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.
Emily McCreight
Regional Manager
Emily McCreight is a Franklin, TN native and graduated from Belmont University in May 2021, earning her degree in Entertainment Industry Studies and Public Relations. She is the Regional Manager for the School of Rock locations in Franklin, Nashville, and Mt. Juliet.
Emily is a former School of Rock student, which included being a 4-time School of Rock AllStar. She also had the opportunity to open for Night Ranger, play on multiple cruise lines, share the stage with several internationally recognized artists, and perform at multiple Nashville Predators games. Some of her biggest inspirations are John Paul Jones, Laura Lee, and The Main Squeeze.
Now, Emily finds success with her up-and-coming band, Juke of June. The band won the Tennessee Titans Battle of the Bands and has performed at the Tennessee Titans’ halftime show and multiple games, as well as opened for Moon Taxi. During her off days, she loves adding to her photography portfolio, Siren Studio.
Steve Rossi
Bass Guitar Teacher, Guitar Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher, Regional Music Director
Steve has dedicated over 12 years to the School of Rock in Nashville and Franklin, TN, where he has become a key figure in the music community. His unwavering passion for music and teaching has profoundly impacted the lives of countless students.
Steve’s musical journey began with classical piano at age six, later expanding to include guitar and bass. Over the years, he has performed with rock legends like Peter Frampton, Taylor Dayne, and Cinderella, showcasing his versatility as a musician on international stages and major television shows. He has also collaborated with iconic artists such as Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Jason Aldean, and Steppenwolf, among others.
In addition to his performance career, Steve is an accomplished composer and producer. He has worked with major networks such as ABC/Disney, Discovery, and Nickelodeon, composing music for shows like Good Morning America, The View, and 20/20, as well as producing and recording various artist projects. His work also includes contributions to the 1998 feature film Pleasantville. In the mid-'80s, Steve founded a music software company, pioneering one of the first MIDI sequencer applications.
At School of Rock, Steve has taken on a significant leadership role as the Regional Director of Music Programming while also directing the Nashville/Franklin House Band, which, under his guidance, has earned a reputation as one of the best in the system. As a two-time AllStars Director, he has mentored top-tier students, culminating in 10-day tours that stand out as some of the highlights of his career.
Steve’s approach to teaching is passionate and deeply personalized. Whether directing or teaching lessons, he motivates his students by sharing real-world knowledge and experiences, ensuring they not only learn music but also develop a lasting connection to it. His methods emphasize excitement, discipline, and progress, which have proven highly effective in fostering a deep love of music in his students.
Outside of School of Rock, Steve enjoys spending time with his family and exploring his passion for AI, blending his musical expertise with cutting-edge technology.
Steve’s contributions to the School of Rock and the broader music community are a testament to his dedication, skill, and love for the art of music. His influence continues to inspire students and colleagues alike.
Sadie Anderson
Assistant General Manager
Sadie is a Salt Lake City, Utah native and she graduated from Utah Valley University, where she earned her degree in commercial music with an emphasis in vocal performance. Upon moving to Nashville in 2022, she joined the School of Rock community and is currently the Assistant General Manager for School of Rock Nashville!
When Sadie is not School of Rockin', she's working on her pop project Dasie!
Drew Kohl
Guitar, Bass Guitar, Keyboard Teacher
Drew is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. He has taught lessons on piano, bass, acoustic and electric guitar for over nine years. He graduated with honors from the guitar program at the Atlanta Institute of Music. He was also accepted into the classical piano and music composition program at the University of Georgia. After studying at UGA he moved to Nashville, TN to pursue songwriting, performing and teaching.
Drew enjoys teaching beginners of all styles and intermediate to advance students on songwriting, music theory, rock, indie, folk, bluegrass and country styles. He has studied and transcribed songs from a variety of artists for students including The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and CCR, as well as contemporary bands such as Death Cab For Cutie, The Avett Brothers, Ryan Adams and Modest Mouse to name a few. He enjoys working with students and helping them play the songs they love.
John O'Brien
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
John O'Brien has spent most of his life making music. At the age of 10, he began learning the saxophone and started playing music through school programs. Picking up guitar by the age of 13, he knew that music would always be an important part of his life and sought out every opportunity to perform. School programs provided performance opportunities in wind ensembles, jazz ensembles, marching bands, pep bands, pit orchestras, jazz combos, show choir combos, and saxophone quartets.
Still needing more, John would form his own bands outside of school. These bands would emphasize original material and range in styles from blues and jazz to rock, pop, and metal. John has played hundreds of shows all over the Midwest, recorded several albums, and had his music played on commercial radio stations in Chicago and elsewhere.
Scott Soifer
Drum Teacher
Scott began taking drum lessons in Dayton, OH when he was 9, and didn't stop until he attended Berklee School of Music at the age of 21 as a performance major. He moved back to Dayton to teach full time, moved to Nashville in 2010, and taught at School of Rock Franklin. Scott toured nationally in American Pink Floyd, and performed in the Blues Rock duo Two Bit Charlie. He is currently drumming for the Grammy nominated artist, Jamie Floyd, and teaching martial arts. Scott prides himself on individualizing lesson plans for students in a way that is challenging and fun, while helping them find their own voice on the drums, learn versatility and achieve their goals.
