|
I
am presently accepting intermediate and advanced students who
have mastered the basics, but are ready to take their playing to
a higher level. My teaching emphasis is on technique and playing
music expressively.
It’s an inspiration to encourage students to grow and evolve by
tailoring instruction to their specific needs, while making it
an enjoyable and pleasurable process.
I also offer coaching to improve sight-reading and memorization
skills.
Lessons are generally once a week in ½ hour or 1 hour blocks. If
you prefer, lessons may be given more than once per week.
Lesson times available are:
11am - 10pm Mon-Fri and Sat. 11am-4pm. Please call 708-652-5656
to discuss lessons. (No emails, please).
Forest Park and Wheaton studio locations.
ABOUT THE ARTIST-TEACHER
Known for his exceptional versatility, pianist Richard Sladek
has performed professionally in the Chicago area for the past 20
years.
A Chicago native, he began playing piano at age seven with
inspiration from his parents, later studying with John Calderone
and Lydia Smutny Sterba. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree at
the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University under the
tutelage of Saul Dorfman and Felix Ganz. Other teachers have
included concert pianists Dmitri Paperno ( DePaul University ),
Robert VanderSchaaf, Donald Walker ( Northern Illinois
University ), Pawel Chechinski and Joseph Cisar. He has also
participated in master classes with University of Michigan piano
professor Theodore Lettvin, and has studied jazz piano with Skip
Green. His private theory and composition studies were with
Ralph Dodds and the renowned composer William Russo.
Mr. Sladek has been the recipient of several awards including
those from the Chicago Musical Arts Club and the Grace Welsh
National Piano Competition.
Professionally, he has served as staff accompanist for Columbia
College and the Second City National Touring Company. He has
also accompanied for ballet companies such as the Salt Creek
Ballet, and The Academy of Movement and Music, as well as played
for ballet master classes with the renowned Maria Tallchief,
Violette Verde and Ken Von Heidecke.
He was a featured artist at the Oak Brook Nordstrom and at Von
Maur at Yorktown Center, Lombard. In 1994 Von Maur commissioned
him to record "Christmas Favorites" (now available on http://cdbaby.com/cd/sladek)
to celebrate the first holiday season of the company in the
Chicago area. It has also been featured on Wisconsin Public
Radio.
Mr. Sladek has received a New York Film Festivals award for
Outstanding Achievement for his Original Music for Video with
the nationally acclaimed education theater troupe, Wavelength.
As musical director/composer for 16 years, he performed for over
100,000 educators in North America and the Netherlands. He has
played in numerous musical theater productions, most notably for
the Shubert, Marriott Lincolnshire, Drury Lane, Apple Tree and
Circle Theaters, and the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse.
He has also recorded two other CDs, "Piano Celebration" and
"Ragtime Classics". (Both available at
www.ChicagoPianist.com)
|