Performing at Singer Spotlight North Shore on Thursday, October 25 at Pop's Highwood

Bob Filler
BOB FILLER has been the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the Chicago area since 1984. The Bob Filler Orchestra is sought after to perform at corporate parties and private affairs. Bob plays piano, bass, guitar and trumpet. As leader of the band, he performs on electric bass and is one of the featured vocalists. Bob also writes the musical arrangements for the group. He has performed for Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan. He has also accompanied entertainers including Peter Noone, Englebert Humperdink, Frank Gorshin, Lola Falana, Bob Hope, Danny Gans, Harry Blackstone, Jr., Phyllis Diller, and many more. His voice is also heard on commercials, Sony PlayStation games and You Don't Know Jack 3. For many years Bob has also been associated with Chicago's ambassador of music, Franz Benteler and The Royal Strings.

Celeste Harrell
Celeste Harrell is a native of Chicago, IL and has been performing and singing professionally for over ten years. Getting her start as a last minute replacement in a vocal trio, Celeste was warmly accepted by the audience and inadvertently, but very gladly began her professional singing career. Having been exposed to a wide variety of music at a very young age, she appreciates all types of music and many styles of stage performance. Celeste played violin for ten years touring Illinois, Minnesota, and Canada with her orchestra as a teen and placed as a finalist in a teen pageant as well. She has modeled, acted and sung for as long as she can remember. Celeste graduated from the Illinois Theatre of Acting, John Robert Powers Modeling School, and attended Columbia College of the Arts in Chicago. Celeste has performed in over 80 establishments including casinos, corporate parties, weddings, showcases, and countless fundraisers. Her musical accomplishments include performance benefits for the March of Dimes, Easter Seals, and Aids Research along with the televised Local Hispanic Star Search, in which her group won first place in their division. Celeste has performed with The Steve Edwards Orchestra, The Ralph Wilder Orchestra, and many others along with her live band The Rhythm Section, being asked 5 years in a row to bring in the New Year at Chicagolands' largest riverboat casino, The Grand Victoria. She has just completed a three-year project recording a nationally released original CD, touring and performing with Chicago-based Latin artist, Petra Luna. Celeste is also a member of the National Association of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS) and has attended the 1999, 2000, and 2001 Grammy Awards ceremonies held in Los Angeles, California, which she calls her home away from home. Celeste now delights in a well-recognized music career and continues to admire, respect and appreciate her love of the arts in music by the diversity it brings to life and the bridge it creates to connect so many people. Life itself urges Celeste to have a voice. The approach to songs is what people seem to enjoy the most about Celeste; her voice is tender - her concept, strong. The self-taught style and attitude coupled with years of professional training brings a sense of passion to her performance. Her ideas are as unconventional as her approach to singing has always been. Technique is what brings the quality of her vocal performance in a class all her own. Celeste personally thanks her close-knit family and friends for the support they have given her over the years. Celeste Harrell is currently working with and in search of songwriters to launch a solo CD project. Stay tuned. Be sure to check out her website at: www.celesteharrell.com

Preston Girard
Preston Girard moved to Chicago in 1997 to pursue a career in acting but was seduced by his acoustic Washburn guitar and began writing songs set to his father's poetry. He now writes songs based on his own life experiences and his first full-length CD, "The Train," is set to be released in November. Preston dedicates this performance to his nieces, Katy and Mary, and his nephew, Ronin.

Gayle Gross
Gayle Gross is originally from Decatur, IL. By day, she is a preschool teacher and a nanny placement counselor. By night, you will find her singing jazz at various establishments in Chicago and the suburbs (Cucina Roma, The Boiler Room, Andyıs). At the age of nine, Gayle began touring as a singer and pursuing vocal training. ³My biggest musical idol is the late Ella Fitzgerald. Ella lived the music. She is life in full expression,² says Gayle. ³I enjoy connecting with the audience and my own spirituality through music.² Gayleıs musical repertoire includes jazz, pop, gospel, blues, classical and musical theater selections. In 1996, she graduated from Elmhurst College with a degree in Music Education and Vocal Performance. Through the years, her singing has taken her to such places as Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, France, Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Netherlands. In addition, Gayle was named Outstanding Jazz Soloist by both Downbeat Magazine and the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival, as well as being recognized by MENC as an Outstanding Classical Vocalist in the collegiate chapter. Performing is what she loves to do!