Andrew Anderson - Founder, Bassist
Andrew Anderson enjoys a rich and full performing career and teaches over a dozen bass students of all levels, as well as scores of up-and coming orchestra students each week. Andrew is acting assistant principal bass for the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, a member of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, and also performs with Joffrey Ballet, Chicago Philharmonic, and Chicago Camerata. He has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, and New World Symphony and as soloist with the National Repertory Orchestra, McCall Music Festival, and the Midwest Clinic. He has held positions in thirteen different orchestras across eight states, serving as principal bass in five of them.
Andrew holds teaching positions at wheaton conservatory, roosevelt university, and is on faculty of the Masterworks Music Festival. Andrew is the founder and executive director of the Lakeside Artists Guild, which has produced more than 300 performances since fall of 2020 including dozens of free public performances. He teaches at The Lakeside Academy in Cedar Lake, Indiana and serves as orchestra director at Illana Christian High School.
Andrew studied string pedagogy with Robert Culver at the University of Michigan, and low string pedagogy at Indiana University with Helga Winolt. Andrew has appeared regularly as a sectional coach at DePaul University, the Elgin Youth Symphony, the Chicago Youth Symphony and Midwest Young Artists. Andrew has supported public school music programs with benefit recitals in and around his hometown of Portland, Oregon. From 2011 to 2014 Andrew started a before school string ensemble at Westminster Christian School in Elgin, Illinois where he volunteered as the director.
Andrew has a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Michigan, a Master of Music Degree from Indiana University, and served as a doctoral teaching fellow at the University of North Texas.
Andrew's students are among the nation's top artists, filling roles in major symphonies, and winning many international solo competition.
Benton Wedge - Artistic Director, Violinist, Violist
Benton Wedge is a professional viola player and has played with Music of the Baroque, Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and The Grant Park Symphony. He was formerly a member of the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa and the Fidelio String Quartet, based in Lisbon, Portugal, where he also performed numerous solo recitals. Ben has served as principal violist for the Sarasota and Spoleto Opera Festivals, as well as the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared on Empire, The Oprah Show, and Home Alone 2! He has performed live with numerous artists including Hugh Jackman, Michael Buble, Seth McFarlane, and many others.
As a composer, Ben’s music has been performed by the William Ferris Chorale, the choir of Old St. Patrick’s Church, 4spiel, the Covington String Quartet, and members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra.
In addition to his work with Cadence, Ben is the Artistic Director of the Lakeside Artists Guild and teaches at The Lakeside Academy in Cedar Lake, Indiana. He is also the orchestra conductor at South Suburban College, in South Holland, Illinois.
Ben has received both Bachelor’s and Master of Music degrees from Northwestern University with Professor Peter Slowik.
Patricia White - Personnel Manager, Cellist
Patricia White was introduced to the cello at the age of 9 and at the age of 16, she made her debut as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as a result of winning the Young Performer's competition. Patricia also won the Union League, Civic & Arts Foundation prize and the Society of American Musicians competition.
Patricia attended the Juilliard School, from which she received both her bachelor's and master's degrees in cello performance.
Patricia is active as a performer and as a teacher.
She plays with the Northwest Indiana Symphony, and is principal cellist of the South Shore Orchestra. As a chamber musician, she plays with Lakeside Artists and Stringsound Ensembles.
In 2021, Patricia joined the faculty of Olivet Nazarene University, to teach cello.
Tamara Ringas - Violinist
Tamara began her violin studies at the age of 3 with her father but soon moved to Betty Haag’s Suzuki School. She had her first encounter performing the Bach Double Violin Concerto in Chicago’s Orchestra Hall at the age of 7. She later studied with Jacques Israelievitch and David Moll of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Admitted into Indiana University’s School of Music, Tamara studied with Franco Gulli, renowned teacher Joseph Gingold, and received her pedagogy training from Mimi Zweig. After completing her master’s degree in 1990, Tamara won the Rose Faye Thomas Centennial Award which resulted in another performance at Orchestra Hall and many other performances around the Chicagoland area. She has been a member of the Northwest Indiana Symphony and the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the Wachala Flute trio, and currently performs regularly with Stringsound Ensembles. It was during her studies with Mimi Zweig that Tamara became interested in teaching. As she discovered how to overcome her own technical and performance challenges, her passion for teaching grew. Tamara has taught advanced violin for the Barrington Suzuki School as well as the Northwest Indiana Suzuki School. Since 2001, she has maintained her own private studio in Chesterton, IN with between 30-40 students, ages 3-20, several pursuing performance degrees and careers with reputable orchestras.
Rebekah Cope Evers - Violinist
Rebekah grew up in the United Kingdom. She studied at Chetham’s School of Music, and received a Bachelors degree from The Royal Northern College of Music. She moved to the U.S to continue her studies at Northwestern University where she earned a Masters Degree in violin. Her teachers have included Yossi Zivoni, Gerardo Ribiero and Shmuel Ashkenasi, of the Vermeer Quartet. Rebekah has performed chamber and solo concerts across the United States and Europe. In Chicago, she performs Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time annually every Palm Sunday. For the last 12 years she has been a member of Quartet Parapluie. Orchestrally, she has performed with Elgin Symphony and Chicago Philharmonic, as well as for the Bolshoi and San Francisco Ballet. Rebekah has also performed with artists such as The Beach Boys, Rod Stewart, Tony Bennett, and The Album Leaf.
She has been involved in numerous recording projects, most notably a solo violin track for the 2015 Fiat Super Bowl Commercial. Rebekah has a passion for teaching. She maintains a private studio and is on faculty at Olivet Nazarene University as professor of violin and viola. Former students have gone on to study music at Oberlin and DePaul.
Lisa Kristina - Pianist
Dr. Lisa Kristina, a native of Chicago Heights, earned music degrees from DePaul University, the Manhattan School of Music and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She appeared onstage in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, on Broadway, on tour in the U.S., and in Germany. She has played concert tours in China, Lithuania and Canada, including several appearances around the US with violinist Hal Grossman. She has also played keyboards for Chicago Opera Theater, New Philharmonic Orchestra, Elgin Symphony, Rockford Symphony, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, and Northwest Indiana Symphony; and for major professional productions of Phantom, Cats, and Miss Saigon. Dr. Kristina continues to keep busy as a singer, pianist and voice teacher, even after winning some money in 2017 as a two-time Jeopardy! champion. She has been the organist at St. Peter’s UCC in Frankfort since 2018, and is the principal accompanist for several choruses in the Chicago Southland. She is thrilled to be a part of the Lakeside Artists Guild!