Andy Levenberg has been with the Chicago School of Rock since it opened in 2006. With his once notorious local country-rock band Old No. Eight, he recorded four albums and performed more than 500 shows around the country. He also fronted the short-lived sci-fi conspiracy-rock band Chemtrails. Andy’s written hundreds of songs, a couple of which received nationwide airplay on stations including NPR and WXRT. Last year, he performed more than 150 solo gigs, but this year he’s taking it easy. Andy would tell you, if you pressed him, that his four favorite guitar players are Neil Young, J Mascis, David Gilmour and Dickey Betts.

A graduate of the renowned University of North Texas music program, multi-instrumentalist Brian Stark earned his bachelor of music in jazz studies with  concentrations in arranging and saxophone. Since moving to Chicago in 2009 he has been an active performing, composing, and recording musician.  He has been the lead vocalist in his own project, Renegade Lightning Rebellion, since 2011. As bassist and saxophonist for the Done Deal Jazz Quintet, Brian has performed at several of the area’s top jazz clubs and festivals, including the Dragon Lounge in Oak Park and the Fountain Square Art Festival in Evanston. His original arrangements and compositions have been performed by Big Band Boom, the Vandercook University Jazz Ensemble, Good Chai Productions, and Covenant Presbyterian Church. Brian has been teaching piano, voice and bass at School of Rock since December 2012.

Ian Wilson has been at School of Rock Chicago since January 2009, teaching keyboards and voice, directing summer camps and waxing poetic (literally) about lyrics & music theory in the SoR Studio Songwriting program.

As a solo loop artist, Ian belongs to a new class of singer-songwriters who have exchanged backup bands for loop pedals. Using a combination of piano, keyboards, and synthesizers, he builds complex, atmospheric layers around deeply lyrical songwriting. Despite defecting from the classical world years ago, Ian’s piano has never quite lost the accent—an aesthetic influence similar to other classically-deviant loop artists like Andrew Bird, Owen Pallett, and Zoe Keating. His latest release, This is Water (2012), received the Albert P. Weisman Award at Columbia College Chicago, where Ian is earning a master’s degree in music and artistic management.

Ian has worked with a number of other songwriters, composers, and performing arts organizations around Chicago, including the orchestral-pop sextet Canasta. Ian’s two-year stint in the band culminated in its sophomore release, The Fakeout, the Tease and the Breather (2010), which was received with a wave of critical superlatives including “one of the best Chicago albums of the year” (Matt Pais, Chicago Red Eye) and “so perfect…that you’ll swear you’ve heard it before” (Monica Kendrick, Chicago Reader).

If he is ever shipwrecked on an island, please send: The Moon and Antarctica (Modest Mouse), Boys for Pele (Tori Amos), OK Computer (Radiohead), and Homogenic (Bjork)... and maybe some food and water.

Nick Mizock was born on the North-Side of Chicago. He began playing guitar at the age of 11 with Chuck Berry being the ultimate inspiration. Experience in rock bands, orchestras, classical guitar ensembles, and jazz bands in high school had him already playing professionally at such venues as Symphony Center, Navy Pier, and Millenium Park.While studying at Northern Illinois University, Nick enveloped himself in his studies with Fareed Haque who is known for playing with Sting, Dave Holland, and Paquito D’Rivera. He would also play in a wealth of different ensembles there ranging from a Baroque Guitar Duo to a Latin Jazz band. In the latter he would get an amazing opportunity to play with Valarie Naranjo, a Saturday Night Live band member.Nick returned to the Chicago scene already playing in several groups. He currently leads his own bands Zock and the Zock Organ Trio, and is an in-demand sideman with: the DMR Trio, the Porterhouse Trio, Borrowed Eldorado, the ConnexionBand, Brad Cole, NOJO, Scott DuBose, and plays countless solo guitar gigs throughout Chicago.“…a Virtuoso” -Fareed Haque (Dave Holland, Sting)“…a Great Player” -Valerie Naranjo (SNL Band) 

Katie Kadan came into this world singing, and by God, she will leave singing!  From the time she could talk she could sing.  Since the age of three Katie sang not only melody lines but three and four-part harmonies.  Katie began performing with her mom and sisters in churches and toured with professional choirs since a very early age. She now plays with her own band, Katie Kadan & The Rockwells, all over Chicago singing her soulful originals along with reinvented covers.   “Ya see,  I don’t stick to one genre of music, it’s whatever song speaks to me and I role with it. If it is gospel, folk, country, opera or rock n’roll , I’m gonna make that song proud and give it my all.”  

Katie was classically trained in piano and voice and has taught voice and keyboard for eight years along with directing self - written musicals for children’s theatre. It is her passion and excitement of music that encourages her students to pursue their own musical goals.  “It’s never too early or too late to feel like a Rock Star!”

Katie is pumped about being on the School Of Rock team and is ready to train and encourage young people to express themselves through the love of music.  

Edward has been playing guitar professionally in area restaurants, events and local clubs since 1978. Starting as a rock guitarist in Stations and moving to 4XY, Edward realized he needed more formal training to realize his full musical potential, so he received jazz guitar instruction and  music theory from two local guitar teachers and later became the guitarist for the Wright College Jazz Band, where he was able to use his knowledge in a real jazz situation. Edward taught his first guitar lessons in early 2002 and has kept giving lessons privately, in music stores and for the last three years at the School of Rock. Currently Edward is composing his own music, teaching, collaborating with a partner on a children's music project and playing in a jazz duo.

Nick Mizock was born on the north side of Chicago. He began playing guitar at the age of 11 (with Chuck Berry being his ultimate inspiration); experience in rock bands, orchestras, classical guitar ensembles and jazz bands in high school had him already playing professionally (at such venues as Symphony Center, Navy Pier and the Taste of Chicago).

While studying at Northern Illinois University, Nick immersed himself in his studies with Fareed Haque (who would eventually refer to Nick "a virtuoso"); Nick would also play in a wealth of different ensembles there (ranging from a Baroque Guitar Duo to a Latin Jazz band). In the Latin Jazz Band, Nick got an amazing opportunity to play with Valarie Naranjo (a Saturday Night Live band member who would call Nick "a great player").

Nick returned to the Chicago scene already playing in a professional wedding/party band known as the Connexion Orchestra; he also joined a jazz group called the Porterhouse Trio, and with these groups play numerous venues throughout Chicagoland, Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana.

The latest musical chapter in Nick's life has him once again playing the rock music he loves in his band, Zock, which has played the Abbey Pub and the Elbo Room (among other places). Nick currently plays with Zock, the DMR Trio, the Porterhouse Trio and Connexion Band - as well as multiple solo guitar gigs throughout Chicago.