Stewart Grace
Owner, Drum Teacher, Guitar 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 he went on to be the drummer at his local church and was the drumline instructor at Hopkinsville High School for seven years simultaneously.
During Stewart's tenure at HHS, the school had two undefeated percussion seasons and started an indoor drumline that continues to this day with the instruction of one of his former students. Upon graduating high school, Stewart attended Austin Peay State University as a music education major for two years, before transferring to the University of Kentucky and graduating with a bachelor's degree in linguistics.
After graduating from UK, Stewart began teaching at School of Rock in Vienna, VA, where he was promoted to lead instructor and director of the Rock 101 program.
Stewart has also played in several bands throughout the years, varying in genres such as pop, metal, rock, blues, and jazz!
Jordan Grace
Owner
Hannah Smith
Music Director, Vocal Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher, Guitar Teacher
Hannah’s musical journey began when she was enrolled in piano lessons in first grade. While little Hannah drew inspiration primarily from Hilary Duff, today her biggest musical inspirations are Taylor Swift, Lyle Lovett, Snow Patrol, and Jack Antonoff.
Originally from Texas, Hannah moved to Tennessee 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 has continued to teach lessons and masterclasses and to work as a live and studio vocalist, keyboard player, and arranger. She also furthered her education at MTSU, studying Music Education and Curriculum & Instruction.
When she’s not teaching at School of Rock Mt. Juliet or making music, Hannah is an avid reader, loves crafting, and spends way too much time playing The Sims.
John Vaillancourt
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Keyboard + 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. At School of Rock Mt. Juliet, John Vaillancourt mainly offers lessons for guitar, he also offers lessons for keyboard + piano 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.
Jonathan Morris
Drum Teacher
Jonathan Morris, originally from Fort Worth, Texas, grew up playing drums and percussion in school and church while also composing and arranging music of his own. He then moved to Nashville to attend Lipscomb University where he studied commercial drum set, music production, and film scoring. He now enjoys recording and performing with local artists and writing for a local composer collective.
Jonathan has experience with a variety of genres including pop, folk, country, blues, worship, and jazz. He loves helping students achieve their goals in music, and is passionate about the way music allows people to grow in understanding themselves and others!
Cole Insko
Drum Teacher
Cole Insko is a drummer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a Berklee College of Music graduate, he has performed in many groups and has opened for artists such as Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band, Count Basie Orchestra, Travis Tritt, Charlie Daniels Band, The Steeldrivers, Tyler Childers and many more. Cole has experience in touring, recording, and teaching. Being the son of two music educators, Cole began playing professionally at a
very young age. Now living in Nashville, he continues to perform with various local artists. Cole has been teaching drums and percussion privately for almost ten years. He continues to learn more and more about the instrument each day and is happy to share the knowledge that has aided in his own success!
Matt Bover
Drum Teacher, Guitar Teacher
Matt Bover is a drummer and educator originally from the Woodstock, NY area. After high school, he moved to Barcelona, Spain, where he studied jazz and Latin styles at the internationally renowned Conservatori del Liceu. While maintaining a perfect GPA and balancing a demanding schedule of full-time classes and 17-hour daily practice sessions, Matt immersed himself in Barcelona’s vibrant international music scene—connecting with thousands of musicians from around the world and performing across Europe.
Following his time in Spain, Matt returned to the U.S. and relocated to Boston, Massachusetts to continue his studies at Berklee College of Music. There, he was awarded a full performance scholarship and quickly became part of a dynamic community of top-tier musicians, collaborating and recording with some of Berklee’s finest talent. Also, while at Berklee Matt wrote and published his own drumming instructional book titled “Chops For The Modern Drummer”. A piece of drumming literature that is currently used among drummers worldwide.
A passionate educator, Matt dedicates much of his time to teaching, gigging, and leading clinics, always seeking to inspire the next generation of musicians at School of Rock Mt. Juliet.
Nicky Domagala
Vocal Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Nicky is a vocalist and pianist from the Chicagoland area. She recently graduated from Berklee College of Music in May of 2024, and she moved to Nashville in September of the same year. Nicky is a performer, songwriter, producer, and audio engineer as well, and she loves helping her students at School of Rock Mt. Juliet improve their vocal, keys, and songwriting skills.
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 at School of Rock Mt. Juliet.
Patrick Oakes
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Keyboard & Piano Teacher
Patrick Oakes is a Cincinnati-native, now Nashville-based guitarist, bassist, keyboardist and composer. He started playing the guitar at age 13 inspired by the sounds of alternative and classic rock. He played viola and upright bass in school orchestras and became a guitar student at School of Rock Mason, where he was exposed to improvisation and music theory.
He then attended the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, where he received his Bachelor’s of Music in Jazz Studies and had the opportunity to spend time studying music theory, composition, improvisation, Brazilian music, bluegrass, and the lineage of creative American music.
Patrick has been playing professionally since age 16. Now, in addition to playing in his own bands around Nashville, you can hear him as a member of The Wonderlands with whom he has had the opportunity to play across the eastern US and record several albums of original music. He loves School of Rock Mt. Juliet for its ability to connect people through music and its ability to expand what many students think is possible through art and collaboration.
Jack Quigley
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Jack is a multi-instrumentalist from Nashville who began playing piano at age six and picked up guitar in high school. He recently relocated from Chicago, where he had lived and worked since 2019. In 2023, he began sharing his passion for music through teaching. Jack enjoys exploring and teaching genres of rock, blues, metal, and funk.
Jack is passionate about helping students at School of Rock Mt. Juliet build the skills and confidence to express themselves through music.
Rui Hembree
Vocal Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Rui has been involved in music ever since she was young, starting on the piano at the age of four and moving on to other instruments as she has gotten older, but singing has always been her main instrument. Rui has a lot of performance experience, including a performance in a mass choir at Carnegie Hall. At School of Rock Mt. Juliet, she loves helping people find their voices and improve their skills so that they can better learn to express themselves through the art of music.