Piano/Voice

Cynthia Hrabak – Piano

Cindy has been teaching piano lessons for over thirty years and is an expert in the field of young children’s music programs. She received Kindermusik training under the program’s writer and founder Lorna Heyge. She is also trained and certified in the Yamaha Music Education System. Cindy is the music director at McDoel Baptist Church, and she sings soprano in the Bloomington Chamber Singers. Cindy has been teaching for the Stafford Music Academy since March of 2006.

Benjamin Gittens – Piano

Mary Allen-Lynch – Piano & Voice

Mary Allen-Lynch has an extensive background of over 40 years in music education and music performance. Having taught piano, flute, voice lessons as well as Music History at Culver Academies, a college preparatory boarding school in Northern Indiana for over twenty years, she brings a wealth of teaching and performing experience to her current students at Stafford Music Academy. Her teaching philosophy has always been that of an artist-teacher as well as being student centered. She believes wholeheartedly in meeting students where they are in terms of individual learning styles and their personal goals for studying music.  Mary Allen-Lynch holds a Bachelor of General Studies from Indiana University with a focus on Music, Folklore and German. She also holds a Masters in Music and Arts Technology from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She is a seasoned professional and has played the piano for 56 years since the age of 6. She studied privately with Purden Lausten and Thomas Lawston in her early years of piano. In addition to piano, Mary Allen-Lynch began studying flute at the age of 10. She continues performing on both flute and piccolo in the Bloomington Community Band and the Bloomington Community Band Flute Choir. She was also very active in teaching, coaching and performing with the Music Theater program at Culver Academies. In 2012 she traveled with and coached a student theater group’s musical production during performances at The Fringe Festival in Edinburgh Scotland. In addition to teaching at Culver Academies, she has also maintained a private teaching studio working with both children and adults of all ages throughout her professional life. In addition, she has worked extensively as a musician within various worship traditions and spaces, playing piano, organ, flute and as a song leader.  Locally, she currently sings in the soprano section of the choir at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bloomington as well as accompanying the choir at Beth Shalom on occasion.  Mary Allen-Lynch believes in using a variety of methods, techniques and technology to help students learn and grow as musicians. In addition, including elements of music theory as a natural part of early learning as appropriate is dear to her heart! She has accompanied extensively and enjoys working with and supporting soloists. Another part of Mary’s musical life is volunteering locally with music and memory sessions, utilizing the power of music within the brain to positively impact the lives of those with dementia and Alzheimer’s as well as their families and caregivers. She currently volunteers at Better Day Club and and in Gentry Park’s memory care residence. Mary Allen-Lynch has traveled and lived abroad for long periods of time, including Malaysia and Japan. She counts her years of living in many diverse cultures as a hugely formative factor in her education. She teaches music so that others may find their voice in many ways and enjoy the many benefits that music lessons and education bring to the quality of life.

Andrew Sohn, Piano

Andrew Sohn was born in Perth, Western Australia and immigrated to the USA in 2004. Andrew has degrees from the University of South Carolina (BM ’13) and the Eastman School of Music (MM ’16). He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music degree in Piano Performance at the Jacobs School of Music in Indiana University. He has taught at the Eastman School of Music as a Teaching Assistant and has also taught at the Jacobs School of Music as an Associate Instructor. 

As the winner of the Atlantic Music Festival Concerto Competition, Andrew made his orchestral debut performing Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto with the AMF Orchestra. He has given solo and chamber music performances across the United States, Canada, and in Europe. Andrew has been invited to perform as a guest artist in the Franklin College Guest Artist Series, the Rice Music House Spring Concert Series, the Lowman Heritage Sunday Concert Series, and in the Spring of 2014, he was featured as a guest performer on the TedxColumbia Ted Talk series in Columbia, South Carolina. He has performed as part of the ARSnova piano trio, which received 2nd prize at the MTNA Regional Chamber Music Competition in 2013.

Cassie Glaeser, Voice & Piano

Cassie Glaeser is a classically trained soprano and native of Manitowoc, WI. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music degree in Voice Performance with a minor in Music Education from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She received her Master of Music degree in Opera Performance from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2013, and her Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI in 2011.

As a performer, Cassie recently made her IU Jacobs School of Music Opera Theater debut as Mrs. Grose in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw in the Spring of 2021. She was seen as an Apprentice Artist with Sarasota Opera for two seasons, and as an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera for two seasons. She made her mainstage debut with DMMO as the Fourth Maid in Strauss’s Elektra as well as covered the role of Chrysothemis in that same production. She was also a Young Artist with Seagle Music Colony and a Young Artist with the Sieur du Luth Opera Training Program.

Cassie taught at the University of Wisconsin – Madison as a voice and opera Teaching Assistant for two years. She also taught beginning piano and voice lessons with Dynamic Music, LLC in the Northern Chicago Suburbs for three years, and, for the last two years, she has expanded her private studio and began teaching beginning piano and voice students online. Cassie has extensive training in classical, operatic, musical theater, and pop vocal styles as well as focused studies in piano for beginners including music theory and ear training instruction. She is passionate about making her private music lessons a fun and safe space for her students to learn.

