Kim Gogolewski 
Owner/Piano

Tim Tonon
Banjo/Guitar - Bass, Electric, & Acoustic/Mandolin/Ukulele

Jason R. Johnston
Drums/Percussion

Kim has always loved being involved with kids.  Her first piano student happened by accident at age 19 when her boss discovered she played the piano and asked about lessons for her daughter.  Success with that family led to other coworkers also asking about lessons.  From that time Kim knew that teaching kids to play the piano was something she could be truly passionate about.  She took a break from teaching for a few years with a typical "9-5", but went back to teaching in 2009.  Since then she has taught piano at Faith Lutheran School in Antioch, furthered her musical knowledge with courses at CLC and had a small studio in Antioch for 3 years prior to opening Rubato Music Studio.

Tim’s passion for guitar began after seeing The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. He began teaching at various music schools and studios while studying music at The Chicago Music College of Roosevelt University. He is proficient in all styles and levels including rock, blues, jazz and country. He has played in many bands and on many praise teams, as well as performing as a solo act.
​He offers instruction in guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin and ukulele.

Jason was born and raised in Antioch.  He has 20 years of playing experience and 12 years of teaching experience.  His skills and experience include, but are not limited to: Percussion/Marching Band and School Band, Drumset/Any style, ie. Jazz, Rock, R&B, etc…
Teach/Perform drumset for Columbia College and SAE
Played in such places as the House of Blues (Chicago) Relix Magazine HQ (NYC) SXSW (Austin) & more. 

Kimberly Rock
​Piano/Flute/Voice/Clarinet/
​French Horn/Trumpet/Trombone

​ Kimberly Rock began her music journey at the age of 5 on the piano. From that moment on, music has been a very important part of her life. After years of piano lessons she joined her grade school band where her love of music continued to grow while playingthe flute. Throughout her high school years she was blessed with the opportunity to play some percussion, piccolo, and oboe, in addition to playing flute. Not long after, she beganto teach both piano and flute lessons. For most of her life she has been a member of numerous concert bands, choirs, and music organizations across Lake County.
After taking a long break to be a full time mom to her 4 young children, she decided it was time to jump back into music with both feet. In the fall of 2018 she made the decision to return to school to further her musical knowledge with courses at the College of Lake County. Soon after, she took it a step further, applied to and was accepted to VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. She is a proud member of Sigma Alpha Iota, an international music fraternity formed to “uphold the highest standards of music” and “to further the development of music in America and throughout the world”. Kimberly is excited to share her passion with musicians young and old and is excited to share her experience and enthusiasm with Rubato's students!
“Where words fail, music speaks.”
-Hans Christian Anderson

Don Pacholczak
Piano/Organ

Sara Gillette
Baritone/Clarinet/Flute/Oboe/
Trumpet/​Trombone/Viola/Violin

Don has been performing and teaching piano and/or organ since college.  He has won many performance awards from Yamaha, Wurlitzer and several Midwest music competitions.  He is active in performing and/or directing for several local church choirs.  
​Many of his students have won academic scholarship awards for music.   Students have ranged from beginners to advanced and all age groups from young children to adults.  His academic degrees are from Illinois Institute of Technology (BS, MS, AbD) and Northwestern University (MM).  He enjoys to play: Classical, jazz, blues, gospel, modern, popular, contemporary, pop/rock to new age.

​Sara Gillette, an Antioch native, has been performing and teaching in Lake County and beyond since graduating from Antioch High School. Performing experience includes concert bands, chamber orchestras, jazz bands, and numerous “pit” gigs. As a student, she studied flute and
jazz piano at The Interlochen Center for the Arts. Sara earned her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin and has taught Band, Orchestra, and General Music in Lake County for two decades. She recently earned National Board Certification in Music with a special focus on band instrument pedagogy. Sara has a passion for working with musicians of all ages and abilities and hopes to inspire the next generation of
performing artists.

Susan Russell
Violin/Viola/Harp

Susan Russell studied Suzuki violin and played at Carnegie Hall with a group of children representing American students as a child. She was accepted into Music and Art High School and selected to attend Mannes Conservatory prep division in NY as a teenager.
Receiving her BFA in Performance from School of The Art Institute in Chicago, and Masters from Columbia, in Interdisciplinary Arts, Susan Russell is an adjunct Professor at College of Lake County in the Humanities and Arts Division, teaching performing and art for 17 years.  Susan has experience teaching children at music schools in the area, and as a mother of three, she enjoys working with children who have a place in their heart for music. Susan has performed in a variety of settings from orchestras to chamber ensembles in bands and at churches. She has also performed at weddings, events, and country clubs. She welcomes beginning to intermediate students on the violin /viola and young children beginning the harp. Susan enjoys teaching children as young as 4 and is available to teach both Suzuki and traditional methods.

Grace Nance
Piano/Voice

Emric Montaño
Guitar

Grace Nance has been playing piano since age eight, and has been teaching since she was fifteen. As a student, Grace fell in love with how music allowed for her to express her emotions. As a teacher, she is passionate about inciting that same inspiration within her students. Grace is a recent graduate of CLC, and is attending University of Illinois at Springfield to finish her bachelors.  In addition to teaching piano, Grace is involved within her local music community. She has performed and taught music classes at the United Methodist Church in Antioch. She has been involved in orchestras, small group ensembles, and musicals. Most recently, she has been involved with productions at PM&L both in music directing and leading the orchestra. 

​Emric has been teaching private lessons for almost 20 years. He has a Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance from Northern Illinois University.  After studying as NIU with Fareed Haque, he studied with award-winning classical guitarist Denis Azabagic. His main focus of study at that time was classical guitar. Emric now teaches various styles such as rock, blues, and classical.

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