Lessons

The Instrument Barn offers lessons on all instruments. To get you started we offer 2 FREE trial lessons. That is a $60 value completely FREE with NO commitment.  Lessons after your trial lessons are $30 a half hour and are offered during our normal business hours. We recommend scheduling lessons weekly but we do also offer bi weekly lessons. For more information or to schedule a lesson give us a call at 847-562-6616 or fill out the form by clicking on the link below.

 

Lesson Interest form 

https://forms.gle/cWnzFSVgmFnDfEgE7

Teaching Staff 

Harry Choin - Woodwinds, Piano, and Guitar



Harry is the owner of The Instrument Barn, and also an experienced instructor. He recently completed his enlistment in the United States Army. He has a strong passion for music and plays as much as he can.  While he was in the United States Army, he was an Army Bandsman. Harry played in all kinds of ensembles including the jazz band, rock band, ceremonial band, and the woodwind quintet playing clarinet, flute, saxophone, and piano. His primary instrument is clarinet. Now he really enjoys playing in community bands, and orchestras, throughout the Chicago area. His goal is to get quality instruments at an affordable cost to all musicians. In his free time he enjoys working on old cars and hanging out with the family.  

Nick Lowe - Trumpet, Beginning Strings, and Beginning Piano 

Mr. Nick Lowe graduated from Elmhurst College in 2019 with a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education. Prior to graduation, he spent time teaching high school marching band in Wheeling, teaching private lessons in Aurora and Elmhurst, and performing in various pit orchestras around the northwest suburbs. During his time at Elmhurst College, Mr. Lowe performed with the Wind Ensemble, Philharmonic Orchestra, Jazz Lab Band, Trumpet Ensemble, and Brass Quintet. He has performed in several locations, including the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, and at the Pearl Harbor Memorial in Hawaii.

 

Dennis Meacham - Low Brass

Dennis Meacham graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Tuba – Performance in 2018. Currently, he is working on a Master of Music in Tuba – Performance at Northern Illinois University. Dennis enjoys working with all students and has taught pupils from age three to sixty-five. Dennis’ experience also reaches public school communities, since he has taught middle school and high school bands. Outside of the teaching, Dennis performs in NIU Orchestra, NIU Wind Ensemble, brass quintet, tuba euphonium ensemble, and the fox valley brass band. In his free time, Dennis enjoys reading history books and learning new cooking recipes.

 

Victoria Choin - Strings, Electric Bass, and High Brass

(Zoom or Skype Only)

Victoria has been playing musical instruments for over 20 years. She studied piano and double bass at Central Michigan University, where she received a Bachelors degree in Music. She has played French Horn with the Arizona State University symphonic band, as well as other groups. Victoria received a Masters degree in Musicology from ASU in 2019. Since graduating, Victoria has been teaching orchestra at a school in Mesa, AZ. She has been teaching strings, brass, and piano privately for 5 years. 

Kyle Anderson - Clarinet, Saxophone, Ukulele 
Kyle Anderson has been playing clarinet since fifth grade and is currently a student at Northern Illinois University, pursuing a degree in Music Education. In addition to clarinet, Kyle also plays saxophone, ukulele, and guitar. At NIU, Kyle is a three year member of the Huskie Marching Band - the Pride of the Midwest - and has also performed with the NIU wind symphony. Kyle is eager to teach people something new, or grow in their musical ability. In his free time, Kyle enjoys playing tennis and riding his bike.

 

 

Owen Miller - Saxophone, Beginning Piano
 
Born in Japan in 1985, Owen was raised in Maywood, IL and Decorah, IA.  Having grown up in a musical family (mom is a classical trained concert pianist, organist and flautist), Owen pursued music at an early age, starting with piano at five and moving on to saxophone at eight.  In 2000 he auditioned and was accepted to attend highschool at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy near Traverse City, MI where he performed and was a soloist with the jazz orchestra, the concert band, and the world-renowned Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra.  He had the distinct honor in 2003 of leading the jazz orchestra to the national Essentially Ellington festival at Lincoln Center in downtown New York, where the saxophone section received the highest honors.  He studied with Bill Sears and the late David Remington. In 2003 Owen continued his education at Lawrence Conservatory in Appleton, WI, studying with Steven Jordheim and Jose Encarnacion, being named the lead alto player of the Lawrence University Jazz Orchestra his freshman year.  Since then he has been a Music Director onboard eleven of Carnival Cruise Line's twenty-six ships.  In 2015 he was promoted to the Supervisor of Music Development, where he helped to design and create the music rehearsal spaces at Carnival's premier, industry-first Studio Rehearsal Facility in Davie, FL.  Here, Owen rehearsed, coached and mentored hundreds of musicians every year and created new musical offerings that were deployed across the entire fleet. After the pandemic, Owen moved back to Illinois and loves to share his knowledge, experience, joy and FUN of playing music!  He's been with us at the Instrument Barn since 2021 and loves teaching beginners, intermediate, and advanced students of all ages.

Ryan Klopfenstein - Drums, Guitar, Electric Bass, Ukulele 

A native of northern Illinois, Ryan has played guitar, bass, and drums in numerous indie-rock bands throughout the Chicagoland area since the 1990s. He started playing music at a young age. Being the son of a drummer, growing up there was always music in the house. He played guitar and drums as a teenager. After high school, he attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago. Then in 1996, he accepted a position at The Player’s Bench music store in Crystal Lake. Ryan worked and taught there on and off for 20+ years until their closing in 2020. While at The Player’s Bench, Ryan studied privately both classical guitar with Ron Pingel and drumset with Bob Roak. He has been teaching at The Instrument Barn since 2021.
When not playing and teaching music, you can find Ryan focusing on his other passion, art. He exhibits his paintings in various art galleries in the area. 

Andrew Ossler - Trumpet, Beginning Piano 

Andrew Ossler graduated from Illinois State University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education. During his time at ISU, Andrew played in the ISU Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra, and Jazz band. Andrew teaches at Marian Central Catholic High School as the Music Director where he teaches Band, Choir, Guitar, and Piano. Outside of teaching, Andrew performs with the Prairie Brass Band, Rockford Concert Band, and subs with the Chicago Brass Band. In addition, Andrew plays trumpet at St. Mary in Huntley. In his free time, Andrew enjoys volunteering at the railroad museum and spending time with family and friends.

 

Abby Wheatley- Voice and Piano 

 

 

Abby has years of experience in teaching, worship leading, and music performance. Since 2015, she has been a team member and worship leader for several church worship teams in the area, and is currently a freelance worship leader. Over the years, Abby has enjoyed being a part of various ensembles such as choir, piano ensemble, chamber singers, jazz band, and orchestra. In high school, she auditioned and was selected to participate in the Illinois Music Education Association's District IX and Allstate choirs (ask about ILMEA prep for middle and high school students). Her favorite thing about lessons is connecting with each student and finding their unique learning style. In addition to teaching, Abby has a passion for writing music and will be releasing some original work soon. Abby holds an Associate's degree in Arts from Elgin Community College. 

 

Collin Berg- Guitar, Bass, and Piano

Collin Berg has always been musically inclined. From a young age, he was singing, writing, performing, and playing a variety of instruments. He is passionate about further developing his musical skills and theoretical knowledge, and achieving the next level of success as well as passing along what he has learned over the years to others. 
Collin is an American Singer-Songwriter, performer, multi instrumentalist, instructor, producer and engineer from Chicago IL.