Meet the Teachers

Emi Lee Frantz (she/her) is a singer, voice teacher, and music director in the Chicagoland area. Emi received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance at Christopher Newport University and University of Kentucky, respectively. Emi has performed with the Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company, AlphaBet Soup Productions, The Cabaret Project, the Chicago Musical Theatre Festival, and the Beverly Arts Center. She has recently started to focus more of her efforts on the artistic LGBTQ community through Pride Films & Plays and volunteering at About Face Theatre.

Emi spends most of her time teaching humans of all ages voice, piano, and ukulele. She started ELFI Studio in 2018 teaching only voice and piano lessons. Over the years, it has grown into a studio with 5 teachers and over 70 students! Emi strives to create an atmosphere of acceptance and confidence at the studio. She is honored to be teaching you and your children! 

Miss Emi

Raised in a musical household in Flagstaff, AZ, Alice (She/her) has music in her veins! She grew up attending the symphony orchestra and spotting her mom among the violinists and jazz concerts to find her dad behind the keyboard. She is happy to be following in her mom’s music teacher footsteps! Alice performed in her first stage-musical, ANNIE, at eight-years-old and immediately caught the theater-bug. She was soon in choirs, private voice lessons, dance classes, and on every stage she could find. Alice sang, danced, and acted her way to the University of Utah, where she graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre.

Alice continued her classical voice education at the U, studying vocal pedagogy, music theory, and private voice. She discovered her love of teaching while working at theatre camps. Since then, she has worked in numerous childcare facilities, theatre for young audiences, privately with individual families, and online teaching English as a Second Language to kids across the globe.

Alice is passionate about teaching and performing and loves combining these passions in her voice studio. She aims to help students grow into the best versions of themselves and strives to provide a safe space where they have opportunities to make mistakes, try new things, and play! Alice is a professional singer and has worked and performed in Arizona, Utah, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois.

Alice loves dogs, crafts, dance, and strawberry ice cream. She can’t wait to sing with you!
Emi spends most of her time teaching humans of all ages voice, piano, and ukulele. She started ELFI Studio in 2018 teaching only voice and piano lessons. Over the years, it has grown into a studio with 5 teachers and over 70 students! Emi strives to create an atmosphere of acceptance and confidence at the studio. She is honored to be teaching you and your children! 

Miss Alice

Mary-Helen (she/her) opened her artistic sights to acting in college, graduating with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Acting from the University of Utah. She continued her musical education at the U through piano lessons, singing classes, and private voice, as well as teaching classes to children ages 8-18 at the same summer camp she attended, Youth Theatre at the U. She also studied pre-Occupational Therapy in college, taking courses in childhood development, psychology, and anatomy. These classes have played a huge role in her passion for teaching through research-based practices.

Growing up in her Los Angeles childhood home, Mary-Helen was raised to the soundtrack of her parents’ diverse musical tastes, from composer Bach to rock band Queen. Inheriting a love of music from her family, she was very quickly introduced to piano in elementary school. She spent the next 10 years in lessons exploring that same variety of music her parents introduced her to, playing everything from The Beatles to Rachmaninoff.

In her piano teaching, Mary-Helen loves to pull from her varied artistic training and teaches through a holistic approach of building musical instincts, learning through games, and finding the autonomy that comes with musical independence. Music brings so much joy to Mary-Helen’s life, and she aims to pass on to those of all ages how to rock out to Beethoven, contemplate jazz, and sing one’s heart out to Broadway.
Alice continued her classical voice education at the U, studying vocal pedagogy, music theory, and private voice. She discovered her love of teaching while working at theatre camps. Since then, she has worked in numerous childcare facilities, theatre for young audiences, privately with individual families, and online teaching English as a Second Language to kids across the globe.

Ms. Mary-Helen

Miss Gina

Gina Montalvo (she/they) is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Chicago. She was a performer in musical theatrical productions from 2012 to 2020 but has shifted towards Stage Management, Teaching Artistry, and Music Production. She is currently in her final year at DePaul University studying Directing and Music Recording, has formal vocal training, is a self-taught ukulele and piano player, and has been writing songs consistently for 7 years. Within the past year, she has worked for Free Street Theater as a Stage Manager and Teaching Artist, Noble Street College Prep as a Music Director, Navy Pier, Destinos Theater Festival, and devised/sound designed for a show featured in the Steppenwolf Lookout Series. She recently released her first single “Lovely” on all streaming platforms and is excited to get started teaching for ELFI Music Studio!

