A career music educator, Bryan Miller served as Chair for Chicagoland’s national award-winning Leyden High Schools’ Music Department from 1994-2024. Thousands of music students enjoyed successes under his leadership. Additional affiliations have included Elmhurst University (Symphonic Band Director), VanderCook College (Trumpet Professor), North Central College (Director of Music Education), Northern Illinois University (Student Teacher Supervisor), the Naperville Youth Symphony Orchestra (Associate Conductor, Brass Choir Director), and serving on NAfME's National Council of Music Program Leaders. Also a career military musician, for 25 years Lieutenant Colonel Miller has enjoyed the honor of serving our nation as the Commander and Conductor of the 566th Air Force Band, the Air National Guard Band of the Midwest, a prestigious Medal of Arts recipient organization. Mission highlights include leading two Southwest Asia and Africa deployments, performances at Mount Rushmore, Rockefeller Center Plaza, Independence Hall, for Apollo Astronauts, the Tuskegee Airmen, funeral memorial honors for President Ronald Reagan, and serving as Liaison Officer for COVID-19 Operations. He is the founder and artistic director of both the acclaimed Chicagoland Educators Orchestra and the Band of the Midwest. He has annually conducted for the Midwest Clinic’s Concert Band New Music Session since 2004, and he founded the Orchestra New Music Session in 2012. Guest conducting engagements include the United States Air Force Band, Wheaton Municipal Band, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (of which he is an alumnus), numerous university, military, and community bands, and most of our ILMEA Districts. An accomplished and versatile trumpet artist, he performed under Maestro Daniel Barenboim with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Lyric Opera brass sections for the Arnold Jacobs memorial tribute concert at Chicago Symphony Center. His brass quintet was a Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition semi-finalist. He is a NIU Jazz Ensemble alumnus and founding member of Chicagoland’s renown Pete Ellman Big Band.

Andrew Dahan holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Northwestern University, and a Master of Music degree in Jazz Pedagogy from the University of Miami. Since 2021, he has been the Director of Choirs at Niles North High School (Skokie, IL), where he directs the curricular choirs, oversees the extracurricular Vocal Jazz program, and directs the award-winning vocal jazz ensemble Take One. Previously, he was the Head of Music Education and Director of Vocal Jazz at Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL). Dahan has presented at the Illinois Music Education Conference, the Jazz Education Network Conference, and the National Association for Music Education Conference, and recently contributed chapters to Rehearsing the Vocal Jazz Ensemble (published by GIA Publications) and Observing in Music Classrooms (published by Conway Publications). He has also been a clinician and guest director for numerous vocal jazz and choral festivals. As a performer, Dahan has had the privilege of singing the National Anthem for the Miami Heat, and performing as a background vocalist for performers such as George Benson, Gloria Estefan, and Ben Folds. He has performed and recorded with the Final Fantasy Distant Worlds Chorus and Orchestra, directed by Arnie Roth, and currently performs around Chicago with the American Caroling Company and the Lola Bard Holiday Carolers.

Frank Lestina received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Roosevelt University and his Master’s Degree in Administration from the University of Illinois. Mr. Lestina started his teaching career in Danville, Illinois where he taught orchestra at Southview Middle School and Danville High School. In 1986, Mr. Lestina accepted the Orchestra Director position at Libertyville High School, Libertyville, Illinois. During his tenure at Libertyville, the program grew from one orchestra of 30 students to two orchestras with 90 string players. The Symphony Orchestra was invited to perform at the Midwest Clinic in 1991 and again in 1996. In addition, the LHS Orchestras traveled extensively, including three tours to Europe. In the fall of 2000, Mr. Lestina accepted the position of Fine Arts Supervisor and Orchestra Director at the new school in District 128, Vernon Hills High School, where the string enrollment eventually grew to 150 students in three orchestras. The VHHS Orchestras have also continued the tradition of travel including tours to China in 2001, Spain in 2006, Italy in 2008 and Prague/Austria in 2012. Mr. Lestina retired from Vernon Hills High School in June of 2013 and currently serves as adjunct faculty in Music Education at DePaul University and VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. In addition, Mr. Lestina currently serves on the Advisory Board of The Midwest Clinic and moderates the New Music Reading Session for Orchestra. Mr. Lestina is a member of American String Teachers Association and the Illinois Music Educators Association where he served on the ILMEA State Board as the District 7 President for two terms. Mr. Lestina is very active as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator and has served as guest conductor for many of the ILMEA District Orchestras at both the Middle School and High School levels. Mr. Lestina conducted the ILMEA All-State Orchestra for the 2014 Conference in Peoria, Illinois. In May of 2018, Mr. Lestina was awarded an honorary Doctorate from VanderCook College of Music for his contributions to music education.