Erin Armstrong General Manager
Erin has been with School of Rock Aurora since December of 2015 and is happy to call the SoR staff her second family. She has been involved in music for as long as she can remember, always singing, strumming her guitar and writing songs to perform for anyone who would listen. Erin graduated from CU Denver with a BS in Music Business and Entertainment Industries. Since then she has managed, performed, and recorded with several local bands over the years including Thanks to Philo, Fable Heist, Extra Gold and most recently Mother Derringer.
Kathryn Fernandez Studio Coordinator
Kathryn Fernandez started singing in her elementary school choir when she was 6 years old, where her love for music began. In Warwick, New York where she spent most of her childhood, she continued learning music through high school honors women's choir, musical theatre, piano lessons, and voice lessons. In her undergraduate career, Kathryn started learning jazz guitar and was a part of various experimental music ensembles, rock bands, and choirs.
She graduated from The State University of New York (SUNY) at Oneonta with a Bachelor's of Science in Mass Communications and a Bachelor's of Arts in Music Industry. Kathryn has passions in several creative arts including music, art, photography, and film. She is our Studio Coordinator as a part of the School of Rock Aurora team.
Donald Young piano Teacher, Trumpet Teacher
Donald Young is a graduate of Ft Lewis College (BA Music) and has over 30 years of experience as a professional keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist. He has played with some of Denver’s best groups, including Hot Lunch and The Freddie-Henchie Band, and has toured extensively in the western US as well as the Pacific Rim. He has opened for national recording artists such as KC & the Sunshine Band, The Temptations, Sir Mix-a-Lot and saxophonist Eric Darius. He is also a composer, arranger and session musician.
Terra Salazar Piano Teacher, Singing Teacher
Terra has an arts endorsed diploma from Denver School of the Arts, where she graduated with honors. After a brief stint at the University of Northern Colorado as a double major in Vocal Performance and Musical Theatre, she transferred to the University of Denver in 2013. Terra is a professional actor in Denver and the surrounding areas. She has performed in over 50 musical theater production ns the past 16 years. She has had the pleasure of performing in some of the best venues in the Denver area, such as The Bug Theatre, Mercury Café and Dazzle Night Club in addition to Stanford University, Harvard University, Boston Conservatory and The Ellie Caulkins Opera House. She has also opened for McPhly, Los Lonely Boys and WAR. Terra has been trained in classical voice, jazz, musical theatre and barbershop singing. She has been recognized with several awards from Downbeat, National Youth Theatre and 9 News Kids Who Care.
Greg Foster Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Greg has become a staple in the Colorado music scene by playing and recording throughout the Midwest in a variety of cover and original bands ranging in styles from hard rock to country, to R&B/funk and blues. He is also a musical composer and producer that can be heard on albums from Millionaire Freaks and 2 Dog Tuesday among others. Bands of note include Nasty’s Nightmare (with KBPI's prime time DJ Uncle Nasty), Sheryl Renee, The Broken Everlys, Kelly J, Buckner FunkenJazz, Voodoo Kings and Carolina Reign. National artists that Greg has worked with or been an opening act for include Mr. Big, Savatage, Styx, Steve Morse Band, Chris Duarte, Jason Ricci, John Lee Hooker Jr., Joe Bonner and Hamilton Loomis. As an instructor he believes that learning the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’ results in improved comprehension and performance.
Daniel Cawley Drum Teacher
Daniel Cawley was born in Somerville, NJ, where he began his academic life as a percussionist at the age of seven. For this seventh birthday he received a Remo practice pad and the drummer's bible, "Stick Control" by George Stone. Before that, his taste was strictly avant garde, refusing to play on anything but pots and pans. Daniel began taking lessons for the drum set at the age of eight and continued to take lessons until age 18. At 10, his family moved from New Jersey to North Carolina, where he would continue his love for music and expand from lessons to playing in various bands. In high school, Daniel would take private lessons from Robert Shi, Berkley Grad and the author of "Drummer's First Aid Kit." After high school, Daniel attended North Carolina State University for Business Management but was never able to shake his love for playing the drums, so after leaving business school he decided he would dedicate himself to finding, preparing for and getting accepted to a competitive music program. With the help of his capable wife, whom he met during this search, he was accepted to the Lamont School of Music at University of Denver. He is currently enrolled there, pursuing a degree in Jazz Studies for drum set under the studio of Mike Marlier. Teaching for Daniel embodies a passion to encourage and inform the artists of the future.
