Jeffrey L. Cappelli was born and raised in River Forest. He attended Oak Park River Forest High School, where he was a repeat winner of the Concerto Competition, and the recipient of the Frederick Chopin Outstanding Musician award. During that time he was also a repeat winner of the Society of American Musicians, Illinois State Music Teachers Association, Geneva competitions, and a winner in the Steinway Piano competition. Jeff also received a scholarship from the MacDowell Artist Society of Oak Park. Prior to college, Jeffrey was a student of his parents, Dr. Amo and Nancy Cappelli of River Forest, Mr. Alex Joseffi of Chicago, and Dr. Donald Isaac of Northwestern University.
Jeffrey attended Indiana University where he received Bachelor and Master's degrees in Piano Performance. There he studied with Dr. Karen Shaw and Michel Bloch. Jeffrey served as associate instructor of piano at both I.U. and IUPUI campus's during his graduate studies. Locally, Jeffrey has performed as soloist with the Oak Park and River Forest Symphony, at the Unity Temple, 19th Century Club & Cantigny and in Benefit Concerts sponsored by the Cappelli Institute of Music for Ronald McDonald House, Northwestern University Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Center and Misericordia.
Jeffrey began teaching privately in the Chicago area in 1980, and soon after founded the Cappelli Institute of Music in Oak Park where he is director. The Cappelli Institute (www.cappellimusic.com) now has 18 instructors and offers private music instruction for piano, violin, viola, guitar, harp, bass, drums and voice. Jeffrey owns and runs Piano Renaissance, LLC (http://pianoren.com/), a Chicago area complete piano rebuilding and refinishing business in Forest Park, Illinois. He also is an RPT (Registered Piano Technician) in the Chicago Chapter of the Piano Technicians Guild. Jeffrey resides in River Forest with his wife Elizabeth, sons Jonathan and Paul and daughter Julia.
Jeffrey is an instructor at the Chicago School for Piano Technology (http://pianotechschool.com/) and offers courses in piano regulation and repairs at the school as well as a class entitled: "Playing the Piano as a Piano
Technician".
