Location of Teaching: Oak Park, Illinois.

Instruments Taught: Piano - Classical, Pop, Ragtime, New Age, and Broadway Show Tunes.

Times Available: Monday through Saturday.

Rates: $25.00 per Half Hour - $40.00 per Hour.

Educational Background: 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.

Experience: Professionally, Mr Sladek 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, Hubbard Street Dance Company, The Academy of Movement and Music as well as played for ballet master classes by 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, for which he has served as musical director/composer for 16 years. He also has played in over forty musical theater productions for the Schubert Theater, Drury Lane, Marriott Lincolnshire and the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, among others. He has also recorded two other CDs, "Piano Celebration" and "Ragtime Classics".

Awards: Mr. Sladek has been the recipient of several awards including those from the Chicago Musical Arts Club and the Grace Welsh National Piano Competition.

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Member Number: 1546

Beginning Date: 9/14/06