Faculty Profiles

Professor Venetia Stifler draws upon a rich background in dance, theater and music. Her early training was at the Allegro School in Chicago. As a dancer she performed the works of Dan Wagner, Bill Evans, Charles Weidman and others. As a dancer the New York Times referred to Stifler as a "stunning performer" with magnetic stage presence." In 1980, she formed Venetia Stifler & Concert Dance, Inc., (CDI) a contemporary dance company which has received consistent and positive review by the press, both nationally and internationally. Stifler has choreographed over 25 major works, including the critically-acclaimed "The Chicago Project", a collaborative work combining original music and photography that used Chicago's rich architectural landscape as a vibrant backdrop.

Her choreographic work has won her numerous awards, including the coveted Ruth Page Award, given annually by the Chicago Dance and Music Alliance. Stifler earned a Ph.D. in Dance and holds a B.A. in Theatre and Music. She has trained with dance artists Bill Evans, Jennifer Mueller, Alwin Nikolais, Merce Cunningham and Dan Wagoner. Currently, Stifler is a tenured faculty member of the Department of Music and Dance at Northeastern Illinois University. She directs the Student Dance Ensemble and teaches technique and composition. She was the recent recipient of a "Faculty Excellence Award" for her work in choreography and production.

Dr. Stifler is also the Artistic Director of the Ruth Page Series. The official centennial birthday of Chicago cultural icon and international ballerina, Ruth Page, was 1999. Stifler was asked by the Ruth Page Foundation to plan and direct a year-long celebration which would bring increased recognition, and honor the much celebrated Page.

Stifler has performed as guest artist at colleges, universities and dance organizations nationwide. She has received grants from the Illinois Arts Council, the Chicago Office of Fine Arts, the Ruth Page Foundation, Quaker Oats, WPWR-TV Channel 50 Foundation, Golf Construction, and Exxon-Mobil Foundation. She has served on the dance advisory panels for the Illinois Arts Council and the Chicago Council on Fine Arts organizations, and is a charter member and past president of the board of directors of the Chicago Dance Coalition (now the Chicago Dance and Music Alliance).

Heidi J. Stirling is a professional musician and established music educator who has been teaching and performing in Chicago for over two decades. She currently teaches General Music at Solomon Elementary School in Chicago and acts as a teacher-leader, team member and advocate in many capacities within the school and broader community. Outside of the classroom, Heidi is a member of the Chicago ArtsEd Leadership Advisory Committee and the CPS Arts Plan 2.0 Working Group, both which advise CPS leadership on collective strategies and advancing a common agenda of arts education equity in Chicago Public Schools.  Heidi is thrilled to be teaching adjunct at Northeastern Illinois University and to be supporting future teachers in their academic careers. Heidi holds a B.A. in Music Education from Millikin University, a M.A. in Voice from Northeastern Illinois University, and a M.A. in Educational Leadership from the American College of Education.  She is also an ISBE Certified Teacher Evaluator, an ASPIRE Teacher Coach, and an experienced Teacher Mentor for the Chicago Public Schools New Teacher Cohort. Heidi is a two-time Grammy award-winner for Best Choral Performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. 

William J. Stone holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Northwestern University; his dissertation was on African American Vernacular English with a focus on syllable structure. He has an M.A. in Linguistics from Northeastern Illinois University. He received his B.A. in French and Geography from the University of Wolverhampton in England and a post-graduate teaching diploma in French and English from St. Paul’s College, Cheltenham, England. He taught English as a foreign language in Tunisia, Qatar and Oman for a total of 13 years and English as a second language in the Chicago area for nine years. His current research interests are affective aspects of TESL, humor and engaged learning. He is an Associate Professor at Northeastern Illinois University, where he has taught Linguistics, TESL and ESL courses for the past 22 years.

His interests include African American English, pronunciation issues, grammar teaching, religion and humor both inside and outside the classroom. These interests are frequently combined. His most recent research has been in religion and humor and affective aspects of language teaching.

