.M.E. from Indiana University.

Shannon Farley, Violin and Viola - Shannon Farley has taught violin and viola privately since 2002. Shannon is a Wisconsin Youth Symphony alumnus as well as a Madison Memorial graduate. She graduated with a Master of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May 2011 where she studied with Professor Tyrone Greive. In addition to studying violin at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Shannon studied viola with Madison Symphony violist Katrin Talbot. As an undergraduate, Shannon studied Photography and Violin Performance at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities where she studied violin with Professor Mark Bjork and Minnesota Orchestra violinist Stephanie Arado.   Prior to that, Shannon studied violin and viola at Interlochen Center for the Arts on a Scholarship from the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras. In addition to performing in recitals, and teaching, Shannon also enjoys  playing chamber music at Classical Revolution.

Amanda Horn, Piano - Amanda holds a B.M. in piano performance, an MA in music theory, and an M.M. in piano performance and pedagogy from the Pennsylvania State University, where she studied piano with Timothy Shafer and held teaching assistantships in class piano, applied piano, and music theory. In 2008, the University of Wisconsin-Madison awarded her a University Fellowship to begin a Doctorate of Musical Arts in piano performance and pedagogy under the guidance of Jessica Johnson and Christopher Taylor. Recent performance highlights include a 2010 summer recital tour as pianist of Madison-based Duo Mendota and a 2008 solo performance at Carnegie Hall in the annual Adamant Music School showcase recital.

April Kang, Piano (classical) - Born in South Korea, April started piano lessons at age seven, and came to the United States when she was 14. She received a Bachelor of Music in piano performance from the University of Georgia, and a Master of Music in piano performance from the UW-Madison in 2006 after piano studies with Dr. Catherine Kautsky. She was the recital winner of Georgia Music Educators Association Piano Competition in 2003. In the summer of 2005, she participated in Castelfranc Summer Piano School in France and studied with French piano music expert, Paul Roberts. While pursuing piano performance degrees, she also studied harpsichord, organ and choral conducting.

Throughout her high school and undergraduate years, April was an active choir member as an alto section leader, a piano accompanist and a student director. She was an official accompanist for Cumberland County’s All County Middle School Choral Festival in North Carolina and Music Teacher National Association Regional Competition in 2005. She enjoys working with choirs as both a pianist and a conductor. In addition to teaching at Farley's, she is an accompanist for Madison Ballet and Madison Youth Choirs and organist at Crossroads United Methodist Church of Waunakee.

Lui Alan Lai, Piano – Pianist Lui Alan Lai is an Oberlin Conservatory of Music graduate with a B.M. in piano performance. He extended his study at Pennsylvania State University with a M.M. in piano performance and pedagogy, where he studied piano under Dr. Enrico Elisi, and pedagogy under Dr. Timothy Shafer.

A native of Wuhan, China, Lui Alan Lai began piano lessons at age four. After his family reunion at Hong Kong, he performed in various venues in China, Hong Kong, Italy and USA. He won several piano competitions while in middle school. He also received an award from the Ohio Music Teachers Association Piano Competition. His recent performances include an outdoor concert at Wildflower Music Festival.

Lui Alan Lai’s repertoire ranges from classical music to pre-composed jazz. He has a wide interest in both musical styles and musical technology. At Oberlin, he studied piano technology with piano technician John Cavanaugh. After graduation, he worked closely with John Cavanaugh and Andrew Bertoni as the Oberlin Conservatory Piano Shop assistant. He also worked as an administrative assistant to Oberlin Summer Music Program.  

His teachers include Enrico Elisi, Sedmara Rutstein, Iantchinova Rachida, Da Chun You, Caroline Hong, Chun Hu Zhou and Seymour Fink.

Joseph Spoelstra, Guitar - Joseph Spoelstra has been heard throughout the United States in such halls as the historic Wilshire-Ebell Theater and Alfred Newman Hall in Los Angeles and the Guthrie Theater and Ted Mann Concert Hall in Minneapolis. Joseph was featured as a chamber musician performing music of Dominick Argento for a live broadcast on KUSC in Los Angeles.  He has given premieres of works by Jeffrey Van, Matthew Brown, and others, and had the opportunity to perform Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint in an ensemble for Mr. Reich on the occasion of his seventieth birthday celebrations in Los Angeles in 2007. Joseph performs with the Minneapolis-based contemporary classical music group, Renegade Ensemble, and with mezzo soprano Alyssa Anderson. In addition, he has performed with and arranged music for choral ensembles.  

Joseph holds his Master of Music from the University of Southern California and his Bachelor of Music from the University of Minnesota, where he was a John D. Chatterton scholar. His primary teachers have been William Kanengiser, founding member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Jeffrey Van, and Brian Head. He has also studied privately and in master classes with Pepe Romero, David Russell, and Scott Tennant.  Information on upcoming events, recordings, and lessons can be found at his website: spoelstraguitar.com. Joseph is a trained Suzuki guitar teacher who enjoys working with young beginners as well as students of all ages. In addition to classical guitar, Joseph teaching theory and techniques applicable to jazz, rock, and pop guitar styles.