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About Us:

Mim Eichmann

After several decades as the artistic director and choreographer of Midwest Ballet Theatre in the Chicago area, Mim Eichmann’s involvement as a musician and singer/songwriter has fairly recently replaced her dance pursuits. In addition to her work with Trillium, she has written and released two original children’s cds with Trillium’s Doug Lofstrom: Wander Down Beyond the Rainbow and Why Do Ducks Ducks Have Webby Toes? and has created a live children’s show called “Miss Mim & Friends – Music & Movement” which performs many of these songs throughout the Chicago area.

Although hammered dulcimer playing styles are quite unique to every individual, her HD style is influenced by Bill Robinson, Dona Benkert, Kendra Ward and Tony Elman. Her primary vocal inspirations include Alison Krause, Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh, Loreena McKennitt, Eva Cassidy, Julie Andrews and Enya.

Mim has just published a new historical fiction novel titled "A Sparrow Alone". Please visit her author site at: www.mimeichmann.com for more information.
 

Doug Lofstrom

Doug Lofstrom has been playing bass for more years than he can remember and in just about every possible genre imaginable!  His extensive experience in composing and arranging serves Trillium well when conjuring up new material for the group’s eclectic repertoire. 

Over the years, among his many music-related credits, he has been musical director for Chicago’s Free Street Theatre and composer-in-residence for the Evanston’s Symphony of the Shores.  He teaches bass, music composition and music theory at Columbia College Chicago.  His group, Doug Lofstrom and The New Quartet, which performs extensively in the Chicago area, recently released its newest CD entitled One Voice.

For more information about Doug, visit his web site at: www.DougLofstrom.com

 

 

Paula Johannesen

A classical violinist, violist and fiddler in the Chicagoland area, Paula Johannesen recently finished her tenure with Civic Orchestra of Chicago where she enjoyed performing under Riccardo Muti, Marin Alsop, Sir Andrew Davis, Nicholas Kraemer and Yo-Yo Ma. She has also studied with David Taylor, Rachel Barton-Pine, and Drew Lecher.

In 2014 Paula started playing Irish fiddle and worked with the Silkroad Ensemble at Global Musician Workshop in many folk styles, mentored by Mike Block, Sandeep Das, Abigail Washburn, and Bruce Molksy. She's also worked with Tim McDonald on Scottish fiddle, and took 5th in the Scottish Fiddling Revival (or Scottish F.I.R.E) annual National Scottish Fiddle Championships in 2021. She’s performed with several folk bands in the Chicagoland area, and began performing with Trillium in the summer of 2021.

Paula has over 15 years of teaching experience and is on faculty at Benedictine University and Elgin Community College. Her students perform in several area youth symphonies and a few have gone on to major in music.
 

 

Jon Ball

Jon Ball comes at music from all angles. A multi-instrumentalist, Jon started playing guitar at the age of 9.  His formal training is as a trombonist and brass specialist. Recently retired after 35 years as a school band director and award-winning teacher, Jon is now full time as a singer and player of guitar/bass/banjo/ukulele and more. In addition to his playing and singing with various folk groups, he is also on staff as the contemporary worship leader at his church.

Jon brings his many talents to Trillium with spirited guitar and vocal stylings.

 

 

Past Members of Trillium

Ed Hall

In Memoriam
Very sadly, Ed Hall passed away on March 15, 2016. Ed had played guitar and banjo for Trillium since the group was formed in 2005. A memorial gathering and celebration of Ed's life was held at the Woodstock Opera House on Saturday, March 26, 2016. His lightning fast finger-style guitar work and dry wit truly lit up every Trillium performance. Also a well-known soloist throughout the Midwest, Ed coaxed the seemingly impossible out of tunes that were not typically played on one guitar. Instrumentals like The William Tell Overture, Hoedown from Rodeo by Copland, The Hungarian Rhapsody II by Liszt, and The Theme From Peter Gunn were just a few of the many tunes in his stunning solo repertoire. In September 1991 he won the coveted International Fingerpicking Championship at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas.
 