Miss Lauren

Lauren (She/Her) grew up in Las Vegas, NV, where her first experience in music was in piano lessons, which she took from the age of 5 through her senior year in high school. Her time in Las Vegas was spent exploring vocal jazz, musical theatre, dance, piano, and opera. Finding a special love for opera, she went on to study classical vocal performance at Wheaton College. 
 
After completing her Bachelor’s degree, Lauren pursued her passion for classical singing in her Master’s and Doctoral degree at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Her doctoral research was on the Norwegian art songs of Agathe Backer-Grøndahl, and she is an advocate for performing works of female composers. New to the Oak Park area, Lauren is a professional coloratura soprano with a love for all things on the stage, and can be found performing in opera, operetta, musical theatre and the occasional karaoke night!
 
She fell in love with teaching while she was the Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Lauren believes in empowering every student to become the best musician they can be and providing a fun and joyful learning environment for students of all ages! She is a strong proponent of giving every student, regardless of background or experience, the opportunity to find their own unique voice. When she is not teaching or performing, Lauren loves to play games, knit, run, and cuddle with her dog, Bird and cat, Leonard.
Emi spends most of her time teaching humans of all ages voice, piano, and ukulele. She started ELFI Studio in 2018 teaching only voice and piano lessons. Over the years, it has grown into a studio with 5 teachers and over 70 students! Emi strives to create an atmosphere of acceptance and confidence at the studio. She is honored to be teaching you and your children! 

Miss Georgia

Georgia Jacobson (she/her/hers) is a singer and voice teacher based in the Chicagoland area. Georgia was born in Nice, France and raised in Duluth, Minnesota by an opera singing mother and poet aunt. One of her earliest memories is as a toddler, playing with Polly Pockets underneath a piano while her mom taught voice lessons. She discovered her own love for singing through choir in high school, and followed this passion to college at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities where she received her Bachelor’s of Music in Vocal Performance. After her time in Minneapolis, Georgia moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to attend the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music for her Master’s of Music and Artist Diploma in Voice/Opera. Georgia maintains an active performing career while teaching, and has sung with the Kentucky Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Aspen Music Festival, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. As a conservatory student, she began to teach a private studio of singers and pianists, as well as ESL to online students—and discovered the joy of teaching! Before moving to Chicago, she taught voice and piano students of all ages at the Angeles Academy of Music in Los Angeles, California, as well as at Lake Superior College in Duluth, Minnesota. Georgia believes that a supportive and warm learning environment is best for students to thrive and to feel seen and accepted. Understanding that singing is personal and vulnerable, she prioritizes trust and collaboration in the studio, allowing students to embrace exploration, experimentation, and even the occasional failure that comes with trying something new! Georgia’s goal is to empower students with the tools and confidence they need to thrive in music and beyond. 

Mr Erik

Erik Barrientos (He/Him) is an easy going, fun-loving teacher from west Michigan. His musical journey started at 12 years old when he began learning 70's and 80's metal hits on guitar. In high school, he dove into the world of musical theatre and choir, which left him with a lifelong love for performance. From then on he has been in various choirs and bands, including a mariachi group in Michigan. Today, Erik is looking forward to meeting you and guiding you through your musical journey!

Miss Chayanne

Chayanne is a soulful singer-songwriter and passionate voice teacher originally from Boston, now rooted in Chicago. Her musical journey began with a deep love for storytelling, harmony, and the healing power of music. Over the years, she has blended genres like gospel, R&B, folk, and country to create a sound that’s both timeless and uniquely her own.

She brings that same heart and creativity into her lessons—focusing not just on technique, but on helping students connect with their authentic voice and build confidence along the way.

Chayanne is especially passionate about nurturing young artists and helping them express themselves boldly through music. Whether you’re preparing for the stage or just beginning to explore your voice, she’ll meet you where you are and help you grow.

She’s excited to be part of your musical journey and can’t wait to sing with you soon!