Professional experience working for various banks and oil companies in Texas and Oklahoma.

Irma Suarez Ruiz,of Mexican – Puerto Rican descent, was born in Chicago. Her formal dance training in classical ballet and Spanish dance began with Dame Libby Komaiko in 1979 at Northeastern Illinois University. During that year, she received a scholarship apprenticeship to the Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater (E.E.S.D.T.). In 1980, she became a company dancer and in 1986 was promoted to First Dancer. She has also studied with important Spanish dancers/choreographers Maria Alba, Edo, Paco Alonso, Victorio Korjhan, Juanjo Linares, Roberto Lorca, Timo Lozano, Manolete, Carmela Greco; ballet with Ana Czajun, and Juan Mata & Ana González, founding members of the National Ballet of Spain. In Spain, she studied with Cristian Almodovar, Aida Gomez, Rafaela Carrasco, Belen Maya, La China, El Guito, Paco Romero and Candela Soto at the Amor de Dios Spanish/Flamenco dance studios.

As First Dancer of the EESDT, Irma Suarez Ruiz performs annually at the American Spanish Dance & Music Festival, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and on the international dance series of the Auditorium Theater at Roosevelt University. This series hosts international artists and companies such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Ballet Nacional de Cuba; and the Kirov Ballet. Ms. Ruiz has danced starring roles in Dame Libby Komaiko’s Bolero (Maurice Ravel), Memorias de Vidas Gitanas, and Pasión Sevillana (Joaquin Turina). Additionally, she has starred in EESDT’s production of El Amor Brujo (Manuel de Falla) in the role of Candela, choreographed by Juan Mata and Ana Gonzalez (founding members and former first dancers of the National Ballet of Spain ). Other starring roles include Dame Libby’s Romance de Triana and Leyenda (Isaac Albeniz), La Boda de Luis Alonso (Geronimo Gimenez) from the zarzuela (Spain’s light opera) La Noche del Encierro,” and Ecos de España, (Rimksi Korsakov).

Ms. Ruiz has received critical acclaim from the Chicago Sun-Times arts critic for her own choreography: “The company’s ‘first dancers,’ Irma Suarez Ruiz and Jorge Perez, in Amor Eterno, their powerful duet of love, rage, abandonment and passion, danced with such scorching intensity that visions of a gypsy campsite came to mind. Talk about burning up the stage.” (Hedy Weiss)

As Artistic Director for Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, she works closely with Dame Libby Komaiko on projects, and has contributed, to critical acclaim, to the company’s choreographies for national and international engagements. Irma is instructor of dance at NEIU, and on the faculty of the E.E.S.D.T. - Flamenco dance workshops open to the community.

She has appeared as a guest artist with Ballet Español's production of Espiritu Flamenco at the Bomhard Theater of the Kentucky Center for the Arts in Louisville, Kentucky; Dances of Spain with the St. Louis Cultural Flamenco Society and Gitana Productions in St. Louis, Missouri; the Chicago Human Rhythm’s Project World Festival of Tap and Percussive Dance, and for Bacchus Group Production’s Ashe of the Americas in Maui, Hawaii; San José, Costa Rica; and Walt-Disney Productions in Orlando, Florida. Her international engagements with the Ensemble Español include the Festival Internacional Cervantino Mexico where she toured 6 cities- Mexico D.F., Acapulco, Guadalajara, St. Luis Potosi, Cuernavaca and Guanajuato. In honor of the 82nd anniversary of the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico she toured 5 cities, San Juan, Ponce, Lajas, San German, and Arecibo. Irma, along with members of the Ensemble Español, toured Poland as American and NEIU ambassadors in honor of Warsaw University's 190th anniversary. This cultural/artistic exchange tour presented two sold out performances at the Polski & Collegium Nobillium Theaters, and three Flamenco dance & music workshops at: Giedroyc College of Communication & Media; Collegium Nobilium Arts Center; and Isadora Duncan Dance Academy. Following the 2008 Olympics, Irma also performed in China in the cities of Shenyang, Anshan & Quinhuandao.

