Our faculty

ZCM faculty bring a rich collective history of teaching and performance to the conservatory. Teachers hold a bachelor’s degree in music or equivalent professional experience and help students build skill, confidence, and musicianship across a variety of ages, levels, and musical styles.

Angie Ashmore

Piano

  • Angie is a Zion Conservatory of Music 1980 graduate. She was a piano performance major at Wheaton College, and also studied under Willard Wikowski at Oral Roberts University. She finished her education at Carthage College while teaching at the Conservatory. Along with her love for the piano, she has been involved most of her life in church music. Her involvements in church music range from choir member to choir director, from church pianist to worship leader, from soloist to director of music, etc. As a pianist in church music, she loves the challenges of sight-reading new music, creating arrangements of existing music, improvising, playing-by-ear, and most of all, worshipping the Lord.

Rebeca Flores

Piano · Voice

  • Rebeca is a music educator and performer with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Elmhurst University. She currently teaches elementary general music, focusing on musical development and student-centered instruction.

    Rebeca studied piano and voice at the Zion Conservatory and continued her vocal studies in college. She has performed two solo vocal recitals featuring opera and traditional Hispanic music. While at Elmhurst, she participated in several ensembles, including Concert Choir, Chamber Chorale, Collegiate Choir, and Varsity Band.

    Rebeca focuses on helping students build strong fundamentals in piano and voice while feeling comfortable and supported in lessons. She strives to create a learning environment where students feel encouraged, confident, and motivated to grow as musicians.

Lydia Kellogg

Flute · Piano

  • Bio coming soon

Lisa Shaw

Violin

  • Lisa Shaw began her violin instruction at the start of the U.S. Suzuki movement, studying under renowned educator Ellie Albers—a direct student of Dr. Shinichi Suzuki. As a second-generation Suzuki instructor, Lisa brings a deep understanding of the method’s philosophy and practice. She is a longtime member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas and a registered instructor. Lisa studied violin at Eastern Illinois University and Northern Illinois University. She has taught both Suzuki method as well as traditional method in her Libertyville studio for over 25 years and helped develop the violin program in Zion public schools, where she continues to support music education. An active orchestral and chamber musician, Lisa performs regularly with professional and community ensembles throughout the area, often in leadership roles. She previously taught early-childhood music through Music-in-the-Box, introducing young children to foundational musical skills with a Suzuki focus in park districts across Lake County. Lisa has successfully coached students through auditions for youth orchestras, school programs, competitions, and college music programs—with a strong track record of positive outcomes. Her goal is to foster a lifelong love of music while helping students build confidence through the discipline of violin study. 

Laura Brodsky

Violin

  • Laura brings extensive experience in violin performance, music study, and education to her teaching. She began her musical training in the Suzuki Strings program and continued advanced violin studies through the Northwestern University Preparatory Strings Program and Grinnell College under renowned violinist and educator Kenneth Goldsmith. Laura received a scholarship to the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, where she studied with Jerry Sabransky of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and performed under distinguished guest conductors including Leonard Slatkin, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Claudio Abbado. She later served as Principal Second Violinist with the International Symphony Orchestra in Ontario and the Classical Symphony Orchestra of Chicago, touring internationally in Taiwan and Japan. Her performance experience also includes studio recording, church band performances, and ongoing participation in orchestras and ensembles, including the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her musical background, Laura is a certified Special Education teacher with many years of classroom experience. She combines strong pedagogical skills with a patient, encouraging approach, creating a supportive environment where students of all ages and levels can develop confidence, skill, and a lifelong love of music.

Gary Gerlach

  • Bio coming soon

High brass

Jeff Langley

  • Jeff studied piano and guitar at the Conservatory and grew up in Zion playing percussion in marching bands, school concerts, musical theater pit orchestra, church, and a folk-rock band. He has designed and led youth theater classes modeled after the performance troupe STOMP, using the body and everyday objects to create rhythm, and takes special delight in helping students find music in the ordinary.

