Master classes are a time-honored way that music schools expose their students to distinguished artists, who listen to student performances, provide comments and share their knowledge during the sessions. Starting this fall, DePaul University will extend this valuable experience to musicians in the community through a new public master class series featuring School of Music faculty and guest artists who are critically acclaimed for their mastery of performance.

“DePaul’s School of Music has a wealth of talented faculty and connections in the professional music scene,” said Donald DeRoche, chair of performance studies at the school. “Our goal is to engage the community by providing a forum for noted artists to share their talents and knowledge with area musicians and music students of all ages.”

Six master classes have been scheduled on Saturday mornings from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the DePaul Concert Hall, 800 W. Belden Ave., between September and May. The admission fee is $25 per person per class. The schedule is:

Sept. 25: Ilya Kaler will lead a violin master class. The DePaul School of Music professor is the only violinist ever to win Gold Medals at all three of the world’s most prestigious music competitions – the Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and Paganini competitions. Often compared to Jascha Heifetz and Itzhak Perlman, Kaler has been lauded by the Washington Post as “a consummate musician…in total control at all times, with a peerless mastery of his violin.” His recordings of the Paganini Caprices have been deemed by American Record Guide to be “in a class by themselves.”

Oct. 9: Guest artist Alexander Slobodyanik will present a piano master class. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Slobodyanik studied at the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory and is a prize-winner in the Tchaikovsky and Chopin international music competitions. A frequent artist in concert and at international festivals, his recordings have established his reputation as an outstanding interpreter of Romantic music. The Los Angeles Times described him as “a master of pianistic touch and nuance” and The New York Times declared him “a major musician and pianist ... Mr. Slobodyanik is the genuine article.” Now living in New Jersey, Slobodyanik teaches at Montclair State University, St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia and at several prestigious summer festivals.

Oct. 30: Larry Combs will offer a clarinet master class. Combs has been principal clarinet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) since 1978 and has been on DePaul’s music faculty since 1981. He is a founding member of the Chicago Chamber Musicians and served as the artistic co-director of the organization from 1987 to 1995. Combs has recorded virtually the entire orchestral repertoire with the CSO, under conductors Solti, Barenboim and Boulez, among others. He earned a Grammy Award in 1994 for his participation in a recording of Beethoven and Mozart chamber music with Barenboim and members of the Berlin Philharmonic and CSO.

Jan. 15: Susanne Mentzer, internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano, will lead a voice master class. Mentzer, a DePaul music professor, has starred at virtually all of the great opera houses of the world, including La Scala, Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Lyric Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, where she has performed frequently since 1989. She also has performed as a soloist with many of the great symphonies of the world. She has a score of recordings and a dozen televised performances to her credit.

March 5: Mary Stolper will present a flute master class. A DePaul music faculty member since 1986, Stolper brings a signature vibrancy and technical flair to her extensive repertoire on the flute. She is a member of the new music ensemble Fulcrum Point and is the solo flutist for the Chicago-based American Chamber Orchestra. She also is principal flute of the Grant Park Symphony, Concertante di Chicago chamber orchestra and Chicago Opera Theater. Stolper has performed and toured internationally with the CSO, as well.

May 14: Stephen Balderston will lead a cello master class. An associate professor of cello, Balderston directs DePaul’s strings program, which features an impressive faculty, including violinists Kaler and Robert Waters. Before joining the CSO, he was a member of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra for 10 years. A sought-after soloist, chamber musician and coach, Balderston participates in clinics, chamber music concerts and festivals throughout the United States and abroad.

The musicians leading the master classes will share ideas about playing their instruments and on music making in general. Several participants will be given the opportunity to perform and receive comments from the guest artists. There also will be time to meet the artists and to ask questions. Prior registration is not required. For more information, contact DeRoche at dderoche@depaul.edu or 773/325-1036.

Founded in 1912 on DePaul’s Lincoln Park Campus, the School of Music is dedicated to excellence in music teaching and performance. The school offers a high-caliber, challenging learning environment led by a faculty of more than 100 musicians with strong credentials and connections in the professional music community. Students are encouraged to gain real world experience through participation in the vibrant Chicago music community. DePaul music students perform with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Grant Park Orchestra, Lyric Opera chorus and other music organizations. Others intern at the city’s professional recording studios or student-teach music at a neighborhood public school.