Irma has received numerous awards throughout her career, including a Neighborhood Arts Project Grant from the Chicago Council on Fine Arts, and the 1993 Viva Latina Dance Master Award from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. Ms. Suarez Ruiz was honored with an Artistic Ambassador Award from the Ruth Page Foundation and Northeastern Illinois University in recognition of her international artistic achievements and contributions to dance. On October 16, 2004, Irma Suarez Ruiz, along with dance partner Jorge Pérez were honored with the Twentieth Anniversary Award from the St. Louis Cultural Flamenco Society. In 2006, Irma joined the dance faculty at Northeastern Illinois University teaching Spanish dance in the Department of Music and Dance Programs.

In October of 2007, Ms. Suarez Ruiz was presented with the Northeastern Illinois University Excellence in Fine Arts award. In the Spring of 2008, Ms. Ruiz was invited to choreograph a suite of Spanish dances for the Civic Ballet of the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. Performances were presented at the Ruth Page Center and Northeastern Illinois University. Irma is married to Antonio Ruiz and the proud mother of Crystal and Tiffany, as well as new parents of Brandon, Tyler, and Collin.

Susan Tang is Associate Professor of Piano at Northeastern Illinois University and artistic director of the Chicago Chamber Music Festival, an intensive summer workshop for young artists. 

An active professional performer, Susan enjoyed a successful New York solo piano debut at Carnegie-Weill Hall as a Winner of Artist International Management Special Presentation Winners Series. Reviews by the New York Concert Review, described her playing as having “well-grounded technique…fluid, elegant readings…highly effective interpretations.” She has also been called a pianist “with an assured playing that sparkled" by the Baltimore Sun and a “fluent pianist” by the Chicago Tribune.

Susan Tang has performed and toured with Mabou Mine’s Dollhouse, a theater company based in New York City as a pianist/actor, has been featured live on New York City’s WQXR and Chicago’s WFMT, performed with the Eastman Symphony Orchestra along with receiving the coveted Performer’s Certificate. Invitations to perform and teach have taken her throughout Canada, United States, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Colombia. She was a top prize winner at the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers' Associations National Piano Competition in Montreal and received the special jury prize at the Thousand Island International Piano Competition. She has studied at the Banff International Keyboard Festival, Van Cliburn Piano Institute and the Leipzig Summer Academy of Music. She is also the co-editor with Marc Ponthus of Elliot Carter: A Centennial Celebration, and has published articles in Clavier Magazine. She has been invited to perform at the Ravinia Festival, Jewel Box Series, Dame Myra Hess, Savannah Music Festival, University of Minnesota-Duluth, McNeese University, Dominican University, Blue Ridge Concert Series, Loyola University, Quest University, and Shriver Hall Concert Series. As an active clinician and adjudicator, Susan was the guest artist for the North Dakota Music Teachers Association state conference and is often invited to present for the local MTNA chapters. She has also presented at both the MTNA and College Music Society’s national conferences and is a member of the Royal Conservatory Of Music's college of adjudicators.  

Susan Tang received her BM and MM from the Eastman School of Music and DMA from Manhattan School of Music. Her principle teachers include Nelita True, Nina Svetlanova, Robin Wood, and Susan Magnusson.

I came to NEIU in 2008 to take up the position of Professor and Chair of Justice Studies. Prior to that, I was the Director of the Justice and Peace Studies program and an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. I love to travel and sometimes I take students to conferences here in the U.S. and to study in Guatemala, Bangladesh and South Africa. I had the opportunity to teach high school in Nigeria for a year when I was an undergraduate and so I know just how important study abroad can be. I have also done consulting and research in Guatemala, Ghana and Pakistan. While on sabbatical in South Africa in 2005-06 I worked as a researcher for a human rights NGO in Johannesburg. This is related to my work on human rights for Amnesty International which I have done since 1991, including providing court testimony in immigration cases. I currently serve on a subcommittee of AI (USA)’s board and as the advisor to NEIU’s AI Student Club. I also serve as co-chair of the board of the Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA), a group of peace studies scholars and activists in the U.S. and Canada. As the mother of a college sophomore I am currently getting to see college from several different perspectives, and I truly love working with NEIU students who are hungry to get an education.

