We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Angie McCreight a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Angie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
SCHOOL OF ROCK is a growing, passionate community dedicated to enriching lives through performance based music education. Growing up I experienced, myself, how much one could gain from being involved in music and performing on stage with others. Much like a sports team, a band is a well oiled machine and it takes teamwork and dedication to make it work. Wanting to share the great memories that I had performing with other musicians, I found School of Rock to be the perfect combination of music education, team building and inclusivity; a place where everyone is welcome and one can find their passion and their people. Anyone can learn to play music and have the potential to be great at it, but it’s even more important that we instill humility, grace and goodwill as we also help develop their leadership skills. One of our most memorable students started off at the school as a kid who never quite felt like he fit in and was, in turn, very quiet and withdrawn. Within a few weeks of rehearsing and performing alongside his bandmates, he came out of his shell and held his head up high with pride at what he was accomplishing. He became a true leader in the school and remains a very special part of our School of Rock family although he has become an adult. He is one of so many that have come through our doors and found where they felt they were supposed to be… all while rocking on stage with his bandmates. The sheer number of success stories that come out of the School of Rock is amazing and it has truly been an honor to be able to do that about which I am very passionate… to be able to provide these experiences to our students and see them transform into amazing musicians and human beings.
Angie , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I grew up singing and started at an early age. I joined my church choir around the age of 8 and remember that I couldn’t wait for my music classes each day at school. I continued singing throughout Middle School, participating in ensembles, and High School, participating in choir, jazz ensembles and state choirs. During this time, I was also taking private vocal lessons and continues those into my college years, participating in bands off and on. While I would have loved to have been able to pursue music as a career, I chose, instead, to pursue a career in Medical Technology and later on spent over 20 years in the Pharmaceutical Research industry. As I left the research arena, I was looking to own my own business doing something I loved. We came across School of Rock, and I very quickly realized that I could use my passion for singing and music, as well as use my love of teaching. I had always had an urge to be a teacher, but had never had the opportunity to do so other than training and coaching.
School of Rock is not your ordinary music school. You can pretty much find music lessons anywhere. The part of School of Rock that sets us apart is the community and the Performance based music education that is a patented method. Students take to the stage and learn to play music. We don’t teach music to learn to pay songs, we teach songs in order for the students to learn music. Our performance programs provide the opportunity for our students to play in live music venues on a regular basis throughout the year and put on concerts, not recitals. And… in the process our students form relationships and create memories that will last their entire lives. Students at School of Rock find their passion, their voice and their people.
At the School of Rock, what we do is so much more than teach music. We are a music school for all skill levels, ages, and musical aspirations. With students ranging from toddlers to adults, School of Rock is where music students grow into real musicians. All of School of Rock’s music teachers are experienced musicians devoted to helping students attain musical proficiency. Our instructors guide students one-on-one to personalize learning, inspire confidence and build social skills.
School of Rock is a music school for all skill levels, ages, and musical aspirations. With students ranging from toddlers to adults, School of Rock is where music students grow into real musicians.
Over twenty years of experience and hundreds of thousands of students have taught us that playing music with others results in stronger proficiency compared to conventional music education. Working toward and experiencing live performance is the core of our curriculum. Our students grow as individuals by taking the stage with others. While our students work with bandmates, they learn broader life skills like collaboration, compromise and courage.
I am most proud of the difference, no matter how big or small, that we are able to make in each student’s life. Being able to not only teach them a skill they can use for the rest of their life, but also to teach them about teamwork, responsibility, leadership and the benefits of hard work is such a fulfilling part of the job. When alumni come back or reach out to catch up, it’s always a proud moment to hear how their School of Rock experiences have helped them become successful.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Covid-19 and the mandatory quarantine had a huge impact on businesses and we were all scrambling to rethink how we were going to be able to provide our customers with our services and at the same time maintain that connection with our customers and students since our business is all about our School of Rock community and inspiring kids to rock on stage and in life. As a kid-centric and customer facing business, we wanted to be able to still provide our lessons and rehearsal experiences and continue to build upon that strong bond. As a brand we were able to immediately convert to virtual /online lessons and also continue with our rehearsals, which ket the kids interacting with their teachers and their bandmates, and most importantly, their friends. We also had Master Classes and Artist Sessions with many well known artists such as Steve Vai, where students could ask questions and hear all about their experiences in the music industry as well as how they practice, how they decided on their instrument, etc. Throughout it all, our staff and instructors were able to keep the lines of communication open and be a presence for the students and the students found a lot of comfort in that. It was a lot of work and planning but in the end it was completely worth the time and effort because it strengthened our relationships with our customer base and we were able to come back even stronger once the quarantines were lifted and in person lessons and rehearsals were, once again, in effect.
How did you build your audience on social media?
For the School of Rock, the best marketing is our live shows where we show the product of months of rehearsals and lessons, the basis of what we do. Social media is one of our best marketing avenues and especially platforms where we can show everyday life within the School of Rock as well as the stage performances. Our social media displays the tight knit community that we have within our schools and the bonds that the students form with each other that last, for many, throughout their adult lives. We built our social media by constantly posting about what it is that we do and what we are about and by following our local business neighbors, as well as other Schools of Rock, musicians, bands, local radio stations, sports teams, etc. We want to be a staple in the community and want to be active in the community through helping with schools, local non-profits, etc. We follow as many like-minded pages as possible and also help promote other causes and benefits. Posting about our students’ accomplishments is also a huge part of our social media strategy and making sure to tag and thank all of the wonderful venues, businesses, festivals and artists that with whom we work. We always want to support music and music education and even more so, support our local bands and local musicians. Being creative with content is also important, as we always want to catch our customers’ eye and show off our instructors and students doing what they love.
Contact Info:
- Website: schoolofrock.com/locations
- Instagram: @franklinschoolofrock @nashvilleschoolofrock @mt.julietschoolofrock
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SchoolOfRockFranklinTn https://www.facebook.com/NashvilleSchoolOfRock https://www.facebook.com/mtjulietschoolofrock
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angie-mccreight-7938a237/
Image Credits
All images belong to Angie McCreight