Liam Sumnicht Drum Teacher
Liam Sumnicht has been playing the drums since the age of 10. Liam took private lessons, played in school bands, jazz band, percussion ensemble and orchestra, and finally started a rock band in high school, where he found his passion. Heading to college while the landscape of the music industry was changing, and aware of the role that business and visual art plays in music, he majored in Entrepreneurship and minored in Graphic Design at the University of Missouri - Kansas City.
After graduating in 2010, he joined and became a founding member of Not A Planet, and the band hit the road for an east coast tour two weeks later. The band continued to tour for several years on the Northeast coast, the Southeast Coast and in Austin, TX. The band played Music Week, Boulevardia and Summer Jam, was awarded Best Rock EP by the Independent Music Awards and Best Rock Band by the Pitch Music Awards, and received other nominations from both. They played with Stone Temple Pilots and The Dirty Heads, and toured with Blues Traveler. Today, Liam plays in Not A Planet, Kangaroo Knife Fight and Jaenki. He is a drum teacher at School of Rock Parkville.
Jake Schubert Drum Teacher
Jake Schubert is a percussionist from Milwaukee, where he completed his degree in classical percussion performance from UW Milwaukee. He has toured throughout Wisconsin playing jazz fusion and musical theatre shows before moving to Kansas City to further his studies at UMKC where he is currently working towards a master's degree in jazz performance. In Kansas City, Jake has played with former Jazz Messenger Bobby Watson and the renowned saxophonist Jaleel Shaw, as well as forming his own groups which feature tunes from the American songbook and original compositions by both himself and his bandmates. Jake firmly believes that music education is vital for preserving long-standing musical traditions which are themselves vital for creating the music of the future.
Olivia Marshall Drum Teacher
Olivia Marshall is a School of Rock alum from School of Rock Parkville. She is a drum teacher and is one of our Rock 101 leaders. As a performer and instructor, Olivia enjoys classical rock to heavy metal and everything in between.
Richie St. John Guitar Teacher, Piano Teacher
Richie St. John is a School of Rock Alum turned teacher. He is a piano teacher and a guitar teacher, both instruments of which he learned during his time as a student here at School of Rock Parkville. Currently, Richie is the rhythm guitarist and keyboardist of Minor Rewind. He has opened up for noteworthy acts such as Journey, Steve Miller Band, Tower of Power and many more. In addition, he has been involved in a few musical productions, most notably as the role of Skszp, the guitarist, vocalist, keyboardist and musical director for The Egads in the Arts Asylum theatre production of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch."
SOPHIA WILDE STUDIO COORDINATOR
Sophia Wilde is a Park university student as well as a Parkville native. Growing up in Parkville has given her a strong connection to the community and the people within it. Working within the community that has played such a large role in her life has always been very important. As a studio coordinator, she has been able to refine her interpersonal skills as well as interact with and give back to the community on both a personal and professional level.
KODY KRAUSE Drum Teacher
Kody Krause is a young active drummer based in Kansas City. Originally from St. Louis, he spent much of his younger years performing and touring the Midwest. He has earned a B.A. in Jazz Studies from The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music where he specialized in World Percussion and Audio Recording. He performs many different genres from Jazz to Metal to Comedy. Currently, Kody is working on projects with various bands including the local Indie band, Mr. Golden Sun, Colton Cox and the Nuclear Family, and the electronica group, Pool Culture. In addition, he is spearheading an independent project as the composer and performer known as YDOK. Krause is a prominent teacher in the Kansas City Area. He has worked with students of all ages ranging from 3-55 in both private lessons and classroom settings.
Tanya Riley General Manager
Tanya has been with School of Rock since 2018 where she began working as General Manager at the Parkville/Kansas City location. During her time here, she has worked with her team to cultivate an inclusive and safe environment for all of our clients. Tanya has worked diligently to build a team of working musicians that simply teach kids how to ROCK on the stage! Tanya's favorite thing about working for School of Rock is building and working on team projects to improve personally and professionally through personal experience. It's most rewarding to see our collective hard work pay off each season as our clients perform on stage what they have been working on. Tanya believes that music is an experience that can be customized to each individual's needs and can carry you through some of the happiest and darkest times in our lives. If you have not been to one of our School of Rock performances, you should. Let our students show you exactly what I am talking about!
Nathan Nichols Drum Teacher
Born in Columbia and raised in Ashland, Missouri, Nathan began playing drums at the age of 8 and was soon in school bands and gigging with a local rock band with friends. At the age of 19, he began playing professionally at the Lake of the Ozarks with a local band. Now a jazz studies major at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, Nathan has a broad musical background in many genres, with rock and roll being the foundation in his early years as a musician. Outside of music, Nathan is an avid film and television buff and has a golden retriever named Soze.
Nicholas Cecil Guitar Teacher
Nicholas Cecil is a life-long musician who has been playing professionally for the past 9 years. Playing almost every major Kansas City stage and performing at festivals and venues across the midwest, Nick is no stranger to live music. Nick’s music background and education has been well-rounded, he is experienced working in jazz, rock, metal, country, hip-hop, classical acts on a professional level. He has explored all avenues of professional music; live performance, studio performance, mix production/engineering, and master engineering - Not to mention his 6 years of teaching experience at the School of Rock Overland Park. Nick is dedicated to enriching the lives of School of Rock students, and guiding them to find their own road to musical success.
Eli Ruhman Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher
Eli is a multi-instrumentalist musician that has been involved in the KC music scene for seven-plus years! Starting with Tuba in band class, Eli quickly taught himself guitar, bass, and drums, along with vocal lessons, to start his journey as a singer/songwriter/producer. He’s performed on many of KC’s finest venue stages as well as others around the country, ranging in genres from rock to pop, metal to hip hop, and so on and so forth. Eli has a focus on teaching kids how to have fun with music, the same fun that got him into music!
Kaity Anderson Keyboard Teacher, Singing Teacher
Kaitlyn received her Bachelor’s of Music Education from The College of New Jersey and Masters of Music Performance from the University of Missouri Kansas City. She is a professional bassoonist and was trained in percussion, voice, and piano during her time at TCNJ and UMKC. While not working on her classical music career, Kaitlyn works on her skill with drum set, keyboard, and pop vocals. Her favorite is to play metal music on drum set and she enjoys working with children of all ages.
Erin Laney Keyboard Teacher, Singing Teacher
Erin has been teaching music since 2017. She graduated from Baker University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Psychology, with a dual emphasis in Piano and Voice. She has intensive studies in Classical, Jazz, Rock, Music Theory, and also enjoys composing music in her free time. Erin is also a multi-instrumentalist, including Violin, Viola, Cello, and Mallet Percussion. She is involved in all areas of performing arts, and is excited to bring this to the School of Rock of Kansas City.