Staff

Benjy Krauss - Curricular Percussion Instructor

Benjy Krauss has been performing and teaching percussion in the greater Chicago area since 2016 and is currently finishing up coursework for his doctorate in percussion performance at Northwestern University. He frequently performs with the Chicago Civic Orchestra and Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, as well as a number of other national and Chicago-based ensembles. In addition to orchestral playing, Benjy is an accomplished drum set and steel drum player. Benjy is the director of percussion at Evanston Township High School, is on the faculty at The People's Music School, Maine West High School, and teaches general music and music education courses at Northwestern University (while also serving as a teachers assistant since 2016).

Benjy has studied privately with an array of world class artists, including She-e Wu (internationally renown soloist/pedagogue), Christopher Lamb (New York Philharmonic), Vadim Karpinos (Chicago Symphony Orchestra), Ed Stephan (San Francisco Symphony), and Marc Damoulakis (Cleveland Orchestra). He is a graduate of the University of Michigan (BM/BA '15) and Northwestern University (MM '18, DMA '22).

Brian Gephart - Jazz Saxophone

Email: brian@briangephart.com
Phone: (847) 212-3872

Brian Gephart is a jazz tenor player and composer in the Chicago area. He has been a member of the ETHS Jazz combo faculty since 2010 and teaches several of our jazz saxophonists.

Peter Roothaan - Jazz Saxophone

Email: proothaan@gmail.com
Phone: (847) 644-3449

Jazz saxophonist Peter Roothaan is equally comfortable on tenor and alto saxophones.

He has performed alongside (and learned from) many of the greats of jazz saxophone, including James Moody, David “Fathead” Newman, Bennie Golson, Jimmy Heath, Hank Crawford, Von Freeman, Bobby Watson, and Donald Harrison.

He has performed with legendary jazz singers such as Nancy Wilson and Freddie Cole, guitarist Henry Johnson, organist Chris Foreman, drummer Greg Rockingham, and many others.

Appearances include Ravinia, the Chicago Jazz Festival, Chicago’s Symphony Center, Millenium Park, the Ocho Rios Jazz Fest in Jamaica, The Jazz Cruise, and at nationally recognized jazz clubs.

In addition to his duties at ETHS as Assistant Jazz Band Director, Mr. Roothaan is the Jazz Band Director at Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in Deerfield Illinois.

Mr. Roothaan maintains a private teaching studio in Evanston Illinois. He teaches jazz saxophone, jazz theory and performance, and methods of improvisation. His understanding of teaching and performing jazz is enhanced by his jazz piano skills, allowing him to effectively accompany students when working on musical ideas and skills, and to demonstrate various aspects of the jazz language. He also plays flute, clarinet, drum set, and guitar.