Denzel Abarquez, M.M. Piano Pedagogy (Class of 2024)

Denzel Denzel was raised by a family of musicians. He grew up singing in his uncle’s church choir, and later studied classical piano with several teachers. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Music major in Piano Performance in the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music under Mr. Anthony Say. He has won several competitions both inside and outside the conservatory, including winning 3rd Prize in the 2016 National Music Competitions for Young Artists and 1st Prize in the 2018 UST Sonata Competition. Denzel has also participated in local and international piano festivals such as the 2019 Maestro Art International Piano Festival held in Taipei, Taiwan and 2019 Manila International Piano Masterclass Festival. Denzel was mentored by Filipino Steinway Artist Dr. Raul Sunico, who helped prepare him for his graduate studies. Today, Denzel is actively pursuing his master’s degree in Piano Pedagogy in Western Illinois University under the tutelage of Dr. Natalie Landowski. He is currently the Class Piano Teaching and Community Music School Assistant, and an active member of the Music Teachers National Association (WIU MTNA Chapter).

Heidi Brooks, M.M. Piano Pedagogy (Class of 2025)

Heidi began her childhood piano studies as a Suzuki student of Dr. Michael Campbell (student of Leon Fleisher). She went on to obtain a bachelors of music in Piano Performance from Western Illinois University in 2008. While studying at WIU, Heidi was chosen as a winner in the 2006 Concerto/Aria Competition. During her time as a university student, Heidi studied solo and chamber piano abroad with various teachers in Vienna, Austria, Gabrovo, Bulgaria and Rzeszow, Poland. While studying with pianist Stefan Kutrzeba in Poland, Heidi was immersed in his revolutionary teachings on Heinrich Neuhaus and the Chopin Method which have highly influenced Heidi’s work as a pianist. She now seeks to incorporate his ideas with the Suzuki Piano Method. An active pianist, Heidi has worked as an accompanist and chamber musician under performers such as Rami Solomonow, Mathieu Dufour and Atilla Aldemir and has worked at both DePaul University (Chicago) and Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL) as an accompanist. She has also held posts as a church organist from 2011 to 2021 in Macomb, Lincoln and Bloomington, IL.

Heidi has been teaching piano for over 16 years. She received her Suzuki piano training in 2018 and opened her first Suzuki piano studio in the same year. Currently, Heidi is the music teacher at St. Paul Catholic School in Macomb as well as a graduate student at Western Illinois University studying piano pedagogy under Dr. Natalie Landowski and organ under Professor Linda Andrews.

Nicolo Paulo Echague, M.M. Piano Performance (Class of 2025)

Nicolo Paulo Echague earned his degree of Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance under the tutelage of Prof. Mary Anne Espina at the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music. His interest in music began when he was 10 yrs old , experimenting with the guitar, drums, and basic note reading, finally resolving his passion with the piano at the age of 13. he performed as a pianist in the annual Sampung Mga Daliri and The Pasinaya Festival at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. In addition to this, he also has an inclination towards Jazz with several Masterclasses attended: Tokyo Manila Jazz Festival, Impromazurka - Artur Dutkiewicz, and Classical meets Jazz Masterclass - Francois Botha, these on top of more masterclasses, that further developed his strong musical and technical foundation.

Christian Gonzales, M.M. Piano Performance (Class of 2025)

Christian Gonzales, a pianist and a licensed professional teacher, was born in Fabrica, Sagay City, Negros Occidental. He graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Music-Major in Piano, Minor in Voice from Silliman University, Dumaguete City, under the tutelage of Prof. Isabel D. Vista. Months after his bachelor’s degree graduation, Christian was given the opportunity to be one of the few delegates for the two recognized festivals in the Philippines, namely, the 2nd Manila International Piano Festival 2019 and the 1st Jovita Fuentes and Jose Contreras (JFJC) Music Institute Festival, under full scholarships. He had received and attended piano masterclasses from concert pianists like Roberta Rust (USA), Nelson Delle-Vigne Fabbri (Italy), Anait Karpova (Belgium/Russia), Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz (Philippines), Wael Farouk (Egypt), Adam Kent (USA), Chi-ying Hung (Taiwan), Kyung-Ah Kim (Korea), Clement Acevedo (Philippines), Lorenzo Medel (Philippines), Gabriel Paguirigan (Philippines), to name some. Even after his Bachelor’s degree, Christian decided to still continue having lessons in piano, studying under Clement Acevedo, Leonor Kilayko, and Richelle Rivera. He is now taking up his master’s degree in piano performance at Western Illinois University, under the tutelage of Dr. Natalie Landowski.

Michael Joiner, B.M. Piano Performance (Class of 2024)

Michael Joiner is from Wheaton, IL from a family with a history of musical talent. He started piano at age 5, studying with a private teacher in his hometown, Marcia Lehe. He attended Wheaton Academy for high school before studying for two years at College of DuPage. During that time, he studied with Dr. Steven Havens. He studied for a year at Columbia College Chicago for audio arts and acoustics. After deciding that pursuing the art of playing the piano was more important, he transferred to Western Illinois University to pursue a B.M. in piano performance, studying with Dr. Natalie Landowski. As well as playing piano, Michael also enjoys playing guitar, singing, and exploring songwriting.

Mattias Luitjens, B.M. Piano Performance and B.S. Computer Science (Class of 2027)

Mattias is a Piano Performance major and doubles as a Computer Science major. He is from the small town of Olds, Iowa and went to WACO High School. He has been taking piano lessons since first grade and will continue his lessons here at Western. In high school, Mattias participated in every music ensemble the school offered including concert band, string orchestra, and concert choir. During high school, he took lessons from Margaret Runaas. One of his favorite memories in music is playing with the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra in March of 2023. He plans to graduate in the spring of 2027 and will most likely continue to graduate school afterwards.

Maddie MacGregor, B.M. Choral Music Education, piano primary (Class of 2026)

Maddie is a sophomore Choral Music Education major and piano primary at WIU. She plans to graduate in the spring of 2026 in hopes of becoming a choir director and piano instructor. When she is not practicing or in a rehearsal, you can find her involved with Campus Students for Christ, composing music, and having fun with friends. Maddie is thankful for the opportunity to continue with her studies in piano, and she is excited to see where these next couple of years take her!

Gabriel Zahnle, B.S. Zoology and B.M. Piano Performance (Class of 2025)

Gabriel Zahnle was born and raised in Macomb, Illinois. He started taking piano lessons at the age of 4 and has continued playing ever since. He took lessons from local piano teacher Dr. Jenny Perron until graduating from high school. His pre-collegiate experience culminated in learning and performing the Bach Concerto No. 1 in D Minor. After high school he took a one year break and resumed lessons under Dr. Landowski. Gabriel hopes to transfer out to California and finish a scientific scuba diving degree. He loves fish and learning about animal behavior, and plans to work with fish and in water.