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Directors

Greg Bimm

Director of Bands, Greg Bimm

Greg Bimm has served as Director of Bands at Marian Catholic High School since 1977. Under his direction, the Marian Catholic Band has become one of the premier high school band programs in the United States. Mr. Bimm has received numerous National Band Association Citations of Excellence. He was named the 1983 national winner of the American School Band Directors Association (ASBDA) Stanbury award for young band directors, and received the Sudler Order of Merit from the John Philip Sousa Foundation in both 1991 and 1997. He was elected to membership in the prestigious American Bandmasters Association in 1994, and In 1995, was the first high school band director in twenty-five years to be invited to conduct the Illinois All-State Band. In 1999, he was among the first to be awarded the “Mary Hoffman” Award of Excellence by the Illinois Music Educators Association, and in 2000 was recognized for his contributions in support of arts education by the Illinois Alliance for Arts Education. In 2005, Mr. Bimm was elected to the Music for All/Bands of America Hall of Fame and in 2006 was named a Lowell Mason Fellow by the National Association for Music Education. Mr. Bimm was presented with the Distinguished Service Award by the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2010, and was inducted into the inaugural class of the Illinois State University College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame. In 2013, he was the first active band director to be awarded the Chicagoland Music Educator John Paynord Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr. Bimm holds degrees from Illinois State and Western Illinois Universities and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Music Education from the Vandercook College of Music. In additional to his role as Director of Bands, Mr. Bimm has performed as conductor, clinician, adjudicator, drill writer, and music arranger throughout the United States and Canada. Professional affiliations include the American Bandmasters Association,the American School Band Directors Association,the Illinois Music Education Association (IMEA), the National Association for Music Education, the National Catholic Band Association, the National Band Association, Phi Beta Mu, and Phi Mu Alpha. He has served on the Illinois High School Association Music Advisory Committee, and has served as Band Division chairman, District I and state equipment manager for IMEA.

Jeremy Turner '09, Assistant Director of Bands

 

 

Angelo Makropoulos, Assistant Director of Bands, Director of Percussion 

A music educator from the South Chicago suburbs, Angelo Makropoulos received his degree in Music Education with a minor in Music Business from Western Illinois University where he was drum major for the WIU Marching Leathernecks and principal percussionist of the WIU Bands/Orchestra. In addition to teaching Jr. High and High School Band, Mr. Makropoulos worked with the Marian Catholic Marching Band for several years prior to joining the faculty in 2019. He is active as an arranger and sound designer for multiple high school bands and Winter Percussion Ensembles. During the summer, Mr. Makropoulos is on staff with The Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps. He is an alumnus of the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps and is endorsed by Mapex/Majestic Percussion Instruments, Innovative Percussion, and Zildjian Cymbals.
Angelo Makropoulos

Kate McIlvain '03, Colorguard Director

Color Guard Director Kate McIlvain joined the staff as color guard dance instructor and choreographer in 2012 and has served in her current role as director since 2018. In addition to her work at Marian Catholic, Ms. McIlvain is a member of the administrative staff for the Bluecoats School of the Arts, an arm of the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps in Canton, Ohio.

After participating in the band and color guard program at Marian Catholic, Ms.McIlvain went on to earn degrees in dance and English from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she gained extensive training in ballet, modern, and jazz technique. As part of her undergraduate program, she performed in works by Cynthia Oliver, Linda Lehovec, Rebecca Nettl-Fiol, Phillip Johnston, Kate Corby, Denise Posnak, & Justin Jacobs. Since graduation, Ms. McIlvain has continued her technical training through Lou Conte Dance Studio. Additionally, she has studied with Chicago choreographers Alejandro Cerrudo, Billy Siegenfeld, and Glenn Leslie, as well as New York choreographers Tere O’Connor, Lynn Simonson, Brian Brooks, and Mark Morris.

After graduation, Ms. McIlvain served as the Technical Director for the Country Club Hills Theatre and as the Managing Director of the Jump Rhythm Jazz Project before landing at SitStayRead where she has worked for the last ten years. SitStayRead is a nonprofit literacy organization whose mission is to advance children’s literacy skills using an engaging curriculum, certified dogs, and dedicated volunteers. Kate has served SitStayRead in many roles, including Volunteer Coordinator, Program Manager, Program Director, and currently, as the Interim Executive Director.

In addition to her work at Marian Catholic and SitStayRead, Kate is an active performer in the Chicago area, regularly appearing in dance concerts, musical theatre, and storytelling events. Her professional affiliations include the Yoga Alliance and the American Guild of Musical Artists.