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Benjamin Nadel

Music Director
Conductor, Symphony Orchestra

Benjamin Nadel is a classically trained conductor, pianist, and violinist based in the Chicago area. He has been the Associate Conductor and Orchestra Librarian for the New Philharmonic and Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra since 2016. In addition, he has been the Orchestra Director at North Central College since 2017 and the Northwest Indiana Symphony Youth Orchestra since 2022. Beginning in the fall of 2024 he will be the Music Director for the Youth Symphony of DuPage.

From 2011 – 2015 Nadel spent his summers with the Midwest Institute of Opera, as the assistant conductor to Maestro Joshua Greene of the Metropolitan Opera. While there, he conducted productions of Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, and Carmen in addition to assisting and coaching productions of Die Zauberflöte and La Cenerentola.

Nadel began his conducting studies with Dr. Glenn Block at Illinois State University while completing his undergraduate degree in Music Education. He then went on to receive his MA in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Iowa with Dr. William LaRue Jones. He has participated in several summer music festivals, including a program with Cincinnati Conservatory as a part of the summer music festival in Spoleto, Italy.

Aside from his work as a professional conductor, Nadel has a strong connection with music education and a personal interest in it. He believes that one of the most important aspects of being an artist is to pass along that experience and knowledge to the next generation of musicians. To that end, Nadel has worked with several high school ensembles in the Chicago area, including New Trier, Metea Valley, Glenbard West, Glenbard South, and Stevenson High School. His work has included side-by-side concerts with the New Philharmonic. He has also led conducting workshops for the Opus Chamber Music Camp, North Central College, and Illinois State University.

Nadel is a current member of the International Conductor’s Guild (ICG), the Major Orchestra Librarians Association (MOLA), and the Illinois Council of Orchestras (ICO).

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Carrie Provost

Conductor, Concert Orchestra

Carrie Provost earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Illinois and a Master’s Degree in Music Education from Northern Illinois University. Mrs. Provost is a retired member of the string faculty in Wheaton-Warrenville School District 200, teaching at Franklin Middle School for thirty years. She served as the co-director of the Naperville Youth Symphony Orchestra from its inception, growing the program to 150 musicians over three years. Mrs. Provost occasionally teaches summer graduate classes in String Pedagogy at VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. Mrs. Provost was a finalist for the Golden Apple Excellence in Teaching Award in 1999, was awarded the Illinois ASTA School Teacher of the Year in 2010, and was named a Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator from Quinlan & Fabish Music Company in 2016. Mrs. Provost is a frequent adjudicator at contests, a guest conductor for orchestra festivals, and a violinist in the DuPage Symphony Orchestra. She is a certified yoga teacher and teaches yoga classes at the Wheaton Sport Center. She is married to Bob, a retired orchestra teacher, and they have three daughters and three grandchildren. They share a passion for active travel and have been bicycled in nine countries.

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Daryl Silberman

Conductor, Philharmonia Strings, Sinfonietta Strings

Ms. Daryl Silberman is a professional violinist/violist and an orchestra director at Scullen Middle School in Naperville, IL (formerly at Waubonsie Valley High School). “Ms. S” studied viola at the University of Colorado at Boulder, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the University of Southern California and teaches with her 5-stringed violin. She has been a private studio teacher, high school orchestra director, youth orchestra director, and freelance violist and violinist in Salem, Oregon, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, performing with regional orchestras, rock bands, movie studio orchestras, chamber groups, and baroque ensembles. She has served as a guest conductor and clinician for middle and high school orchestras nationwide and has presented at many national and state educator conferences. She was named as one of “50 Directors Who Make a Difference” in 2011 by School Band and Orchestra magazine. In her free time, she is an avid yogi and a proud mom of two young adults. www.daryls.com

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Jiwon Kim

String Chamber Ensembles Coach

Jiwon Kim has been with YSDP as a chamber ensemble coach since 2019. Ms. Kim is very happy to be able to share her passion for playing and teaching chamber music with students at YSDP. She studied Viola at a graduate school with Rami Solomonov at DePaul University (Chicago). She earned a Bachelor’s degree when she studied with Mr. Sydney Curtis at Temple University (Philadelphia) and Atar Arad at Indiana University (Bloomington). She studied at Seoul Arts High School in Seoul, South Korea. She debuted as a soloist with New Seoul Philharmonic Orchestras when she was a sophomore in college and also performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras in Korea and performed in Philadelphia, Haddonfield, N.J., WI, Elmhurst, Chicago, as a solo Violist, a chamber musician, and a freelance Violist.
She was a church music director for five years in Des Plaines, Illinois, and a private studio teacher throughout Naperville and the surrounding suburban areas. She is a mom of two children and lives in Naperville.

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Harris Jordan

Wood Winds Brass Chamber Ensembles Coach

Harris earned a BA and MM in Horn Performance from North Central College and Northern Illinois, respectively. Harris is an active performer and is a regular member of the DuPage Symphony, the Fox Valley Orchestra, the Naperville Municipal Band, and was a founding member of the Molten Brass Quintet. In addition to performing, Harris maintains a private studio in the Aurora and Oswego areas and teaches lessons to beginning band students through high school graduates. Harris’s goal as a teacher is to help students of all ages develop confidence in their instruments and enjoy making music. Outside of performing and teaching, Harris is a brass repair technician at PM Music Center and enjoys time off with his wife and their poodle, Oscar.

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Ken Kazin

Percussion Coordinator

Ken Kazin is pleased to join the YSDP artistic team! Ken has been the director of bands at Evergreen Park Community High School for nearly 40 years. His responsibilities include Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combo, Marching Band, and Percussion Performance Class, as well as teaching “Rock Band” and A.P. Music Theory. Mr. Kazin received degrees from Vander Cook College of Music. He has completed additional coursework at ISU, Eastern, and DePaul. Conducting credits include numerous concerts and contests, including a number of Super State appearances with the EPCHS Bands at the Krannert Center in Urbana. He has served as Guest Conductor / Clinician /Judge/Performer for ILMEA, SWIC, SCC, IHSA, SPC, Little Seven, and SICA. He has conducted and performed shows at many Chicago venues, including The Court Theatre, The Park West, and Stage 773, as well as community theatres such as the Oak Lawn Park District, The Beverly Theatre Guild, and The Drama Group. As a musician, Ken currently serves as the principal percussionist for the Southwest Symphony Orchestra and is regularly hired as a jobbing percussionist. He recently has performed three European tours with SDG, including two studio recordings. Other recording credits include Minor Annoyance, Dash Red, The Ambassadors, and TRIX. Mr. Kazin has served on the Illinois Arts Council, is a member of NAFME, NAJE, and PAS, and is a member of good standing with the Chicago Federation of Musicians. Ken is supported by his talented wife, Amy, and their 3 awesome children, Jason, MacKenzie, and Keaton.