Zachary Preucil

Dr. Zachary Preucil enjoys a variety of activities as a performer and educator. Currently, Dr. Preucil is principal cellist of the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, maintains a private studio at Farley’s and the online Virtu Academy program, and is a member of Trio des Éléments. He has co-directed Farley’s Chamber Program since 2019. Dr. Preucil performs regularly with various orchestras in the region, and has recently appeared on the International Music Foundation’s “Rush Hour” Concert Series, the International Clarinet Association’s 2023 ClarinetFest, the Mackinac Arts Council Series, Midsummer’s Music Festival, Green Lake Music Festival, the MIC Faculty/Guest Artist Series, Concerts in the Shed, Caroga Lake Music Festival, and as a soloist with the Schaumburg Youth Symphony at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall. Dr. Preucil has been praised by the press for his “gorgeous phrasing, attractive color, nimble finger work and lyrical quality” (Hyde Park Herald), and his solo and chamber music performances have been broadcast on Wisconsin Public Radio and WFMT Chicago.

Dr. Preucil has taught collegiately at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point and Carroll University, and has served on the pre-college faculties of the Music Institute of Chicago, the Kanack School of Musical Artistry, Music for Youth of Arlington Heights, and the UW-Madison Community Music School. Additionally, he has given masterclasses at St. Olaf College, the University of Minnesota–Duluth, Illinois State University, Bemidji State University, Wheaton College Community School for the Arts, Western Springs School of Talent Education, Community Cello Works of Blacksburg, Virginia, and Music Institute of Chicago Winter Workshops. Dr. Preucil has held teaching assistantships at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a teaching fellowship at the International Cello Institute in Northfield, Minnesota, where he continues to serve as a guest clinician and director of the iConnect Summer Program for middle school-aged cellists. He has coached chamber music at the Music Institute of Chicago, the Schaumburg Youth Orchestra and Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra programs.

Dr. Preucil holds a D.M.A. in Cello Performance and a minor in Arts Administration from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he was inducted into the school’s chapters of Phi Kappa Phi and the National Society for Leadership and Success. He received his M.M. in Cello Performance and an Arts Leadership Certificate from the Eastman School of Music as a Pi Kappa Lambda inductee, and his B.M. in Cello Performance with honors from the New England Conservatory of Music. His primary teachers have included Uri Vardi, David Ying, Yeesun Kim, and Walter Preucil, and he has studied chamber music with members of the Borromeo, Pro Arte, and Ying Quartets. Further education has included summer studies at the Aspen Music Festival, Bowdoin Music Festival, the Castleman Quartet Programs, the National Summer Cello Institute and Interlochen Arts Camp, and registered training in the Suzuki Cello Method with Dr. Tanya Carey, Jean Dexter and Rick Mooney. Dr. Preucil is a certified teacher trainer in the Creative Ability Development method, having worked extensively with its founder, Alice Kanack. Dr. Preucil’s education in Arts Administration led to internships with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Midsummer’s Music Festival and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. He serves on the executive board and international committee of Creative Ability Development, Inc., and is a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, American String Teachers Association, Independent String Teachers of Madison, and the College Music Society.

Jonathan Thornton

Pianist Jonathan Thornton has been teaching for most of the past decade. He has taught private lessons ranging from the youngest beginners to advanced university students and retired adult students. He has also taught ear training and class piano as part of teaching assistantships during undergraduate and graduate study. In addition to this diverse teaching experience, he has performed solo and collaborative recitals around the United States and in parts of Europe. Jonathan received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin‑Madison. He studied with Christopher Taylor and was a winner of the 2012 UW-Madison Beethoven competition.

Clayton Tillotson

With more than a decade of teaching experience, Clayton Tillotson has helped students of all levels become efficient problem solvers, develop comfort and ease in playing, and convincingly express their musical ideas to audiences. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Violin Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied with David Perry of the Pro Arte Quartet and was awarded a full scholarship position in UW’s prestigious graduate Hunt Quartet. He also earned an artist diploma from The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory in Toronto where he studied with the renowned violin pedagogue, Paul Kantor.

Clayton has spent many summers at music festivals across the United States and has been a fellowship recipient at the Aspen Music Festival, an artist/faculty member at the Caroga Lake Music Festival, and chamber music prizewinner at the Meadowmount School of Music. In addition to teaching privately, he also coaches violin and chamber music for the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras. He regularly performs with ensembles such as the Madison Symphony and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and has performed live on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “The Midday.”

Praise from students often reflect that lessons with Clayton are “an amazing experience!” Parents have observed that “his attention to detail is unmatched,” and noted, “it was immediately clear to me that Clayton understands kids.” And colleagues have noticed that students “cannot stop talking about how incredible Mr. Tillotson’s classes are each week.”

Sarah Williams

Sarah Williams has taught piano privately for over ten years. She is passionate about making music a fun but stimulating life-changing experience for her students, both young children to adults. At UW-Oshkosh, while studying piano performance, she worked as vice-president of Oshkosh Collegiate Music Teachers’ Association and assisted in different pedagogical events such as Fun for Two–a duet and duo piano workshop open to the community. In 2019, she graduated from UW-Madison with her Master’s in collaborative piano. As a performer, she has won competitions such as the UW-Oshkosh Concerto Competition, the UW-Oshkosh Honors Competition, and UW-Oshkosh Celebration of Scholarship. Besides teaching and performing, Sarah has accompanied a wide range of ensembles including Badger State Girls’ Choir, UW-Oshkosh University Choir, UW-Oshkosh Opera Theater, UW-Oshkosh Wind Ensemble, UW-Madison Women's Choir, and UW-Madison's Opera Theater. She now works as a collaborative pianist in Madison, WI.

Kayla Patrick

Kayla Patrick is a violist, teacher, and active chamber music collaborator in Madison, WI. She earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the guidance of Sally Chisholm and was a member of the Marvin Rabin String Quartet at the Mead Witter School of Music throughout her time there. Additionally, she engages in regular outreach throughout the Midwest, and finds great joy in teaching and performing in a variety of genres. Kayla has taught both violin and viola throughout her career, and is always delighted to see her students show their love for their instrument and passion for music. She was a recent finalist in the 2023 University of Wisconsin-Madison Symphony Concerto Competition as well as in the 2021 Mead Witter Viola Competition.

Kayla received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Viola Performance under the instruction of Olga Tuzhilkov at Cardinal Stritch University and her subsequent master’s degree and performance diploma in viola performance in the studio of Igor Fedotov at The Chicago College of Performing Arts. She has a distinct passion for chamber music and enjoys the close collaboration and artistic freedom that comes with performing chamber repertoire. Kayla’s favorite dessert is ice cream, a food to which she is mildly allergic (but she eats it anyway).