Wheaton Yamaha music school Faculty

The Wheaton Yamaha Music School prides itself on providing students with excellent teachers who truly care about their students. We can't wait to meet you in person!

BEVERLY GRIFFITH
School Director, Music Wonderland, Junior Music Course, Junior Extension Course, Young Musicians Course

Miss Beverly graduated cum laude with a degree in piano performance from Wheaton College Conservatory of Music. Before graduating Wheaton, she was invited by a fellow student to purchase the relatively young Wheaton Yamaha Music School. For over 35 years and through Beverly's nurturing, the school has grown from 30 students to over 220.

As the owner and director, Bev loves to teach and has always taught classes. She has attained several teaching awards from the Yamaha Music Education System and works as a Yamaha Education Specialist, evaluating the performance of Yamaha teachers across the country. Bev is a member of the Music Teachers' National Association and also serves as Music Director for her church. She and her family live at their farmhouse in Indiana, where Beverly enjoys gardening and taking care of her menagerie of animals.

LINDA WINTHERS
Junior Music Course, Junior Extension Course, Private Lessons

Miss Linda began playing the piano at the age of five, and subsequently began official lessons at the age of six. She studied piano through all of grade school and high school, and during high school she was privileged to take lessons from one of the staff pianists for the Indianapolis Symphony, Sylvia Moorehead. She attended the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music for her Bachelor's of Music degree in piano performance and later went on to receive her Masters degree also in piano performance from the American Conservatory of Music (Chicago).

During her post-graduate years, she won second place in Denis Moffat's "Evening of Concerto" competition where she performed the first movement of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. Linda formerly taught class and private piano at Judson College and College of DuPage; she has been active in her church's music program as well. More recently her studies include a series of jazz lessons with pianist Skip Green. Linda is a member of the Music Teachers' National Association and has now been with the Wheaton Yamaha team for over fifteen years. She and her family reside in West Chicago.

JANNA WILLIAMSON
Music For Kids, Junior Music Course, Junior Extension Course, Private Lessons

The daughter of a piano teacher, Miss Janna began formal piano lessons at the age of four. She graduated summa cum laude from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music with a bachelor's of music degree in piano performance. While at Wheaton, she was the overall winner of the annual concerto competition. Janna has extensive accompanying experience with individuals and groups including the Wheaton College Women's Chorale, the Wheaton Symphony Chorus, and the String Academy of Chicago. She began teaching piano during high school and now is in high demand as a teacher of traditional private piano students of all levels. A member of the Music Teachers' National Association, Janna is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music. She has been a faculty member at Wheaton Yamaha since 2001 and is both a certified Yamaha instructor and an experienced Musikgarten teacher.

Miss Janna is passionate about helping each student reach his or her highest potential as a pianist. She especially enjoys helping students find a natural technique and watching them perform artistically. She is energized by talking with other teachers and helping newer teachers begin their pedagogical journey. Miss Janna, her husband, and three boys live in West Chicago; she and "Mr. Steve" conduct the children's and teenage girls' choirs at their church in Wheaton.

CALVIN COLEMAN
Young Musicians Course, Private Lessons

Mr. Calvin holds a Bachelor’s of Music in Piano Performance from Wheaton College.  While there he played piano in several chamber ensembles, the Symphonic Band, sang in the Concert Choir, and was House Manager of the Artist Series.   He received second place in the 2005 Chamber Music Competition, and as winner of the 2004 Keyboard Concerto Competition, he had the privilege of performing Poulenc's Two-Piano Concerto with orchestra.   Mr. Calvin has twice served as a piano teaching assistant at Interlochen’s Summer Arts Camp, interned at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Rosenthal archives, and is a member of MTNA.

Mr. Calvin loves teaching because of its variety.  He realizes that each student is a unique teaching experience, and is willing to work with each student’s individual skills and goals to help successfully nurture his/her love for music.  Mr. Calvin encourages his students to have fun through improvising, composing, and playing both classical and pop music.  His favorite composers/artists include Poulenc, Grieg, Chopin, Mozart, Phillip Glass, Regina Spektor, Owl City, and Coldplay.  Besides teaching, Mr. Calvin enjoys dinners with friends, tea, cheese, fun ties and socks, traveling, and wasting time on Facebook.

JULIE CRULL
Private Lessons, Junior Music Course

Miss Julie hails from Atlanta, Georgia. She graduated from Wheaton College with a B.A. in Music History and Literature. During her four years at Wheaton she studied with Karin Edwards. She began her piano studies around the age of six and in middle and high school she participated in Music Teachers' National Association district and state competitions. In college she sang with the Women’s Chorale and played percussion with the Symphonic Band. Julie has been on staff with us since the fall of 2007 and teaches private lessons here at the Wheaton Yamaha Music School.

She is a member of the Music Teachers' National Association, and resides in Wheaton with her husband; they enjoy making cheese sandwiches and reading books about 19th century farm equipment!

HEATHER SPANOGLE
Private Lessons

Growing up with a piano-teacher mother, Miss Heather developed a love of music at an early age and began playing piano when she was six.  She continued to study piano at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music where she received her Bachelor's of Music in piano, studying under Dr. Karin Edwards.  Miss Heather began teaching piano lessons as a ninth grader, and continued throughout college.  She enjoys working one on one with students to help grow their love of music. 

Miss Heather accompanied for vocalists, instrumentalists, and ensembles throughout her time at Wheaton College, but most enjoys being able to play with worship bands at church and leading worship.  Having spent the last 4 years overseas in China and Laos, she was able to use music to reach out to the university students she worked with and to encourage her teammates. 

Now Miss Heather and her husband reside in Wheaton, where she also works at World Relief, and her husband is a PhD student at Trinity International University.

TAMMY GLOSS
Office Manager

Tammy came to Yamaha years ago as a parent with her first daughter. Presently, her other 2 children are students in our school and Tammy studies private piano with Miss Linda. (Yes, she practices 5-7 times per week too!) Tammy attended National Lewis University and graduated with a Business Management degree. Knowing the merits of the Yamaha Program firsthand combined with her extensive management experience she's the perfect person to run our office. Tammy lives in Winfield with her husband, 3 children, 2 dogs & 1 papa.