Michael Tseitlin

Bitter Jester Music Festival Judge & Director of Education

Michael is an accomplished classical and jazz guitarist who received his degree in Music Education with a double major in Education and a minor in Music from Lake Forest College. He is now the Director of Guitar at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL.

Michael’s performance experience includes performing in several different scenarios including as a solo classical guitarist, a pit musician (guitar and bass), and as a leader of several jazz combos. Michael also performed with the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps in 2017, and continues to work with marching bands around the Midwest as a designer, clinician, and choreographer.

Michael is a four-time participant in the Bitter Jester Music Festival with The Ska-Lers from 2012 through 2015, a fun and energetic ska band that has performed numerous times on WGN Radio, at House of Blues, Navy Pier, and more.

Beginning in 2019 - after many years of general volunteering and returning occasionally as a BJMF judge, Michael acted in the volunteer role of “Performance Advisor” for the Bitter Jester festival and, in 2020, he assumed the role of Director of Education for the festival, also as a volunteer.

Beginning in 2021, Michael began to build out the festival’s Education Team, comprised of music educators (mostly former BJMF competitors and Grand Champions), to continue to grow and expand upon the solid foundation already in place.

During Friday night preliminary competitions, Michael records real-time commentary and constructive feedback for each of the bands and solo artists which is then made available as an audio file after the concerts. This non-scoring form of feedback enables bands and soloists to gain an additional layer of mentoring and constructive commentary on their performances.

Michael’s main focus is taking the Bitter Jester experience to the next level in terms of valuable educational and growth-oriented feedback and materials for its performers.

In addition to teaching at Stevenson, Michael is also a tennis coach and teaches and coaches competitive color guard and marching band. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his wife, Katelyn, their two dogs, Ludwig and Ferris, and playing disc golf!