DGN Welcomes New Faces to the Fine Arts Team!

Mr. Belford Hernandez

North High School and District 99 are pleased to welcome Mr. Belford Hernandez and Ms. Elizabeth Vaughan to the Fine Arts Department.  

Mr. Hernandez will co-teach the North High Concert Band and at South he will co-teach Freshmen Choir, Concert Choir and teach Digital Music.  Mr. Hernandez is an accomplished conductor, arranger, and composer for vocalists, choral groups, and instrumentalists. He has also performed in piano recitals as a featured artist and chamber music player in Venezuela, Colombia, Jamaica, Ecuador, Canada, and United States as well as Piano Collaborator for professional choirs and vocal ensembles. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from the Adventist University of Colombia, a Master in Choral Music Education from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, and he is a Doctoral candidate from Concordia University. In addition to his teaching service in District 99, Mr. Hernandez serves as a Choral Director at Benedictine University (Lisle, IL), Music Director at Hinsdale United Methodist (Hinsdale, IL), and Music Director of "Cantores" Community Choir in the Chicago West Suburbs.

Ms. Elizabeth Vaughan

Ms. Vaughan joins the DGN Fine Arts Department in the role of Collaborative Pianist. Throughout her career Ms. Vaughan has performed actively as a collaborative pianist with small and large ensembles. Her collaborative efforts began in middle school as a rehearsal pianist for the school musical and orchestra, and her large ensemble experience includes accompanying for university choirs and wind ensembles, contemporary and traditional church services, and weddings. She also frequently accompanies exams, competitions, and master classes at Chicago-area universities and preparatory schools, including Roosevelt University, NIU, UIC and the Music Institute of Chicago.

As a child growing up in the northern suburbs of Chicago, Ms. Vaughan studied piano, violin, and singing, graduating with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Lawrence University, as well as a Masters of Music in Viola Performance from Roosevelt University. She has been awarded numerous recognitions in both piano and vocal competitions, including being a two-time winner of the Music Teachers National Association Young Artists Competition. Ms. Vaughan has performed as a piano soloist with both the Lawrence University and University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestras, and sings professionally with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Winnetka Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir.