Daniel Siles Drum Teacher
Daniel Siles is a New York-based touring/session drummer and music educator. He graduated magna cum laude from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA in the Spring of 2012.
Since relocating to Brooklyn, NY in the fall of 2012, Daniel has recorded with numerous bands and artists in the United States, Mexico and his native Bolivia. He has toured the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Australia with artists like Young Magic, playing in renowned venues such as The Fillmore, Fonda Theatre and Bowery Ballroom among others.
Daniel has also played in festivals like Northside Festival, Billboard Hot 100 Festival, 30 Days in LA, SXSW, NXNE, Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival, Lowlands Festival, Sweden Emmaboda Festival, Milhoes de Festa, Visions Festival and Strawberry Fields Festival, sharing the stage with artists including Portishead, Queens of The Stone Age and St. Vincent.
Molly Kirschenbaum Piano Teacher, Vocal Instructor
Molly Kirschenbaum’s mom put her in classical piano lessons when she was five, which she hated, then loved, then utterly despised. When she was 10, she joined School of Rock in Hollywood, where she eventually played with the House Band and AllStars as a keyboardist, vocalist and bassist. She started her own artistic project in Los Angeles called hava, and, between School of Rock and her band, has accompanied a wide array of artists, from Jackson Browne to DAISY to The Regrettes, and played venues from the Sunset Strip to Lollapalooza. She is in her last year at NYU Tisch as an undergrad, where she has studied under Kenn Hicks and Machan Taylor. She also studies songwriting, musical engineering and production at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music and at the Playwrights Horizons School with a focus on the intersection between devised theater and musical performance. She is a piano teacher and vocal instructor at School of Rock New York.
Osei Williams Bass Guitar Teacher
Osei Williams was born and raised in Los Angeles and started playing bass when he was 11, playing in local extracurricular programs and camps. Osei attended The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music from 2012-2015 and now works as a freelance musician and a bass guitar teacher at School of Rock New York.
Sarah E. Taylor Studio Coordinator
Sarah E. Taylor is our Studio Coordinator at School of Rock New York and is a writer/actor/producer based out of Brooklyn, NY. Since 2012, she has written over 10 plays and four screenplays, all varying in length, and is currently collaborating on her first musical. Sarah has received a few accolades for her work, most notably winning First Prize in the 2016 Manhattan Reading Competition for her play "The Nemesis Effect." She strives to make audiences think, while also feeling entertained. Aside from writing, Sarah is the founder of her theatre company No Frills Theatre Collective and she is an established voiceover actor.
Will Haywood Smith Drum Teacher
Will Haywood Smith is a British drummer based in New York City. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, he has performed in the US, Europe, South America and Asia and appeared on a multitude of media outlets worldwide. He is a drum teacher at School of Rock New York.
Russell Holzman Drum Teacher
Russell Holzman is a NYC native drummer born in lower Manhattan. Russell attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Music and Art and the Performing Arts before he received a scholarship to attend New England Conservatory of Music. He has performed with artists such as Benny Golson, Lee Konitz, Miguel Zenon, Napoleon Murphy Brock and many more. After three years of teaching at the Outreach Summer Music Workshop in Austria, Russell received a full scholarship to attend the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music in Canada. Since then, he has had the privilege of performing at events such as The Firefly Festival, The Spring 2016 Marc Jacobs Show, The Fauna Otoño Festival, The POP Montreal Music Festival and more. He is a drum teacher at School of Rock New York.
Tom McCaffrey Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Tom McCaffrey was born and raised in Philadelphia, and is an alumni of the School of Rock AllStars. He has appeared on "The CBS Morning Show," CW News NYC and Fox News NYC. He has played at live venues and festivals such as Gathering of the Vibes Festival, Red Rocks Amphitheater, The United Nations Millennium Goals Awards Ceremony, Gramercy Theatre, Electric Factory and Lollapalooza Festival. Tom has performed as a backing guitarist with celebrities such as John Wetton, Dee Snider, Gloria Gaynor, KT Tunstall and Robert Hazard. He has also recorded an album of original music called “Monster” with Liberty Devitto and Chuck Treece. Tom currently fronts Infant Elephant, a relentless power trio, and studied Jazz Guitar at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. He is a guitar teacher and bass guitar teacher at School of Rock New York.
Bob Jones Music Director
Bob Jones is a composer/multi-instrumentalist living and working in Brooklyn's thriving music scene. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Double Bass Performance from Michigan State University. Equally at home in the genres of rock, classical, folk, electronic and jazz, Bob has appeared on dozens of albums and has toured extensively in the United States and Europe. With two decades of teaching experience under his belt, Bob takes his role as Music Director at School of Rock New York in stride. His students have gone on to audition for performing arts high schools and colleges and pursue careers in music. He is known for the enthusiasm and patience he shows in lessons, rehearsals and events.
Jean Santos Guitar Teacher, Piano Teacher, Vocal Instructor
Jean Santos is a native New Yorker with a love of classical music and heavy metal. Through School of Rock, he has fostered a passion for teaching. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education at Queens College to hone his musical teaching abilities. He is a guitar teacher, piano teacher and vocal instructor at School of Rock New York.
Jen Ter Kurst Piano Teacher, Vocal Instructor
Jen Ter Kurst is originally from Miami, Florida. She is a multi-disciplinary vocalist and pianist who earned a Bachelor’s of Music degree in Voice Performance from Stetson University in Deland, Florida. She also attended the Longy School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts for her Master’s in Music Voice Performance and Vocal Pedagogy. Jennifer is currently singing as a principle soprano soloist with Opera New York, where she has performed in multiple opera and musical theater productions. She also performed at the Interharmony International Music Festival in Germany as the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute." In addition to her operatic performances, Jen has been teaching voice and piano for eight years. She also sings and plays keyboard with the New York-based indie rock project, Tree Signs. She is a piano teacher and vocal instructor at School of Rock New York.
Devin McKnight Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Devin McKnight is a guitarist and bassist originally hailing from the DC metropolitan area. After years of studying Guitar Performance at Berklee College of Music and touring in various indie rock bands such as Speedy Ortiz and Grass is Green, he settled in Brooklyn, NY. Since living in Brooklyn, he's started his own band called Maneka, where he writes and produces all the instruments and vocals. Musical stylings of his own music have ranged from hip-hop and rap to melodic indie rock, punk rock and even jazz. Devin has come to believe that a holistic understanding of all genres and instruments, even if rudimentary, can empower young people to start their own musical projects or discover a peaceful outlet they previously didn't know existed. He is a guitar teacher and bass guitar teacher at School of Rock New York.
Julián Mesri Piano Teacher, Vocal Instructor
Julián Mesri is a composer, vocalist, pianist and guitarist. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he came to the United States at the age of four and has been based in New York City ever since. Trained at Hoff Barthelson in piano, composition and electronic music, Julian has been making music for more than 20 years. Julián then continued to produce music at his alma mater Williams College, where he formed part of the choir, the Symphonic Winds Ensemble, and composed music for many theater department productions. Most recently his work was seen at Stages Theater in Houston, and at the Ice Factory Festival in New York City. He is currently finishing his MFA in Playwriting with an emphasis on Musical Theater. His approach to teaching is intuitive and performative. He is a piano teacher and vocal instructor at School of Rock New York.
Matt Tatro Drum Teacher
Matt Tatro grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey, where he studied with Tommy Igoe and Chris Nappi at the Manhattan School of Music preparatory program. He graduated with a Bachelor’s in Music Performance from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami in 2013. Matt has been a freelance musician and a drum teacher at School of Rock New York ever since.
Adam Sapiro Guitar Teacher, Piano Teacher, Vocal Instructor
Adam Sapiro grew up in Miami, Florida and attended School of Rock Miami as a student for five years before becoming a teacher at age 18. He holds an Associate’s Degree in Jazz Vocal Performance from Miami Dade College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music in Boston. Before making the move to New York City, he performed in Boston projects such as indie rock outfit Red Mill, pop songwriter Griffin Robillard and his own songwriting vehicle, Tree Signs. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Adam plays many styles of music including rock, bluegrass, jazz, metal and folk. With a deep background in writing and recording as well, he has directed a wide variety of programs at School of Rock in addition to the Performance program, such as the songwriting and recording summer camp. He is a guitar teacher, piano teacher, vocal instructor and show director at School of Rock New York.
Jill Peacock Piano Teacher, Vocal Instructor
Jill Peacock grew up in Toronto, where she was lucky enough to take piano lessons at a very young age and studied classical piano at the Royal Conservatory of Toronto. After a brief break from music, she went to Berklee College of Music to study jazz and soul as a singer. A recently new resident of Brooklyn, she is looking forward to working on her newest project, aStridd, with guitarist Yasser Tejeda, as well as writing, recording and playing new originals. Her newest EP of original, "Songs Up in the Air," with producer U-Key will be released soon. Her voice has been described as a mix of Norah Jones and Amy Winehouse. She is a piano teacher, vocal instructor and show director at School of Rock New York.
Jordan Blakely Drum Teacher
Jordan Blakely developed a passion for drumming at age 15, eventually pursuing her Bachelor's degree at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. Since relocating to Brooklyn in 2010, Jordyn has toured, recorded and performed with a multitude of artists, including Sharkmuffin, Night Manager, Butter the Children, Invisible Familiars, Kino Kimino, Jackal Onasis and others. She has toured and performed festivals in Europe, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Currently, Jordyn is a touring and recording member of the bands Maneka, and Stove. She is a drum teacher and assistant show director at School of Rock New York.
Nick Llobet Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Nick Llobet knew music had to be in his future as soon as he’d seen his first rock show. After playing guitar for a few years Nick received a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music, where he honed his craft and played with several diverse artists. Nick moved to Denver in 2011 and worked at School of Rock for over two years directing shows and teaching guitar, bass and vocals. Nick currently resides in New York City and works as a guitar teacher and drum teacher at School of Rock New York, as well as an aspiring songwriter.
Peter Katz Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Peter Katz is a Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist, composer and songwriter who has been playing music for over a decade. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Composition from SUNY Purchase College. Aside from being a guitar teacher and bass guitar teacher at School of Rock New York, you can find him playing guitar and singing with his band, Peaer, all around the country.
Jim Bloom Drum Teacher
Jim Bloom is a Brooklyn-based drummer and percussionist. After growing up playing in garage rock bands in Philadelphia, Jim attended New York University and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Performance. At NYU, he studied with notable professors, such as Mike Richmond, Tony Moreno, Lenny Picket, and Ari Hoenig. In 2014, Jim traveled to Costa Rica as part of the Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center’s Promising Artists Program, where he performed and gave masterclasses. Since graduating, Jim has worked as a freelance musician throughout New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. He has toured nationally and performed in prestigious venues, including the Brooklyn Academy of Music; The Kessler, in Dallas, Texas; and The Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C. Jim also plays in NYC regularly with his bands The Academy Blues Project, Anacortes, and The Grasping Straws.
Sydney Hayes SINGING AND KEYBOARD TEACHER
Sydney Hayes is a New York City actor, singer, dancer, and educator. She began taking classical piano lessons in small-town in Iowa at age 5, and student teaching at age 12. She taught piano and flute throughout high school and began her own piano/flute/voice studio in college. She received a BA in Theatre at the University of Iowa before moving to NYC to pursue musical theatre. Since then, she has acted, sung, danced, stage managed, and music directed in several NYC shows. She currently plays piccolo in a local marching band. In the rock world, she was previously a singer and keyboardist in two local Iowa bands and she is currently singing back up and playing keys in an NYC indie project. Sydney is honored to be teaching the young musicians at School of Rock, because she knows how important it is for kids to be exposed to music and learn a discipline in the arts.