Emily McCreight Assistant General Manager
Nashville native Emily McCreight just recently graduated from Belmont University in May 2021. Earning her degree in entertainment industry studies and public relations, she loved nothing more than to come back and be the studio coordinator for the School of Rock Mt. Juliet. Emily is also an alum from our sister school, School of Rock Franklin. During her time, she was a 4-time School of Rock AllStar and also had the opportunity to open for Knight Ranger, play on multiple cruise lines, and perform at multiple Nashville Predators games. Some of her biggest inspirations are John Paul Jones, Laura Lee, and Zac Brown Band. Now, she finds success with her up-and-coming band Juke of June who has performed at the Tennessee Titan’s halftime show as well as open for Moon Taxi.
Sarah Bryant Regional Director
Sarah is a Nashville native and attended Belmont University, graduating in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in commercial music with a vocal performance focus, with an emphasis in music business. Sarah was exposed to rock music by her father at a young age, and she has been very passionate about music throughout her life. She began taking classical vocal and piano lessons in school and proceeded to take lessons throughout her college career. Sarah's main genre of vocals is rock, and she is also trained in and greatly enjoys jazz, pop and musical theater.
Music continues to surround Sarah outside of School of Rock with songwriting and producing for fun. She also frequents many concerts and music festivals with her friends and family around the country. Aside from music, Sarah loves cooking, hiking, and playing video games.
Sarah serves as our regional director at School of Rock Franklin, Nashville, and Mt. Juliet, continuing 6+ years as part of the School of Rock family. Sarah’s greatest wish for our students is that they can call School of Rock their second home and family, while learning to be the best they can be.
Angie McCreight Owner
Angie has loved music her entire life. One of her earliest memories is listening to artists like Elvis Presley, Elton John and more with her parents as a toddler. Angie started singing at the age of five, joining her church choir at the age of eight. In middle school, Angie was a member of the Ketron Singers who performed at the World's Fair in Knoxville, TN and continued to develop her vocal skills with private lessons. Angie continued to perform in high school with her jazz band and performed in the Tennessee All-State Choir, as well as at the Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts.
Angie continued her vocal training in college and participated in activities that allowed her to continue to perform. She went on to earn a bachelor's degree in medical technology and worked in pharmaceutical research for over 20 years. In 2011, after leaving her career in the pharmaceutical industry, she and her husband Kelly decided to open the first School of Rock in Tennessee in the Franklin/Cool Springs area and opened the Nashville location two years later. Angie is very passionate about providing this outlet for young musicians and has also seen her own children participate in the program and become School of Rock AllStars. Every day is a gift when she sees the students get excited about their music and performing in live music venues, even when they get excited about just being in the building.
Steve Rossi Regional Music Director
Steve Rossi brings many years of experience to the Franklin School of Rock as a seasoned performer. Steve has performed on stage with Rock legend and guitar virtuoso, Peter Frampton on his North American tours, as well as other well-known artists such as vocalist extraordinaire Taylor Dayne, 80s rock legends Cinderella (North American tours), 60s rock n' roll pioneer Gary U.S. Bonds, and many other high profile bands and artists across several continents. He has appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "The Arsenio Hall Show" and NBC's "A 70s Celebration" with Taylor Dayne. Steve has also appeared with headliners The Bee Gees and other notable 70s artists. Other appearances include Solid Gold with Gary U.S. Bonds and on MTV's "The Grind." Steve's album credits include Stevie Wonder, John Kay, Steppenwolf and various other artists. He is an independent composer/producer of music for television multimedia. Clients include ABC/Disney, AE, Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon Networks and The Travel Channel, as well as various other corporate and independent clients. Steve scored two seasons of "Surprise by Design," hit home improvement series on Discovery Channel, and is currently composing and producing original, in-program music for "Good Morning America." He is a guitar teacher, bass guitar teacher and piano teacher at School of Rock Franklin.
Sean McCreight Associate Music Director
Born and raised in the Nashville, TN area, Sean McCreight first picked up the guitar at age six but didn't become serious about playing the guitar until he was in sixth grade, when he started taking private lessons and learned about the band KISS. Sean's first guitar influence was Ace Frehley, which led to his first live performance in a KISS tribute band and other performances, including the Halloween KISS House right off of the square in Franklin, TN. To this day, Sean can still play every Ace Frehley solo. Eventually Sean became a student at School of Rock and quickly began to learn about more genres of music and develop a love of the blues, progressive rock, Motown, classic rock, jam bands and many more. As time went on Sean's influences grew to include Pink Floyd, The Allman Brothers, Derek Trucks, Gov't Mule, The Grateful Dead, The Aquarium Rescue Unit and his all time favorite, Widespread Panic. During his time at School of Rock, Sean was a member of the House Band for five years and was a three-time national AllStar. After graduating high school and School of Rock, Sean attended Belmont University and majored in commercial music - guitar and quickly formed his band Sonic Voodoo, a seven-piece fusion rock band based in Nashville, TN. Sean's band has played many high-profile gigs, including playing at the Nashville Predators games and Plaza Parties, as well as opening for Echosmith. The band released their first EP on Spotify and iTunes in March of 2017. Sean is continuing his music education in the Segue 61 program in Nashville, TN and continues to record and perform live with Sonic Voodoo and other artists around town.