 

Jonathan De Souza

Jonathan De Souza has played the violin for as long as he can remember. He started lessons at the age of three, following the Suzuki method. Growing up in Ontario, Canada, Jonathan and his family made music at living-room singsongs, at church, and around the campfire. He enjoys playing many instruments and many styles, including traditional fiddling, jazz, and classical chamber music.

 

For his BMus, Jonathan attended the University of Western Ontario in his hometown of London, Canada. Here he led the university orchestra’s viola section and majored in theory and composition. His compositions range from choral/orchestral concert works to experimental electronic sound installations to musicals for schoolchildren.

 

Jonathan has written extensively for the stage, as both a playwright and a composer. He has toured the Canadian fringe theatre circuit, getting warm reviews and a few awards: The Devil Loves to Haggle (2003, co-written with Peter Cavell) and You Kiss by the Book (2005) each won Best Musical at the Brickenden Awards for Excellence in London (ON) Theatre.

In 2005, Jonathan and his wife, Heather, moved to England, where he did a master’s degree at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is currently pursuing doctoral studies in music theory at the University of Chicago and joined Trillium in October, 2008.

 

Paul Russell

When Paul Russell was five years old, his dad took him by the hand and they went on a walk.  Paul asked where they were going, but his dad said that it was a surprise.   They came back with a violin, which was the beginning of Paul’s exciting musical journey.

During high school he spent three years in Chicago’s Protégé Philharmonic where he studied violin with director Joseph Glymph.  Simultaneously he spent many hours jamming with friends on bass and guitar.  At age 14 he discovered the mandolin and was drawn to bluegrass and Irish music.  He is currently studying composition at Columbia College Chicago and is an often featured performer in Columbia’s New Music Ensemble.

 

Jordi Kleiner

At the age of 5, Jordi began studying violin, long enough ago to get the squeak out. He has played classical music in multiple orchestras, including the World Youth Symphony Orchestra at Interlochen, and Swarthmore College Orchestra, before founding a violin studio.

Twenty years ago, Jordi landed in his musical home of improvisational and collaborative genres, where he now writes original tunes and has the pleasure of "putting the icing on the cake" of some of the finest singer-songwriters in the Chicagoland area. Jordi draws primarily from traditions of Irish Fiddling, Chicago Blues, Eastern European Gypsy, American Bluegrass, Argentinian Tango, French Gypsy Jazz, Viennese Waltzes, and Brasilian Choro.

 

Louise Brodie

Louise Brodie has been fiddling around the Chicago area since 1999. She took a turn towards fiddle in college and has never looked back! Her specialties are Celtic and swing. She has been a featured performer at the Fleadh Cheoil in Derry Ireland, at the University of Chicago Folk Festival, at the Elmhurst College World Music Festival and more. Louise won a number of fiddle contests in the bluegrass genre as a young lass and recently took first place at the Scottish FIRE fiddle contest in Portland Oregon. Louise’s bands have been very successful as well. Her Bluegrass band High Cross Road won several contests and played at Bill Monroe’s Bean Blossom Festival. The Flatland Band performed at the Chicago lakefront festival and Glen Ayre performed at the Chicago Celtic Fest a number of times. Louise has been a featured musician and leader at the On Earth Peace annual Song and Story Fest. She also has a studio of over 20 young violin and piano performers. Louise has recorded on other folk’s albums countless times and has one cd of her own with her former band Glen Ayre, The Uneven Bridge. Most recently, Louise has been adding her Celtic and swing flair to Trillium.
 

 

Scott Sedlacek

Although at age 13, Scott was begging for an electric guitar, his mom wisely opted for an acoustic one instead. As he became more involved with his guitar work and songwriting, he attended Columbia College Chicago, majoring in music. After he graduated, Scott was hired to work as Columbia’s Music Theater Department’s AV/tech director. Additionally, he worked as a sound engineer, coordinator and guitarist for the Chicago Jazz Ensemble.

He has also played shows for the Mercury Theater Chicago as well as many other theater productions throughout the Chicago area. Scott’s music influences run the gamut from Charlie Christian to Steve Vai, and there’s a special place in his heart for anything by Hank Williams.

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