Kathy Hann King, Director of VIVA Performing Arts School, holds her Bachelor's Degree in Performance from NIU, advanced studies in Early Music and Harpsichord from Converse College, Spartanburg, S.C. and is a Yamaha certified teacher. She has developed a successful, contemporary approach to teaching piano to both children and adults.  For over 25 years she has implemented her programs in private schools and performing arts centers throughout the states of South Carolina and Illinois.

Her students have won many scholarships and competitions, including first place in the Chandler Starr Miller Solo Piano Competition at the Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center, as well as audition winners for solo performances in one of the largest music festivals, Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, SC. She is a member of the NMTA, IMTA, and the SCMTA.

Tim Boles, Director of Drama programs, won the All-State Theater Award in 1979. He was one of 20 students chosen from over 1,000 auditioned to perform the new Story Theater Technique at the Krannert Performing Arts Center at the University of Illinois.

He has worked at Timberlake Playhouse and has performed workshops in the Sterling Community Schools. Mr. Boles is currently Artistic Director of the Canterbury Singers, a regional Choral Society devoted to the performance and promotion of English Choral Music.

Robert Campbell, vocal instructor for VIVA! Performing Arts School, has performed extensively throughout northern Illinois including the Chicagoland area. He has experience in solo performance, choral conducting, musical theater and teaching. Past experience includes seven years lead tenor with The Canterbury Singers as well as appearances at the American Choral Directors Association’s National Convention in Milwaukee and the National Collegiate Choral Organization in San Antonio. Mr. Campbell currently sings with the group Cor Cantiamo, directed by Dr. Eric Johnson. This ensemble performs a wide range of repertoire from Classical to Twentieth Century music. In 2009, Mr. Campbell was appointed director of the vocal ensemble, The Canterbury Singers, a 24-voice group of professional singers specializing in English music. He is also the director of the Chancel Choir at the First Congregational Church in Dekalb. Robert has performed under the direction of Maestro John Nelson, Music Director of the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Paul Freeman conductor of the Chicago Sinfonietta, and Grammy Award winning American choral composers Jerry Blackstone and Morten Lauridsen.

Robert holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Northern Illinois University. During his time at NIU he studied conducting with Dr. Eric Johnson and private voice with Myron Myers. He recently made his stage directorial debut with the first Reagan Middle School musical, Aladdin Jr. The success of this production has lead to an invitation to direct future musicals.

Elisabeth Hale is completing a Master's Degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She graduated in 2011, from Lee University with degrees in Music Performance and Music Education. She has studied violin with Xiaoqing Yu, Piotr Milewski, Penney Adair, chamber music with Gloria Chien, and participated in master classes with Ani Kavafian, Ida Kavafian, and Larry Shapiro. Hale has been teaching privately since she was 16 and holds Suzuki certification from the Suzuki Association of the Americas. As a junior, she won a contract with the Symphony Orchestra Augusta in Augusta, Ga., and also began performing with the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

She has been concertmaster of several orchestras, including the Lee University Symphony Orchestra and Advent Now, an ensemble that recently completed a 22-concert tour of Japan. Avidly interested in musicology, Hale has studied the works of Claudio Monteverdi with Dr. Massimo Ossi of Indiana University. She is a member of the Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities Society, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Kappa Delta Pi honor societies.

Carolyn Guido is a graduate of Northern Illinois University. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Studies. She studied in London at Kingston University Fall 2010, and has just moved to Chicago. She attended New Orleans Center for Creative Arts with a concentration in Musical Theatre. She has danced for 18 years and trained in classical ballet, jazz, tap, and musical theatre dance, She danced with the Delta Festival Ballet Company in New Orleans, LA.

She has choreographed many shows for high school and middle school aged young adults. She received a Ginny award from her choreography in Beauty and the Beast in Slidell, LA. Recently she directed and choreographed a shortened version of Singin in the Rain for Northern Illinois University's Summer in the Arts Theatre Camp.

Kenneth "Alan" Hale, instructor of violin and viola, received his Bachelor of Arts in Music from Lee University.  He graduated from the Music Academy in Rockford, Illinois and was principal violist of the Rockford Symphony Youth Orchestra (RSYO) in 2008.  In his collegiate career, he has been the principal violist of the Lee University's Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Strings ensemble under the direction of Maestro Bernhardt and Xiaoqing Yu. Chamber Strings, for 7 consecutive years, has had the distinction of being the chosen ensemble to perform at the annual Tennessee Music Educator's Association (TMEA) conference in Chattanooga, TN.

Jie Luman (Jenny) is originally from China, and moved to the United States in 2006. She attended the Hebei Art School and received her undergraduate degree from the Tianjin Conservatory of Music. She holds a Master's Degree and Performance Certificate from Northern Illinois University where she studied with Mattias Tacke, of the acclaimed Vermeer Quartet. Although Jie's primary instrument is violin she has ten years experience teaching strings.

Ashley Mekeel, holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Iowa in Piano Performance with an emphasis in Collaborative Piano.  She also received her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa in Music Education and Piano Performance.  Ashley was an active piano accompanist/collaborator in the Iowa City area during her college years.  Her major teachers have included Dr. Rene Lecuona, Shari Rhoads, and Christine Rutledge. Ashley is a registered piano teacher through the Carnegie Hall Royal Conservatory Achievement Program. In June 2012, Ashley had ten students successfully pass the piano exam, enrolling from the preparatory level through level 7.

In addition to being employed by Viva! Performing Arts School, Ashley is employed by Illinois Valley Community College as the adjunct faculty piano instructor, and as a piano instructor at Fox River Academy of Music and Art, Inc. in Oswego.  In Ashley's spare time, she enjoys collaborating with vocalists.