Carl Sorensen Drum Teacher
Carl Sorensen started playing drums in his elementary school band. He continued learning music through middle school and high school by taking lessons and playing in jazz band, concert band and marching band. This led him to take his education to the next level at Berklee College of Music, where he studied with Jamey Haddad (Paul Simon), Terri Lynne Carrington (Herbie Hancock), and Kenwood Dennard (Jaco Pastorius) among many other world-class professionals. Carl has since built a reputation in Denver for being 'Denver's Hardest Working Musician' ("Westword," 2014), having played with 100+ different bands in the Denver metro area. Carl currently performs with Dragondeer, Chimney Choir and Extra Gold among others, as well as hosts multiple jam sessions.
Adriene Bible Vocal Instructor
Adriene Bible is from Houston, Texas, where she taught at both School of Rock Kingwood and School of Rock Champion Forest for three years. Adriene attended Prairie View A&M University, where she was a member of the concert chorale as well as a founding member of the PV Singers small ensemble. Adriene also had the distinct honor of being chosen to represent PVAMU at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC as a part of the HBCU (Historically Black College and University) Honor Choir, The 105 Voices of History. Adriene continued her studies at The Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma, where she received her degree in Vocal Performance. Coming from a musical family, Adriene has been singing and playing piano since she was eight years old and has loved rock and jazz just as long. Some of her favorite artists include Whitney Houston, Robert Glasper, Coldplay, Snarky Puppy and Joe Sample. She is a vocal instructor at School of Rock Aurora.
Greg King Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Greg King grew up in Boston, MA and started playing guitar at a young age. After graduating from Berklee College of Music with a degree in Guitar Performance, he taught and played gigs all over Boston, New York City and Colorado, as well as in various other cities and states. He loves sharing his passion for music with students, as well as teaching ensembles and group classes. He has experience gigging and playing with many different bands that vary in style/genre. When Greg isn't teaching or gigging he is most likely listening to Led Zeppelin or a variety of funk, jazz, fusion or rock music. He loves teaching all ages and experience levels and is a guitar teacher and bass teacher. He excited to be living in Denver and teaching at School of Rock Aurora.
K.R. Azad Drum Teacher
K.R. Azad is a versatile musician, able to play in diverse genres such as jazz, rock, funk and hip-hop. He has also learned about musical styles from around the world, augmenting his drum set abilities with knowledge of Cuban, Brazilian, West African and Turkish percussion. Azad has also strengthened his skills by teaching across these diverse genres in classes for the African Drum Ensemble at KU. He is also an avid composer, a graduate with a Bachelor of Music in Music Composition from the University of Kansas in 2016, and is the winner of the 2016 George Lawner Prize for Orchestral Composition at KU. In addition to teaching, Azad is also a performer, playing with local groups Brothers of Brass and Stop Motion. He is a drum teacher at School of Rock Aurora.
Josh Bennett Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Josh Bennett has been a musician for 20+ years. His primary instrument is guitar but he dabbles with drums, bass and vocals, as well as ukulele when the mood feels right. Over the years he has played with dozens of bands and artists in genres including rock, blues, country, metal, jazz, funk, ska and punk. Josh has spent years touring the USA, as well as time abroad in Europe and Southeast Asia. Nikki Sixx once described him as "a really cool guy." Josh has recorded on multiple commercial albums, and, with his band Acidic, held the #1 indie song in the country and was #33 on Billboard. During his free time he is an avid hiker and works as a personal trainer. He is a guitar teacher and bass guitar teacher at School of Rock Aurora.
