Institute of Music

Kasia Szczech-Dlugosz is a Chicago based composer, pianist, and harpist who is working to take music to a whole new level. Graduating from DePaul University studying Composition under Christopher Jones and Seung-Won Oh, in addition, completing a Master's Degree in Music Education has lead her to experiences allowing her ideas to flourish. 

Her interest in contemporary classical new music, education, and show production has sparked at the Chicago Academy for the Arts where she attended high school. Ensemble Dal Niente guitarist, Jesse Langen, has been her mentor since beginning her high school studies.
Kasia has been internationally commissioned by ensembles from various locations around the globe. Examples include: DissonArt Ensemble in Greece and Ensemble Dal Niente in Chicago, Illinois. Kasia also participated in forming and touring with Chicago Arts Initiative, directed by Jesse Langen. Chicago Arts Initiative has collaborated with Studio MusikFabrik in Chicago and Darmstadt, Germany in the International New Music Festival. Furthermore, Kasia has attended music festivals and exchange programs such as: SOTA in Singapore, The International Music Festival in Castelnuovo de Garfagnana Italy, and School of the Arts Montreal, Canada.

Throughout the year Kasia can be found composing works that take one through a variation of sounds that blossom in your imagination. She keeps her roots and traditions by incorporating many Polish Folklore Highlander melodies in her music. Since the age of 6, Kasia has dreamt of forming her own orchestra, composing music, and conducting while simultaneously helping those in need. With this dream, A Magical Keys Christmas Extravaganza was born, creating a non-profit organization. 

In 2024, The Magical Keys Method was born as Kasia studied and researched for over 7 years the best way to teach basic music theory at the youngest age possible. The goal was and is to make the learning of it all fun. Publishing the „Scales Express” series in April of 2024, she has two other series; „Interval Express” and „Note Express” that are in the process of being published in year 2025. As she learned from a young age; „Smart Artists make Smart Art”.

Kasia currently resides as the Music Director at St. Albert the Great. Alongside her sister, violinist Karolina Szczech, the two brought to life the Magical Keys Institute of Music in Palos Hills, IL where they are teaching their crafts on: piano, violin, harp, and voice accompanied by Julie Potsic, soprano and Stephen Boi, pianist.

Violinist Karen Szczech is a first-generation Polish-American from Chicago, Illinois. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance studying with Dr. Lenora Marya-Anop, a Minor in Psychology while also completing her Suzuki training in Books 1 through 6 with Vera McCoy-Sulentic at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, she continued her musical studies completing a Master’s Degree in Violin Performance from University of Wisconsin-Madison studying under the tutelage of Dr. Dawn Wohn.  In addition, she has studied closely with Dr. Nicholas Hatt, Dr. Kinga Augustyn, and Dr. Renée-Paule Gauthier.  Prior to her university studies, Karen graduated from The Chicago Academy for the Arts studying violin under Rachel Brown and composition under Jesse Langen. 

As a violinist and composer, Karen has premiered and performed works in multiple festivals throughout North America and Europe. Such festivals include: Darmstadt New Music Festival in Darmstadt, Germany; Omaha Under the Radar in Omaha, Nebraska; Ear Taxi Festival; Chicago Trio Workshop; Chicago Summer Opera in Chicago, Illinois; Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, Nebraska; and Emerald Coast Chamber Music Festival in Florida. Karen’s pieces have been premiered by the Grammy Award winning ensemble, Eighth BlackBird in May of 2016 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, representing the Kerry James Marshall exhibit. As an ensemble member, she is also the violinist of Chicago Arts Initiative (CAI), directed by Jesse Langen which has collaborated with Studio MusikFabrik at the Darmstadt New Music Festival in Darmstadt, Germany and International New Music Festival in Chicago, Illinois.

Throughout the year, Karen can be found teaching and performing at St. Fabian Church in Bridgeview as the Children’s Music Director, at Chicago Center for Music Education (ChiME), and at Magical Keys. During the summers, Karen holds the position as one of the violin faculty for Summer Music Clinic in Madison, Wisconsin. An active chamber and orchestral musician, Karen regularly performs with chamber ensembles and symphony orchestras in the Midwest.

Julie Potsic is a talented lyric soprano based in the Chicago area, recognized for her captivating performances both locally and internationally. She has sung across the country and overseas, including notable appearances in Italy, Austria, Romania, and Bulgaria, and has graced the stage with the Magical Keys Christmas Extravaganza.

Currently, Julie serves as the choir director and piano class instructor at Thornton Fractional South High School, where she passionately nurtures the next generation of musicians. In addition to her teaching role, she conducts musical theatre productions and actively supports her school’s drama club, fostering a love for the arts in her students.

When she’s not sharing her musical talents, Julie cherishes time with her family, enjoying adventures with her husband, Bob, and their two sons, Magnus and Henrik. Julie holds a Bachelor of Music from Western Michigan University and a Master of Music from Saint Xavier University.

Stephen was raised in a family of musicians. He picked up the guitar to learn with his brother, he stood at a drum to learn with his grandfather, and he sat at the piano to learn with his mother. She prepared him to study with her teacher, Don Miller, who further prepared Stephen for a degree in music at DePaul University, where he studied and played with renowned musicians, artists, composers, and performers. His father, a master craftsman, inspired him to build music, to explore the workings of acoustic instruments, and to seek out the limits of the musical material. Composing and recording, inventing and examining music to its basic phenomena, Stephen's musical journey has brought him full circle. Now, as a teacher, he takes further inspiration from his father's instruction of olympic medalists and athletic champions, dedicating himself to train and mentor musicians who are wanting to play their best music. His aim is to encourage successful practice techniques, competency of the fundamental musical elements, and the literacy required to interpret scores and communicate within the musical family, underscored by a vibrant passion for the art, to prepare each student to fully take on their journey within music.