Piano and Voice Teacher Evelyn Virginia Sophia Czaja is a lyric mezzo-soprano, choir director, and skilled organist. She also possesses expertise in stage direction and is a certified makeup artist.
Her musical journey began as an opera singer in Chicago, IL, where she performed with esteemed local opera companies such as Repertory Opera Theater and DuPage Opera. She also collaborated with renowned local symphonies like Northwest Symphony and Lake Shore Symphony, in addition to Chicago Opera Theater. Evelyn has presented numerous captivating recitals both in Chicago and Boston, MA. Additionally, for a span of 15 years, she served as a Cantor in the Roman Catholic Church in Chicago.
Among her notable roles, Evelyn has portrayed Musetta in Puccini's "La Boheme," The Queen of the Night in Mozart's "Magic Flute," and Yum-Yum in Gilbert and Sullivan's "Mikado," among others.
After establishing herself as a voice teacher in Chicago, Evelyn expanded her teaching practice to the Boston area. She also incorporated beginner and intermediate piano instruction into her schedule. She has accompanied vocal students during recitals and even showcased her piano skills as a piano bar performer for one of her pop singing students.
Recently, Evelyn has taken on the role of an organist and choir director at various Greek Orthodox Churches, including Panagia in Cohasset, Dormition in Somerville, and currently St. Catherine's in Braintree.
As a private music teacher, Evelyn finds great joy in witnessing her students' personal achievements. Observing their growth and witnessing their performances in recitals is incredibly rewarding. She values the process of nurturing each student's individual artistic expression.
Evelyn's educational background includes a Master's Degree in Applied Music Pedagogy from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, IL, and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Rosary College (now Dominican University) in River Forest, IL. She has received private voice training in both Chicago and Massachusetts, as well as performance coaching. Evelyn has also pursued private piano lessons and studied choral conducting at Rosary College, IL, and organ performance in both Chicago and Massachusetts.
She is an active member of esteemed associations such as the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), Boston Singers Resources (BSR), and the National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians.
Pianist Jiawen Eric Guan is currently a doctoral piano student and improviser at the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he studies with Professor Hae Sun Paik. Jiawen has participated in many music festivals, concerts, and competitions. He was the winner of the 2014 Peabody Winter Honors Concert, the 2014 Peabody Concerto competition, and was the 2016 IIYM semi-finalist, the 2015 MTNA National alternate, the 2018 New England Conservatory Honors recital and the 2019 Atlantic Music Festival Piano competition, as well as the Silver prize winner of the April 2021 Musicale Romantic Style Music Festival competition in the 18-26 age category. He has been the recipient of the Dean’s Scholarship at New England Conservatory for 6 years. He has participated in several music festivals such as Bowdoin Festival, Atlantic Music Festival, and Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival. He has previously studied with Prof. Victor Rosenbaum at New England Conservatory, Prof. Young Hi Moon at Peabody Conservatory, Galina Diveeva of St. Petersburg Conservatory, Eleanor Wong at Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, etc., and he has graduated and received the Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from New England Conservatory, where he is currently finishing his master of music degree. Jiawen is currently an organist/pianist at the First Congregational church of Chelsea, he has been the pianist for the Chapelgate Christian Academy choirs and church services throughout his high school time there. Jiawen has participated in many string trios and quartets at New England Conservatory, and as a bassist in CI African American Heritage Ensemble at NEC.
Olin Langlois is a singer, songwriter and accomplished voice, piano,
guitar, and music teacher. In her formative years, she took violin lessons
while studying piano and guitar as secondary instruments. At the
Balakirev College of Nizhny Novgorod, Olin studied jazz voice and pedagogy,
while actively performing on various music projects and working as a vocal coach.
After graduating, Olin moved to Moscow to further study voice at
The Maimonides State Classic Academy for another 4 years.
For about the past 20 years, Olin has been a lead singer in music theater,
gospel choir and numerous music bands. She has also held residencies at
multiple venues and was a part of the annual singing of Handel’s “Messiah”.
Olin’s styles cover soul, blues, RnB, jazz, bossa nova, gospel and her original
music is a unique combination of these genres.
At the same time that her teaching style was developing, Olin continued to
work as a vocal coach. More and more she realized that singing is a
holistic process and it involves and effects both physical and metal
well being. During her singing and teaching career, Olin has
witnessed the positive therapeutic effects of music and vocal
breathing techniques on children and adults. She realized while it’s
important to work on music skills, it’s even more important to
receive joy, confidence, comfort and be able to express yourself
with your voice or musical instrument.
It is Olin’s strong belief that music is for everyone, whether you can
sing in tune or not. Just like we all have a heartbeat, we can all play
a beat. We only need to listen more carefully for it to sink in.
