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.
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.
John Vaillancourt
Guitar Teacher, Piano 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.
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.
Brandon Gick
Drum Teacher
Brandon Gick just recently moved to Nashville, TN in pursuit of new musical endeavors. He first joined School of Rock at the Zionsville location in Indiana, teaching various styles of percussion and drum set and we are so happy to now have him with our Mt. Juliet family. Brandon has been playing drums and percussion for the last fourteen years. He spent time in the music department at Ball State University studying orchestral percussion, as well as latin and jazz drum set. Brandon has played throughout the Midwest with rock fusion group Porch Kat (2018-2022) and looks forward to working with Nashville's youth.
Jared Tuitel
Guitar Teacher, Piano Teacher, Drums Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Singing Teacher
Jared Tuitel is a music teacher who enjoys sharing his passion for music while meeting his students where they are with understanding, empathy, and compassion. He attended Berklee College of Music right out of high school to study music and guitar graduating with a Bachelor's degree in professional music. During his time at Berklee, he played in a band with his schoolmates who played shows all around Boston and the east coast. After graduating, he worked for a daycare that put on mini concerts for families and their kids. This propelled him into his teaching career which he began shortly after when he moved back to his hometown of Grand Rapids Michigan teaching at local music academies. During the pandemic, he was brought into the world of teaching on zoom and began teaching for an online company on top of the local academies. Jared has most recently relocated himself in Nashville Tennessee to continue teaching and expanding his music career.
In his free time, Jared enjoys working on his personal music endeavors. He also enjoys running, swimming, meditating, and spending time with his family and friends. He was lucky enough to study abroad in Valencia Spain during his last semester at Berklee.
Stephen Ellison
Drum Teacher
Stephen Ellison is a lifetime lover of music. He’s been playing drums professionally since 2014 starting in local bars in his home state of New Mexico. In 2018, he moved to Boston to study drum set performance at Berklee College of Music. While in Boston he began recording and performing with alternative punk band Pigeon Man, as well as other groups. Upon graduation, he and his band mates relocated to Music City. His passion for drums and experience in the industry is what he strives to share with every student at School of Rock.
Sadie Anderson
Assistant General Manager
Sadie Anderson is a singer and songwriter originally from Utah. She started writing songs and singing when she was a kid and never stopped. She graduated with a degree in Commercial Music with an emphasis in Vocal Performance from Utah Valley University and has recently relocated to Nashville, TN! When she’s not at School of Rock she’s performing and writing for her pop project, Dasie!
Rachel Olivo
Singing Teacher
Rachel Olivo is a singer who graduated from Berklee College of Music for a Bachelors in Music Business. Rachel began singing lessons at age 10 and since going to Berklee, has had a wide variety of professional teachings; including Valencia, Spain where she learned her favorite form of techniques. Rachel started singing competitively at age 12 and began performing in restaurants and venues weekly at 16 years old. She also has a background in musical theatre, pop, and jazz that enhances her vocal training and placement range. Rachel is familiar with speech pathology and enjoys teaching about how your voice works so people can sing in healthy ways. With all of her past experience, Rachel is super excited to bring new teaching styles to her students!
Annalee Condiles
Singing Teacher
Annalee Condiles is currently a student at Belmont University majoring in Music Business (live event management) and minoring in dance. She first got involved with singing through musical theater and to this day can call herself a proud theater kid, although the School of Rock program is really where her love grew. She attended the Mainline School of Rock in PA where she was a House Band member and National Allstar in 2019 and 2020. Her rock inspirations range from Earth Wind and Fire to No Doubt to Black Sabbath and is so excited to share my passion for singing with the Nashville School of Rock community.
Stewart Grace
Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher
Music has always been an integral part of Stewart's life. As a young student, he first learned to play drums in the middle school band. Then, went on to be the drummer at his local church, and was the drumline instructor at Hopkinsville High School for 7 years simultaneously. During my tenure at HHS, we had 2 undefeated percussion seasons and started an indoor drumline that continues to this day with the instruction of one of my former students. Upon graduating high school, I attended Austin Peay State University as a Music Education major for 2 years, before transferring to the University of Kentucky and graduating with my B.A in Linguistics. After graduating from UK, I began teaching at School of Rock in Vienna, VA, where I was promoted to lead instructor and director of the Rock 101 program. I also played in several bands throughout the years, varying in genres such as pop, metal, rock, blues and jazz!
Alex Tompkins
Guitar Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Hailing from the magical land of Great Britain, Alex fell in love with music at a very early age. As a teenager, he moved around the states with his family from New York to Illinois. It was in Illinois that Alex finally found a place where he belonged as a student at the School of Rock. In 2008, they encouraged him to try teaching guitar lessons, and when he moved down to Nashville in 2012 it led him straight to a teaching position at School of Rock Franklin!
Alex stayed on as a guitar and piano instructor in Franklin and Nashville for a few years and then left to wait tables and pursue a songwriting career. He signed a publishing deal in 2020 (the same day the Nashville tornado hit his house on Holly Street!) and since then, Alex has been lucky enough to have songs in TV shows, get to play and assist on records by Lana Del Ray and James Bay, and tour as a guitarist with Joy Oladokun, Marren Morris, and My Morning Jacket. He’s recently back at School of Rock after 7 years because he loves the community so much and Rock & Roll is his one true love.