Sunflower Chamber Orchestra School of Music 1514 Lathrop Avenue, River Forest, IL 60305

"I attended the last performance of Sunflower Chamber Orchestra at Dominican University. Excellent performance, especially the soloists."

"An impressive job by these teachers: teaching these children. Thoroughly enjoyed the recitals. Violins and Cellos make beautiful music. They are taught well."

"I was invited by my friend to attend the last three Sunflower Chamber Orchestra recitals and concerts which I attended and thoroughly enjoyed. I was amazed at the level of expertise of the student performance. The Sunflower Chamber Orchestra instructors are doing a superbly excellent job teaching the next generation of wonderful musicians!"

"I am a proud student of Eloise Meloni, having restarted lessons last April, 2018 after a 30 year break. I originally started learning to play the violin using the Suzuki method with my daughter who was 5 at the time. My daughter and I never learned to play well nor did we learn music theory. My daughter was discouraged and stopped after 1 year and I continued for another year but never felt as though I could play well as my playing was "robotic and mechanical" having not learned proper techniques, theory, and note reading skills. I learned to read notes eventually on my own and would pick up my violin from time to time to attempt to play well; particularly, after attending Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts. I was always intrigued, inspired by, and drawn to classical violin and orchestra music; in awe with the upmost respect and appreciation for the musicians. My desire to play well was overshadowed by my doubt of my ability to do so. At this mature time of my life, in the midst of running a business and being involved with various church activities with a full and challenging schedule, I decided last March to find an professional violin teacher that I could respect and learn from to work towards being the best violist I can become. I was blessed to find Eloise who has shared her gift of music as an accomplished violinist and teacher with me. I am amazed at how much I have learned and accomplished since starting with her nearly one year ago. Eloise is encouraging, supportive, and pushes me to achieve what she knows I can accomplish beyond my own expectations. I am continuing to work hard to accomplish my long term goal of playing my violin as beautifully as she does which is quite the goal considering she has been playing since she was 4 years old and was trained in Italy and the Moscow Conservatory with a vast array of experience. I do my best to spend 1-2 hours practicing daily to achieve this goal and have found it to be quite relaxing at the end of each day; although challenging, it helps me unwind and reduce stress, as the beauty of the music and rewards from the accomplishment of my efforts are revealed. I can honestly say taking lessons with Eloise was life changing, inspiring, rewarding, and most importantly a blessing in my life. After attending a Sunflower Chamber Orchestra and subsequent student recital shortly after starting lessons with Eloise, I was amazed at how well Eloise's and Mohannad's students played under their direction and instruction. I was and am continually truly inspired by the accomplishments of their young students and members of the Sunflower Chamber Orchestra. I have invited many friends to attend these performances who are equally impressed with the performances of the students and orchestra. I played in my first student recital last November, something I never thought I would do as all I wanted was to play well for myself. I am working hard to perfect a piece of music to perform in the upcoming May 25, 2019 student recital. With Eloise and Mohannnad's love of music, talent, encouragement, and inspiration, as well as their students, I know I will continue to work hard the rest of my life to become the best violinist I can become. I highly recommend Eloise Meloni and Mohannad Al Zahabi for music instruction for children and adults and encourage you to attend upcoming student recitals and Sunflower Chamber Orchestra performances which showcase the beauty of classical music, instruments, and the extraordinary talents of these teachers and students."

"The orchestra is amazing! My daughter gets a lot of fun with teachers and peers. I can't believe that those children can play such wonderful music only within one year."