Josh March Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Josh March is a Colorado native. He started playing guitar at a relatively young age. In fact, he used to be a student at School of Rock Aurora. He was a part of the school’s first House Band and several after that. He played a lot of pretty exciting gigs, some of which included Red Rocks, Summerfest, The Marquis and a bunch of bars all shapes and sizes. Josh’s favorite guitarist is Jimi Hendrix. He listens to songs from almost every genre. When Josh isn’t teaching lesson or rehearsals, you’ll probably find him practicing some riff for the millionth time. He is a guitar teacher and bass guitar teacher at School of Rock Aurora.
Colin Shore Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Colin Shore is a guitar player specializing in rock, funk and jazz fusion. Born and raised in Atlanta, Colin moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music. Colin spent several years touring the country with his band Mister F, who played well over 100 shows per year. He has been invited to play with blues/soul icon Robert Randolph, smooth jazz artist Earl Klugh and bands such as Twiddle, Aqueous, Kung Fu, Dopapod and Mungion. Colin’s teaching style is highly adaptive to each student’s individual tastes, skills and goals. He is a guitar teacher and bass guitar teacher at School of Rock Aurora.
Jimmy Finnegan Bass Guitar Teacher
Jimmy Finnegan is a bass guitar teacher and Rookies teacher at School of Rock Aurora. With his first primary instrument being cello, he has a deeply rooted understanding of the role of low-register instruments in a variety of musical settings. He began playing bass at age 13 and his enthusiasm for the instrument has flourished since. Jimmy is a former student and House Band member at School of Rock Aurora, which has given him the knowledge necessary to help students succeed in School of Rock and in other facets of the musical world. He currently attends Metro State University of Denver, majoring with a BA in Music and using jazz bass as his primary instrument. He aims to expand his students’ musical versatility through structured and exciting lessons that translate directly to practice and professional rehearsal settings. Jimmy has learned everything he knows from other teachers and musicians whose musical passion profoundly inspired his own.
Kirk Larson Drum Teacher
Music has always been a big part of Kirk’s life; He has been playing music for 16 years! An artist that has had a big influence on him musically is Steely Dan. He is currently in a couple of different bands, including Kessel Run and Quite Frankly, which are Denver based and Fresh Intellect which is Chicago based. During quarantine when Kirk wasn’t teaching private lessons or running some of our Master Classes, he was recording new music, cooking and watching some of his favorite movies such as Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
Tess Healy Keyboard and Singing Teacher
Tess was born in Denver and is happy to be back! Throughout her childhood she toured nationally and internationally with a children’s choir and was always involved in music inside and outside of school. Tess studied music, completing her BA and MA in London where she often performed in the city and was played on BBC Radio 2. She concentrated on music therapy for her master’s dissertation and is a passionate believer in music’s capacity for healing and rehabilitation. After graduating, she lived in Ireland working for a touring Country musician. Tess loves many genres of music and believes singers benefit from diverse musical interests and exposure to different styles. Some of her favorite musicians include Arvo Pärt, Frank Ocean, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Nina Simone.
Josh Quat Guitar Teacher, Singing Teacher
Josh Quat is a singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer with a diverse range and wide variety of influences. Hailing from the east coast, he has been singing and playing professionally for more than a decade. Career highlights include fronting Brooklyn-based rock trio The Kristys, as well as collaborating with the renowned performing artist Jomama Jones, with whom he co-wrote the music and performed in the popular off-Broadway show Black Light (over 200 performances!). He is also a successful solo artist, with 100,000+ streams and songs featured on several high-profile Spotify playlists. Josh loves and appreciates all forms of music, and is super excited to bring that joy to the students at School of Rock!
Ben Eberle Bass Guitar Teacher, Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher
Ben Eberle is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who has played with various bands in the Denver area since 2013. At an early age, Ben showed signs of a music-rich future with his professional skills at rhythm games such as Guitar Hero, and Rock Band. Playing these games kick-started his obsession with music, and he soon began learning how to play drums. After a few years of drum lessons, Ben decided to pick up guitar and bass, with a goal of honing in on harmony and songwriting. The knowledge of these 3 instruments has furthered Ben's musical prowess over the years, with a focus on how these instruments work together in a band setting. Ben strives to pass this knowledge along to the students at School of Rock, as he believes there is no better feeling than to lock in with your band, and collaborate with others to make musical magic.