Derik Sibit Singing Teacher
Derik is originally from Akron, Ohio. He started getting into music around the age of 12 when he would listen to his dad’s CDs, Holy Diver by Dio and Journey’s The Best Of. When he heard Steve Perry sing, he was instantly mesmerized and knew he wanted to be able to sing just like him. Derik's first large-scale performance was at a middle school halftime show in 8th grade where he sang “Don’t Stop Believin,’” appropriately enough. He attended Kent State and later transferred to Belmont in the fall of 2015 to pursue a degree in Commercial Voice with a performance emphasis. Derik continued his education at Belmont in the Spring of 2021 to obtain his masters degree, also in Commercial Voice. During his time at Belmont he performed for four years in their premier pop-rock ensemble known as PHNX, directed by Jamie Wigginton. He also sang in the university’s Rock Ensemble for five years, while also studying with three different voice instructors, all specializing in different vocal method approaches and musical styles.
Outside of his music education, Derik has also performed with multi-platinum, Grammy nominated recording artist Kip Winger (of the band Winger) on several occasions while working with his original band, Lily Prex, a classic rock inspired group influenced by the golden era of rock in the 1970s and 1980s, harkening back to the sounds of bands like Van Halen, Def Leppard, Journey, Boston, The Police, etc. Deriks' band currently has a weekly residency at Big Machine (of Big Machine Records) in downtown Nashville off Broadway.
Sean Makhuli Keyboard Teacher
Sean’s music journey started in the deep south when at the age of 11 his mom decided to put him in piano lessons. It wasn’t long after that his teacher began to recognize a natural relationship with the instrument forming and soon after began participating in state piano competitions in his home state of South Carolina. In conjunction with this, he began playing gospel music in his small inner city church, which developed a whole other side of his artistry, and eventually it blossomed to jazz and songwriting as well. This diversity in his playing and musical education is something that has continued to this day, and eventually led to him receiving a piano scholarship to study piano performance at Belmont University in Nashville, TN.
Sean very much enjoys helping build students with diverse skills. His biggest desire, however, is to help each student reach whatever their specific vision or goal for learning is. If it’s just to learn some songs for fun, GREAT, if it’s for serious pursuit of becoming an artist, GREAT, all for the joy!
Sam Rivera Drum Teacher
Sam Rivera is a versatile drummer from Long Beach, California, now residing in Nashville, TN. Sam graduated from Belmont University in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in commercial music. Sam has played drums at many iconic venues, including The Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood, The Honda Center in Los Angeles, EXIT/IN in Nashville, and frequently plays on Nashville’s Broadway circuit and infamous “Rock Block.” When not teaching students or performing, Sam enjoys competitive gaming, hanging out with his guinea pigs and cat, and writing with his alternative rock band Lobby Language.
Hannah Smith Singing Teacher, Keyboard Teacher, Guitar Teacher
Hannah’s musical journey began when she was enrolled in piano lessons at five years old. While five-year-old Hannah drew inspiration from Hilary Duff and the Backstreet Boys, today her biggest musical inspirations are Taylor Swift, Snow Patrol, and Jack Antonoff. Originally from Texas, Hannah moved to Nashville in 2014 to attend Belmont University where she studied commercial voice, composition, and arranging, and where she founded and directed Prismatics, an internationally-ranked, award-winning a cappella ensemble. Since graduating in 2018, Hannah continues to teach lessons and masterclasses as well as to work as a live and studio vocalist. When she’s not teaching, Hannah is also a graphic designer and runs an online store while she pursues her Master’s and teaching license at MTSU.
Andrew Howsmon Bass Guitar Teacher, Guitar Teacher
Andrew Howsmon was born into a family of classical musicians. When he was 14, he found his dad’s old guitar and quickly lost interest in violin. Since then, he’s played guitar and bass with several groups around the Midwest. Drew’s favorite artists (currently) are Stevie Wonder, Vulfpeck, and Led Zeppelin. He has also been known to enjoy bagels with cream cheese and salmon with a large black coffee.
John Arnold Drum Teacher
John is native of the plethora of music scenes across Southern California, having grown up in northern Orange County. Having studied performance in the Huntington Beach Academy of the Performing Arts in high school, and audio recording at Golden West College, John has adopted a strong sense of the all important interpersonal dynamic that helps a music environment flourish. This has been an attribute to his extensive catalogue ranging from the Southern Rock-inspired hymns of singer-songwriter, Eric Roebuck to the upcoming colossal LP by alternative/punk rock outfit, Joynoise.
In his years as a California SoR instructor, John brought the spirit of collective work and inspired performance in his teachings of a multitude of styles ranging from rock, jazz, reggae, pop, metal, Latin jazz, country, and African percussion. The ultimate foundation of these practices are rooted in his early mantras of always having a willingness and privilege to be involved in music and its seminal people-focused values.
John Vaillancourt Guitar Teacher
In the spirit of keeping the learning process fun and engaging for everyone, John strives to create a stress free, encouraging, and moderately casual environment for his students. While John Vaillancourt mainly offers lessons for guitar, he also offers lessons for keys and bass guitar. Having previously studied at the Berklee College of Music, John is well versed in a multitude of genres including Rock, Pop, Jazz, Funk, R&B, and Country music, and various techniques to help advance your skills. While at Berklee, John also studied songwriting and was Vice President in the Songwriting Club while participating in recording sessions tracking guitar. John's studio knowledge extends further than recording as he studied audio-engineering at The Blackbird Academy and works with recording software as well as consoles and other outboard equipment.