Suburban Music Center - Teacher Biographies

About Ryan Richko
Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Ryan Richko has been making music as early as age 6. Starting off with the cello and piano at the suzuki academy of music, he discovered guitar as his passion when he received his first guitar from his father. While mainly self taught through high school, he took music theory classes along with some guitar courses to help further his musical knowledge.

Once he graduated, he enrolled at Columbia College Chicago studying with some of the best Chicago jazz guitarists like Peter Lerner and Frank Dawson. He also took 2 years of classical guitar lessons with Norman Ruiz. Along with guitar studies, other courses included sight-singing, ear-training, keyboard, and music theory.

If not practicing for hours, Ryan is writing music for his band "Ryan Richko Band." It is an instrumental rock band that does various styles including metal, fusion, progressive, jazz, blues, and latin. He is influenced by guitarists like Santana, Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Steve Vai, and the great Django Reinhardt.

Ryan also plays bass for the local chicago 90's rock cover band "Daily Special." They play all the clubs in downtown Chicago regularly and some shows in the suburbs as well.

In August 2008, Ryan was hired by Agile Partners to edit future versions of the Ipod touch / Iphone application "Guitar Toolkit" and "Guitar Toolkit light." You can download it from the itunes store.

In 2005, Ryan Richko won best guitarist in the emergenza music fest in Chicago playing a sold out show at the metro with his former metal band "Rise of Ruin."

In June 2007, Ryan Richko was featured along with guitar greats Michael Angelo Batio, Dave Weiner (Steve Vai Band), and others on rock guitarist Andrew Bordoni's album "Andrew Bordoni and Friends

Guitar - Dmitri Rakuba
Dmitri is a highly motivated individual with an underlying desire and determination to become the best musician he can possibly be.

With a deep love for song writing and musical arrangement – he takes you further than the standard guitar lesson and offers his perspective from a more “musical” standpoint. His desire to constantly progress and never be stale and stagnant opens up doors to all types of music, ranging from classical and jazz to rock and popular music. One of Dmitri's views on becoming a good musician is opening up one's ears to all styles and learning from them in order to become a somewhat original musician.

Dmitri has played in successful bands in the Chicago area, consistently playing venues like the Metro, Beat Kitchen, Bottom Lounge (which is no longer), Schubas's, Double Door, and many more. He is currently writing and recording in a new musical endeavor called Vertigo Whales and is in pursuit of a BA in guitar performance and the process of a transfer to Columbia College is in progress.

Guitar - Paul Rodriguez

Paul Rodriguez graduated from Elmhurst college in 2001 with a Bachelors of Music in Music Business. Paul has been teaching at Suburban Music Center since September of 2000. Paul teaches a wide variety of music to a wide variety of students, from classical music to classic rock, blues, punk, alternative and YES even country and rap. Paul enjoys every opportunity to share his love of music with his students and learns as much from them as they do from him.

Brass / Woodwinds
/ Strings / Piano -
Tom Scheffler

Tom Scheffler earned a Bachelors Degree in Music Education from Montana State University, where he learned how to play and teach band and orchestra instruments. Joining the Suburban Music staff in 2003, Tom teaches all of the brass, woodwind, and orchestral string instruments, including trumpet, trombone, flute, clarinet, saxophone, violin, viola, and cello. He also teaches piano and beginning guitar. Tom’s teaching style emphasizes the development of music sight reading and creative improvisational skills. Over the years, Tom has learned that great musicians aren’t born. Becoming a fine musician is a goal that can be achieved by determined students who have the drive to put in the time and hard work that it takes to develop the craft of playing a musical instrument.

Piano - Ralph Greco

Ralph Greco has been teaching piano for 40 years and has been at Suburban Music since we first opened. He has the patience and experience to teach piano to all types of individuals (young children to older adults) whether beginning or advanced.

Guitar/Bass - Steve Michals

Steve Michals received his AA degree in music from College of Dupage and is currently working on his BA in Musical Performance from Columbia College. Driven by a wide variety of styles, Steve received most of his influence from classical, rock, and metal. Currently Steve is playing in Gideon's Pawn, a metal band based out of the Joliet area.

Guitar - Tim Johnson

Tim Johnson is 27 years old and has been playing guitar for 14 years.
He graduated from Elmhurst College in 2001 with a BA in Music Business. Aside from playing in various jazz and classical ensembles, Tim has consistently played in several successful bands in and around Chicago at venues such as Beat Kitchen, Bottom Lounge, Lyon's Den, Martyr's, The Note, and Double Door. Accepting students of all ages, Tim has been teaching guitar for 7 years in a wide range of styles from Jazz & Classical to Rock, Pop, Blues, & Metal.

Guitar - Mark Verbeck

Starting at the wee age of 8, Mark first discovered his love for performing and listening to music while attending a school presentation that was trying to influence kids to join the school band. He was one of the many that where inspired to try playing music. He started playing Saxophone and learned the fundamentals of music until he was 12, at which point he turned his eye to the guitar.

He started playing in the basements and garages of his friends trying to play whatever they could until his interest started to grow and he needed to know more about the instrument he was holding. He began by taking lessons from local teachers until he finally enrolled into local music academy and studied under a man named Richard Wiley, who helped him open up some of the many doors the guitar holds. He then moved on from his friends basements and started playing with local bands around town, performing anywhere from local bars and clubs, to private events and parties, trying to gain as much live experience as he could.

After graduating high school he then attended the Indiana University of Pennsylvania as a music performance major. He studied classical guitar under Irving Kauffman, cellist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, as well as theory and ear training. He also played with many local bands in the area and played for college events, such as the "Pre-Exam Jam," where he opened for bands such as the Black Eyed Peas and Rusted Root. After 2 years of extensive studies, he decided to set his sights at the Berklee College of Music, where he studied various forms of music such as jazz, blues, rock, and funk. During his stay at Berklee, he discovered his love and talent for writing and performing his own music and started his band Scotch Hollow, which he still performs with today, and also discovered his love for teaching. He started by hanging flyers around the city and teaching people in their homes. He found a great joy from passing down the knowledge that was given to him and helping people love and understand music. After 4 years, he received his Bachelor's Degree in Professional Music from Berklee and moved to Nashville, where he continued to teach out of various music shops and perform.

He now resides in Chicago and currently performs around the city while giving private lessons at Suburban Music in Wheaton IL.

Drum and Percussion -
Robert Allen Wimmers

Robert is a graduate of the Musicians Institute of Hollywood, California. He specializes in Jazz, Latin, World Beat and others on the Drum Set, Congas and Djembe. Robert has been teaching drums and percussion for over three years to 150 students, ranging in ages of 5 to 55. Teaching students all styles of rhythms, rudiments, and to read music. Robert continues to play with bands based in the Chicagoland area.