Tara Cappelletti Jordan, a Spirito! Advisory Council member wears many hats - all of them musical!  In addition to her Spirito! role, Tara is currently the Associate Director of Bands at the Leyden High Schools where she works with several concert bands, a marching band, the Jazz Band and the Basketball Band.  She is the founder of the Leyden High School Drum Club.  Tara also works closely with the Music Education faculty at Elmhurst College, where she serves as the director of the Elmhurst College Varsity Band.

As an educator, Tara has traveled extensively while working with students at all stages of their musical experience and currently serves on the artistic staff of the Illinois Ambassadors of Music European Concert Tour.   She has spent significant time teaching in Jamaica, where she served as a conductor in the Western Jamaica International Music Festival. This past summer, she began graduate work at the Universidad de Salamanca in Spain.  Her professional memberships include being actively involved in the Women Band Directors International, the Illinois Music Educators Association, and the Chicago Flute Club.

While studying at Elmhurst College, Tara performed with the Elmhurst College Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Classical Guitar Ensemble, Lab Jazz Band, and as a soloist alongside artists including Bobby Shew, Patti Austin, and Doug Beach with the award winning Elmhurst College Jazz Band. She holds a degree in music education from Elmhurst College, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude.

As a performer, she has appeared with various groups in 14 countries, including England, France, Germany, and Switzerland, and is the principal flutist with the Elmhurst Wind Ensemble.  Prior to serving as a Spirito! Advisory Council member, Tara served as Assistant Director of the Mary Queen of Heaven High School Treble Ensemble under the direction of Molly Lindberg.

For the upcoming Christmas season, Tara will don her flutist hat as featured guest at the upcoming Unwrap the Mystery Spirito! concert.  She is looking forward to this special event and says, “I am always amazed by the amount of talent in a room full of Spirito! Singers, but more importantly, this ensemble promotes a standard of faith and character that is inspirational.”  Tara eagerly awaits this performance and calls it “a unique celebration of faith, music, and community.”