Joseph Ittoop, Voice & Piano

North Carolina native Joseph Ittoop is finishing up his MM in Vocal Performance at IU and will be pursuing a Doctorate in Vocal Performance with a minor in Collaborative Piano at JSoM. Mr Ittoop holds an undergraduate degree from UNC School of the Arts in Winston Salem, NC and has gone on to perform opera and oratorio in the US and in Europe before coming to IU.

Past engagements include Alfredo Germont (La Traviata), B.F. Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Rodolfo (La Boheme), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Ferrando (Cosi Fan Tutte), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Gonzalve (L’Heure Espagnol), Fritz (L’amico Fritz), and Lenski (Eugene Onegin). Past concert appearances include soloist in Britten’s Saint Nicolas Mass and Rejoice in the Lamb, J.S. Bach’s B Minor Mass, Magnificat, and Weihnacts-Oratorium, Beethoven Mass in C and Choral Fantasy, Gounod’s St. Cecilia Mass, Händel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Theresienmesse and Die Schöpfung, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Paulus, Mozart’s Requiem and Great Mass in C Minor, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Saint-Saëns’s Oratorio de Noël, and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella. This past summer, Joseph was part of a European choir tour at both St Paul’s Cathedral London and Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. In addition to singing, Mr. Ittoop plays clarinet, classical and jazz piano, saxophone, arranges and composes.

 

Anne Slovin, Voice & Piano

Anne Slovin is currently a first-year doctoral student in voice at the Jacobs School of Music, where she also completed her masters degree. At Jacobs, she performed the role of Clara in Jake Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life. Anne spent two summers teaching voice at Belvoir Terrace, a summer arts camp for girls in the Berkshires, and also recently performed a solo musical theater cabaret at Don’t Tell Mama piano bar in New York City.

Jon Marc Olivier, Voice & Piano

Jon Marc Olivier is a tenor from Olney, Maryland. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Loyola University New Orleans and is currently working towards his Masters of Music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. This December, he will graduate with a Graduate Certificate in Vocology. He has studied voice with Luretta Bybee, Bryan Hymel, Peter Volpe, and Dr. Brian Horne. He studied piano with Irina Gurevich in Maryland. He loves music, history, literature, and hanging out with his dog, Nala.

Sara Callanan – Voice & Piano

Originally from the Hudson Valley in New York State, Sara Callanan lived in the Washington, DC area for many years before moving to Bloomington in 2014. Ms. Callanan attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY and the University of Maryland, just outside Washington, DC. From 1982-1984, she was a professional chorister and soloist at the National Shrine in Washington, DC, and has been a soloist at many other prominent DC churches. She regularly performed the national anthem at the Northern Virginia Special Olympics and was a featured soloist with area choirs. Ms. Callanan maintained a private music studio for many years, teaching both piano and voice. Many of her students have become performers, teachers or composers. Ms. Callanan has been very active in community music theatre as both actress and music director/pianist. In 2001, the ensemble she directed for "Little Shop of Horrors" won a prestigious Cappie Award for Best Orchestra. In 1992 Ms. Callanan founded RAVE (Reston Artists Vocal Ensemble) for which she wrote many a cappella arrangements. Her business "Solos By Sara" provided music for weddings and other events in the Washington, DC area. Ms. Callanan is uniquely qualified to teach voice students interested in classical repertoire, music theatre and jazz. Her piano students may learn jazz techniques as well as classical repertoire.

Shannon Lally – Voice & Piano

Shannon Lally is a classically-trained mezzo-soprano from Haddonfield, New Jersey. She graduated from Indiana University with an M.M. in Voice in 2023 under the guidance of Peter Volpe. She is currently working on a Certificate in Vocology at the University, anticipating completion in 2024. She graduated from Westminster Choir College in 2021 with a B.M. in Voice Performance and a minor in Piano Pedagogy. Recent operatic credits include Zita (Gianni Schicchi), Niña (Ainadamar), Little Buttercup (H.M.S. Pinafore), Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro), Third Lady (Die Zauberflöte), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), and Olga (Eugene Onegin). She has been a young artist at Trentino Music Festival in Mezzano, Italy; the CoOPERAtive Program in Princeton, New Jersey; the Russian Opera Workshop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the Mikael Eliasen Voice Program, also in Philadelphia. She recently performed as the Alto Soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at Indiana University. Shannon has extensive training in classical, operatic, musical theater, and pop styles and teaches voice across all ages and skill levels. She teaches beginning and intermediate piano with a foundation in ear training and developing effective practice techniques. She teaches with a philosophy of making music accessible and enjoyable for everyone and maintains a safe and supportive environment for learning. She currently resides in Bloomington with her cat, Muffin.