Brian Torosian, an active soloist and chamber musician on guitar, lute, and mandolin, has performed in concerts throughout North America. In addition to the standard six-string guitar, he plays baroque guitar, Terz guitar, and 10-string guitar replicas, the latter two made for him by R. E. Bruné after 19th-century Viennese instruments. Concert performances include appearances with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Opera Theater, His Majesties Clerkes, and Classical Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Torosian completed his doctoral studies at Northwestern University with Anne Waller, and also studied with Oscar Ghiglia at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy where he received Diplomas of Merit, and an honorary scholarship. He has taken numerous master classes with Eliot Fisk, Paul O'dette, Pepe Romero, Manuel Barrueco, Robert Guthrie, Sérgio and Odair Assad, David Starobin, Mark Maxwell, Nigel North, Eduardo Fernandez, and David Russell as well as early music and continuo studies with Mary Springfels and David Schrader. Brian is the current president of the Chicago Classical Guitar Society.

Long an exponent of the music of nineteenth-century virtuoso guitarist and composer J. K. Mertz, Torosian's doctoral dissertation, Mertz in America, chronicles the music of Mertz in the United States in the early twentieth century. Brian's published editions include Mertz's Opern-Revue, Mertz's trio for violin/flute, viola, and guitar, Divertissement, Op. 32 (DGA Editions); an anthology of operatic concert works entitled Selected Operatic Fantasies of Mertz (Mel Bay); as well as new editions of Mertz's selected works published by Chanterelle Verlag, Heidelberg. His recordings include a track on the harp guitar compilation Christmas Present and a collection of Mertz’s guitar and piano duos, which features premiere recordings of newly-discovered concert works. Brian is also an accomplished electric guitarist, with over 100 compositions in contemporary popular styles.

Northeastern music majors specializing in guitar performance often elect to supplement their classical studies with lessons on jazz guitar, early music performance practice, mandolin, or lute. These students can receive permission to access to the university's guitars, mandolin, and renaissance lute.

Chicago-based bassist/composer and bandleader Matt Ulery has developed an instantly recognizable sound. Known for his sweeping lyricism, unconventional phrase structures and expressionistic emotionalism, Ulery’s music, from small, diverse chamber ensembles to full orchestras, is informed by the entire spectrum of jazz, classical, rock, pop, and folk–specifically American, South American, Balkan and other European folk styles. He has been performing for 25 years on upright, electric and brass basses.

For over two decades, Ulery has been the leader of his own groups and frequent collaborator. Ulery has produced and released 12 albums of all-original music under his name. Ulery holds music degrees from DePaul University and Roosevelt University and is in high demand as a bassist in Chicago. As a composer, Ulery has collaborated with diverse ensembles such as Eighth Blackbird, Miami String Quartet, New Millennium Orchestra of Chicago, Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Music Festival of Lexington, Axiom Brass, Wild Belle, Guimaraes (Portugal) Jazz Festival, Projeto Arcomusical, and the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition.

When not touring parts of the U.S. and Europe, Matt is extremely active in the Chicago area music scenes and has performed with his own groups at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, NYC Winter Jazz Festival, Chicago Orchestra Hall, Millennium Park Pritzker Pavillion, Chicago Cultural Center, The Krannert Center, Jazz Showcase, The Metro, Chicago Jazz Festival, Hyde Park Jazz Festival, Chicago World Music Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Guimaraes Jazz Festival, and countless other fine music listening rooms.

Matt Ulery leads and composes all the music for several of his own ensembles, including Sifting Stars Orchestra (orchestral art songs), Loom Large (jazz big band), Loom (jazz quintet), Delicate Charms (jazz quintet), Pollinator (jazz brass band), By a Little Light Ensemble (chamber jazz nonet), string quintet, and various other pet projects.