School of Rock Doylestown

Main Number

(215) 230-3406(215) 230-3406

JP has been playing drums in bands for over 20 years, and he has a background in recording engineering. He started teaching at School of Rock 10 years ago, helping longtime friend Mike Morpurgo open the Princeton School of Rock. After teaching for a little over a year, JP's band, Illinois, went on nationwide tours and earned great local fame on Radio WXPN, Philadelphia. JP continues to perform with Illinois and is now General Manager and Music Director in Doylestown.
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Dante has been playing drums for 32 years. He has toured the world with franchise owner Mike Morpurgo and their band Dandelion. Dante has also shared the stage with a number of other bands, including Radiohead, Rob Zombie, Gwar, The Ramones, Alanis Morrisette, the Goo Goo Dolls, Red Kross, and countless others. He has written and performed songs that have been featured in the movie Brainscan and popular shows like MTV's "The Real World" and "Beavis and Butthead." He has also recorded an album with Rudy Blitz with his good friend Chad Ginsburg from the band CKY. Dante's approach to his music direction and as a drum teacher is brutal truth. With this approach, he has produced some of the greatest drummers School of Rock has ever seen and also some of the greatest shows. His approach to teaching drums is simple: using your ears. He loves his job and the kids. Anybody having any interaction with Dante will have always come away learning something, and he is always there to offer a good laugh.
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Dan Beaver began his musical experience when he picked up the bagpipes in elementary school. After getting heavily into guitar music in high school, he began playing the guitar with the intent of creating his own sounds. In order to broaden his musical vocabulary as much as possible, Dan took private lessons, attended jazz and bluegrass camps, participated in master classes with world-renowned touring guitarists and immersed himself in all kinds of music. Through those experiences, he has picked up a variety of instruments both conventional and oddball. Dan will take any musical opportunity that presents itself, believing that the best education comes from experience.
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Chris has been playing guitar for 16 years. He began performing in touring bands at the age of 14 until he was 21. Chris attended Drexel University, where he earned a Bachelors Of Science in Music Industry. Outside of School of Rock, Chris works on the business end of music, managing three bands: Drink Up Buttercup, Peasant, American Babies. Chris also manages a producer, who is best known for his work with Man Man and Dr. Dog. Chris owns a studio that he works out of as a freelance engineer and producer. He does a lot of session work, getting paid to play guitar, piano, and write songs. Chris is now playing in the band White Birds as a touring multi-instrumentalist (guitar, piano, bass, percussion).
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John is a drummer of 18 years who has performed live in multiple countries. John has also had the privilege of being featured as a guest artist for Modern Drummer magazine. He currently studies with the world renowned and most recorded drummer of all time Bernard Purdie (who has worked with James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Hall & Oates, etc.). John specializes in rock, funk, classical, and rudiments. He also teaches high school marching band and encourages all students who participate in school band to bring in their music for additional help, if needed. As a Veteran of the United States Air Force, John takes great pride in all he does, especially when it comes to music.
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Robby is a keyboardist of 17 years and since then has picked up many other instruments, including bass, guitar, and drums. The classical training he received at a young age has proven to be a great foundation for the rest of his musical career. Deeply rooted in the theory behind music, Robby believes that every song has a lesson to teach. As a former student of School of Rock, the transition to teaching was an easy choice. He has had the chance to perform with multiple school jazz bands as well as contribute in many projects around the local area. His primary styles of playing include classical, jazz, blues, and, of course, rock ‘n’ roll. Robby’s main goal for teaching is to inspire his students and to get them to play with the same passion and appreciation he has for music.
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When Sean was a young child, he saw a teenager playing an electric guitar and thought to himself, "Hey, I think I could do that." At the time, he already loved to sing, but now had an added passion. When he was ten, he began playing guitar and hasn't put it down since.

Sean studied Voice and Music Education at Temple University and he plays around 60 gigs a year in several different groups and bands from the area.
With his brother, he co-owns an entertainment company where he plays weddings, parties, and special events throughout the year. He also is a member of a 7-piece wedding/party band and, since 2006, he has continuously composed, recorded, and toured in a rock band called The Revere. Sean also leads vocal and instrumental ensembles for teens and adults in different settings throughout the area.