Drums

David Cramer

Piano · Guitar · Voice

  • Bio coming soon

Scharema Hannibal

Voice

  • Scharema began singing at age three and playing the piano at age six. She studied at the Zion Conservatory of Music and went on to seek training at Parkland College, forming the Parkland Gospel Ensemble. She completed her Music Education degree at the University of Illinois – Champaign/Urbana and has begun her graduate studies at Vandercook College of Music. She has taught music at Novak-King Middle School in North Chicago, Illinois and the Kings Academy Christian School in Zion, Illinois. Scharema sang and toured with the University of Illinois Black Chorus, where she also served as assistant conductor and pianist. She has assisted in gospel music recordings and served as a guest vocal clinician. In July, 2004, Scharema starred in the leading role of Tracey in the musical production T’Morrow Ain’t Promised. She also wrote and produced original music for the production. Scharema currently sings with gospel music recording artists Glenn Johnson and the Voices of Innerpeace, Persuaded Ministries, Cynthia Turner and Heartspeak, and Ricky Dillard and New Generation. She is also the Minister of Music at Word of Life Ministries in Beach Park and began teaching at the Conservatory in 2004.

JoAnne Pekkarinen

Piano

  • JoAnne has extensive experience teaching piano and thoroughly enjoys the challenge of keeping her students motivated. She is always looking for new material and innovative ways to inspire her students. JoAnne has had students go on to play at the college level and become music teachers themselves including Jennifer Warren, now the choral music director at Zion-Benton High School. JoAnne received her Bachelor of Music degree from Mundelein College and did additional graduate work at the University of Illinois before transferring to the American Conservatory of Music where she received her Master’s Degree.

Mitch Downey

Guitar · Bass guitar

  • Mitch has been playing guitar for more than 20 years and has spent the past 5 teaching and performing throughout the area. He performs both as a solo artist and as part of a local band, with music ranging from classic/progressive rock to singer-songwriter material, and develops his own work through songwriting and improvisation. He continues to pursue and cultivate a learning environment for his students as well as himself through private studies and real world experience; learning from other musicians who are masters in their field. Mitch especially enjoys working with students who already have some experience and are ready to push their playing further, while bringing the same creativity to younger students who are still discovering what they can do with music. His teaching makes room for exploration—trying sounds, styles, instruments, improvisation, and original ideas—alongside the technique students need to keep progressing.

Andrew Johnson

Voice · Piano · Saxophone

  • Andrew studied piano at the Zion Conservatory of music. He attended Carthage College, where he earned a degree in Vocal Performance and had extensive study in piano pedagogy.

    As a performer, Andrew is a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus and was the tenor for the Milwaukee Symphony Quartet. He has been a soloist for the Milwaukee Chamber Choir, Mastersingers of Milwaukee, Waukegan Choral Festival, and Kenosha's Sing-along Messiah.

    Andrew has been teaching at the Zion Conservatory since 2012 and loves to work with students of all ages and abilities.

Donna Poucher

Piano

  • Donna has had extensive experience in professional music capacities. Most recently, she served as Director of the Zion Conservatory of Music from 2008 until her retirement in 2020. In addition to 30+ years teaching piano in private and public schools with 12 of those most recently at the Conservatory, she has performed as a piano soloist, chamber musician, orchestral musician and choir director. She is a charter member of Lake County Symphony Orchestra, serving as both a board member and a performing member and served as conductor and assistant director of Zion Chamber Orchestra prior to that. Her education includes a Bachelor of Music in Instrumental Music Education - Piano Major - at Milliken University and Master of Arts in Piano performance from Eastern Illinois University.

Sara Eikenberry

Clarinet · Flute · Saxophone

  • Sara Eikenberry has taught private clarinet, flute, and saxophone lessons for over 15 years. She has a degree in Instrumental Music Education from the University of Illinois and is a certified K-12 Illinois music educator. She currently plays principal clarinet in the Waukegan Band and substitutes in the Waukegan Symphony and Harmonie North ensemble. While clarinet is her primary instrument, she also teaches beginning and intermediate flute and saxophone lessons, drawing on her many years as a band director. Sara is also a board member of the Waukegan Band Foundation, a piano accompanist, a music contest adjudicator, and a homeschooling mom of 4. 

Bart Medlicott

Cello · Violin · Viola

  • Bart is a father and grandfather, a retired public school orchestra director, a performing cellist, and a ministry facilitator. He is active in the local music community and serves in the ministries of a local church.

Music teachers plant seeds that grow forever.