Ryan Hobbs is an accomplished trumpet professor, performer, and educator based in the Chicago area. He is currently professor of trumpet at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, IL. Previously, Ryan taught at St. Xavier University in Chicago, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Birch Creek Music Camp in Wisconsin.

As a versatile freelancer, Ryan’s performance credits span a wide array of ensembles and styles. He has performed with the Lyric Opera Orchestra of Chicago, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta, American Ballet Theatre (NYC), Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, Omaha Symphony Orchestra and Brass Quintet, Chicago Opera Theater, South Dakota Symphony, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, among others.

He has performed alongside internationally celebrated artists, including Victor Wooten, Jodi Benson (Disney’s The Little Mermaid), Vocalists: Andrea Bocelli, Richard Troxell, Sarah Jane McMahon, Violinists: Rachel Barton Pine, Melissa White, Tessa Lark, and the Harlem String Quartet.  He has also performed with legends like Dennis DeYoung and Styx, jazz icon Doc Severinsen, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, jazz vocalist Jane Monheit, and Glee star Damien McGinty. He regularly performs with Broadway in Chicago pit orchestras including recent productions of The Sound of Music, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He lives in Geneva with his wife Molly and daughters Emma and Claire.

Born in Massachusetts, Sarah honed her craft under the guidance of members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, studying both in Boston and at Tanglewood. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University, where she studied with the legendary Roger Voisin, and later pursued her master’s degree at Northwestern University in Chicago.

Sarah is the Principal Trumpet of the Peoria Symphony, Northbrook Symphony, and Oistrakh Symphony. She has also performed extensively with numerous ensembles in the Chicago area, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Joffrey Ballet Orchestra, Highland Park Strings, Chicago Arts Orchestra, Elmhurst Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Education Outreach Brass Quintet, Chicago Sinfonietta, South Bend Symphony, and Northwest Indiana Symphony.

Her musical experience extends beyond the U.S., having performed with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, Portugal, and the Boston area’s prominent ensembles.

Anna has been the Second Horn of the Chicago Sinfonietta since 2018. She also serves as Fourth Horn with the South Bend Symphony and Illinois Symphony orchestras, as well as Principal Horn with the Southwest Symphony in New Mexico. Additionally, Anna enjoys performing in pit orchestras for various Chicagoland theaters.

As an educator, Anna is the Instructor of Horn at Northeastern Illinois University, where she teaches Applied Horn, Brass Methods, Brass Ensemble, Music Appreciation, and Music Theory. She is also on the faculty at Elmhurst University and Harper College. A recognized Brass for Beginners® Teaching Expert, Anna maintains active private horn studios in Chicago, La Grange, Northbrook, Elmhurst, and Arlington Heights.

Anna holds degrees in music performance from Northwestern University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. Her principal teachers include William Barnewitz, Dale Clevenger, Robert Ward, and Gail Williams.

Originally from south Florida, Steve migrated north to study trombone performance and music theory at Northwestern University.  After graduating with his M.M., he spent the better part of a decade touring with various big bands, orchestras, and Broadway Shows, playing venues from Seattle’s Benaroya Hall to New York’s Lincoln Center, and many more in between.  Now settled in Chicago, Steve is on the faculty of Northeastern Illinois University.  He has performed alongside a wide array of ensembles and performers including: Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Ravinia Festival Orchestra, Rockford Symphony, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Frank Sinatra Jr. Kristen Chenowith, Tito Puente, Glenn Miller Orchestra and countless Broadway in Chicago Musicals at the top playhouses in town.  He lives in Albany Park with his wife and daughter, and in his free time he enjoys tending his beehives on a small urban farm in the neighborhood.

Josh Biere has held the position of Principal Tuba with Madison Symphony since 2013 and has performed with numerous professional orchestras in the region including the Milwaukee Symphony, Grant Park Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Des Moines Symphony, Elgin Symphony, Dubuque Symphony and many others. He holds degrees from Illinois Wesleyan University and Northwestern University and a Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin.

A highly sought after-educator, Biere is the Professor of Tuba at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and previously maintained a studio of over 50 tuba and euphonium students in the Chicago area with some of the region’s best music programs. His students consistently find success in regional and all-state bands and orchestras, and often receive scholarships to continue their studies in colleges and universities across the country. He has given guest recitals and masterclasses at UW Madison, as well as Illinois Wesleyan University, and serves on the Illinois Wesleyan University Alumni Leadership Council for the School of Music. As a soloist, he appeared with the Madison Symphony in the 2018-2019 season, and appeared with the UW- Madison Symphony as winner of their concerto competition.