Sean has been a teacher and director at School or Rock Doylestown since 2011, and has learned so much about how musically, emotionally, and socially valuable playing in a band truly is.
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My lessons are laid back and fun. I set short and long term goals for my students. Beginners will learn song form, basic beats, sticking patterns and proper technique as well as a focus on playing the music that is most inspiring to them. As our lessons progress we'll work on reading more advanced music, drum set technique, soloing, playing more difficult songs, music theory and learning about all the great drummers in the world!
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After listening to guitar-based music through his childhood, Matt began playing guitar at the age of 13. A year into his musical career he joined School of Rock, where he became a member of the Doylestown A-Team. In his time at School of Rock, he was also accepted into the Allstars Program, consisting of the top one percent of School of Rock musicians. As an Allstar, he toured the east coast, from Florida to Connecticut. He even had the opportunity to play with famous musicians, such as Butch Trucks of the Allman Brothers Band. Matt enjoyed his time as a student at School of Rock so much that he decided to give back by becoming a guitar instructor, in order to help people pursue their passion for music. In his time away from School of Rock, he is studying business at Temple University.
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Nicole is a recent transplant from Los Angeles CA and is a singer, songwriter, session vocalist, and music teacher. She has taught privately for over 10 years and at The Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA. She has worked with Emmy Award winning composers Ernest Troost and Blake Neely on film and television projects along with numerous other composers and songwriters on library music and commercials including legendary songwriters Gerry Goffin and Mike Stoller, of Leiber & Stoller fame.

Nicole appeared as the singing voice of " Madison" on the Warner Bros show "EVERWOOD" for 4 episodes, sang the finale theme song for NBC's "The Office", and has had over 50 of her songs placed in film and on television shows such as: Brothers and Sisters , Friday Night Lights, Without a Trace , Charmed , Gilmore Girls , One Tree Hill , Reba, Smallville , & Felicity , as well as in commercials, radio, Lufthansa Airlines and in Regal Cinema's. She continues to write with composers & songwriters on film and TV projects, travel to Nashville for writing & recording sessions and perform live shows as a solo artist or with her 6 piece band.

Nicole has shared the stage and performed with the talents of Shaun Colvin, Colin Hay, Lucinda Williams, Sophie B. Hawkins, & Ian Ball of GOMEZ & she has had the great fortune to work with some of the best musicians in the world such as: Jim Keltner (John Lennon, Simon & Garfunkel), Barry Goldberg (Bob Dylan, Electric Flag), Gary Mallaber (Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison), Johnny Lee Schell (Bonnie Raitt, Melissa Etheridge), Hutch Hutchinson (Bonnie Raitt), John Hall & Lance Hoppen (Orleans), Todd Nichols, Randy Guss, & Dean Dinning (Toad the Wet Sprocket). She was a featured songwriter for the 2007 ASCAP showcase at The Americana Music Conference in Nashville, performed on The 10! Show in Philadelphia, and has showcased at The Sundance Film Festival.
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Marissa joined School of Rock in September 2015. She is an alumna of Kenyon College, where she earned a B.A. in Music, focusing on composition and vocal performance. She has been playing violin for 19 years and singing for 10 years. Throughout her life, she has also dabbled in ukulele, guitar, bass guitar, drums, and piano. Music has always been Marissa's constant, and she is honored to be a part of such an inclusive and talented community of musicians and students at School of Rock.
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Tony started teaching lessons and directing shows at the Doylestown School of Rock when it first opened in 2009. Though Tony was previously the full-time Music Director at Doylestown until 2012 as well as the General Manager at the Princeton SoR between 2012 and 2013, he currently teaches drum lessons and directs shows once a week. He primarily teaches drum lessons, but regular students may see Tony as a substitute for any lesson since he also teaches keys, guitar, bass, and vocals. Being a multi-instrumentalist, his lessons span from nitty-gritty technique to understanding the BIG picture of Rock N Roll music - all the while keeping things fun, interesting, and organized. Recently, Tony achieved an associates degree in jazz piano performance from Bucks County Community College. You can check out some of his drum styles in the bands Meddlesome Meddlesome Meddlesome Bells and Gentlemen Christ.
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James picked up a pair of sticks at age 4 and played along with his favorite records. He began playing in bands at 14, playing locally with both original and cover bands. He had the pleasure of sharing the stage with such artists as Lisa Loeb, Green Day, Gary Numan, and Moby. Some bands he has played and released albums with are Divers Lust, The Go Ahead, and Brainclaw. He graduated from the Art Institute of Philadelphia with an Associate degree in Music Business. James had also worked as a music journalist in college, covering the local and national scene writing for the Philly fanzine, Underground Press. James also worked on the “darker” side of the business, working for an independent record company, Metropolis Records, running their online merchandise store and working with marketing for new artists. James is looking to share his knowledge and begin teaching young musicians in all aspects of performance.
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