Maxx Blois-Rosetti
Guitar Teacher
Growing up in New Jersey, Maxx picked up a guitar at the age of seven and never put it down. Maxx is known for his precision, speed and accuracy, while maintaining feel and musicality. He specialized first in rock and metal styles and later incorporated more sophisticated styles such as fusion and progressive genres into his playing. Maxx has placed highly in many solo competitions and received accolades from notable guitarists such as Tom Quayle, Sarah Longfield, Rich Henshall, and Jack Gardiner. Lessons with Maxx focus on developing technique, learning and applying theory as well as correcting bad habits and improving form.
Garrett Goodwin
Drum Teacher
Garrett is a drummer and percussionist from central New Jersey. He graduated from Berklee College of Music with a drum set performance degree in 2021 and moved to Nashville shortly thereafter to pursue a career in music.
Garrett loves teaching and performing and feels most at home when behind a drum set. His influences include Carter Beaford, John Bonham, and Steve Gadd. He believes that anything is possible to learn if you start really slow and build up muscle memory. Garrett loves helping students achieve their goals and is honored to teach at School of Rock!
Jason Powers
Guitar Teacher
Jason began playing guitar at the age of 15 after seeing a solo by Eddie Van Halen. That was and is the catalyst that has inspired his pursuit of the instrument to this day. At the age of 21, Jason attended the Atlanta Institute of Music with an emphasis on performance and theory. After school, he performed and taught guitar full-time for years. Most of his experience was as a studio musician where he was blessed to have worked with many notable artists in the R&B, Jazz, Rap, and Christian industries in Atlanta at that time. After years of studio work, Jason decided to pursue engineering, mixing, and production. He was blessed to have worked in many of Atlanta's flagship studios during that venture. Jason's passion now is to continue to press on to become the best musician he can and to invest himself in others to help them to fulfill their musical goals.
Noah Miller
Drum Teacher, Show Director
Noah started playing drums at the age of 13. He grew up in New York City and then later moved to the suburbs of Philadelphia where he went to School of Rock Main Line. He participated in the House Band and eventually became a School of Rock AllStar.
Noah attended Belmont University, graduating in 2018 with a degree in commercial percussion with an emphasis in the music business. Noah's favorite musicians are Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Tool, and Jimi Hendrix.
Dillon Frazier
Drum Teacher
Dillon Frazier is a Nashville native with over a decade of professional experience as a studio and touring drummer with artists Matisyahu, Maggie Koerner, and various other national and international acts. From jazz, soul, and R&B to metal and reggae, Dillon's stylistic interests are as varied as the acts he has performed and recorded with.
Stephen Perlowski
Guitar Teacher
Stephen Perlowski is a guitarist and music teacher from Richmond, VA with over 15 years of performing experience. He performs a variety of music from classical to blues to hard rock. Stephen graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Berklee College of Music in 2018 with a major in Guitar Performance. He has experience performing in a myriad of musical settings including rock groups, jazz bands, pit orchestras, and folk duos/trios. He also has extensive experience working as a solo guitarist.
Stephen graduated from Belmont’s School of Music with a master’s degree in Commercial Music. Lessons with Stephen will help any student improve their technical foundation while learning the musical elements of their favorite songs. This allows the student to play their favorite music and even create music of their own!
Allegra Cramer
Vocal Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Hailing from the red desert of Utah, Allegra Cramer writes, sings, and plays music in search of authentic sound. Raised in a musical family, she developed a love for emotional expression through classical harp, piano, and voice lessons, and later found her space in the contemporary realm through folk, jazz, and improvisation as both a performer and songwriter.
With over 15 years of performing experience and a Bachelor of Music from Berklee College of Music, Allegra creates for voice and harp in many contexts. She can be heard lending her sound on a wide variety of projects, including releases by Paula Cole, David Archuleta, and Steve Smith. She has worked with Grammy-winning artists A.R. Rahman, Eugene Friesen, Simon Shaheen, and Javier Limon and has performed in diverse venues such as the Boston Symphony Hall, IronHorse World Music Festival, Queensland Opera House, Ryles Jazz Club, Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse, Boston GreenFest, Figment Festival and the Encuentro Internacional Maestros del Arpa Bogotá.
Currently Nashville-based, Allegra continues teaching piano voice, and musicianship and can be found performing and creating around the globe from Israel to Australia and beyond.
Fred Lankford
Performance Director
Meet Fred Lankford! Fred was born in Birmingham, Alabama, where he graduated from Mountain Brook High School in 2010. After that, he attended Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee until his graduation in 2014. He spent two more years in Memphis post-grad and was an instructor and director for School of Rock Memphis.
In 2018, after a year of living in Birmingham, Fred and his band The Brook & the Bluff relocated to Nashville to pursue their music career full-time. Since then, the band has released one EP and three full-length albums, as well as traveled all over the US year after year.
Jake Handley
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher
Hailing from the island of Oahu comes an instructor who is equally knowledgeable, passionate, and charming. After viewing the movie School of Rock, Jake embarked upon a lifelong journey to master the guitar; in the process, he has found an equal passion for bass, drums, and writing songs. With many great mentors over the years, including but not limited to Coy Bowles of The Zac Brown Band, Jake has a strong foundation in blues, rock ’n’ roll, surf rock, and bluegrass; some influences include Stevie Ray Vaughn, Dick Dale, Dave Grohl, and Billy Strings. With over 15 years of professional experience and collaboration in the industry, Jake is certified to inspire the minds of budding musicians.
Kayla Phillips
Vocal Teacher, Guitar Teacher
Kayla Phillips has spent her entire life in love with music. Learning from an early age guided by her musical family, she knew the stage was her path. Originally from Indiana, Kayla’s music is charged with “midwestern nostalgia” through lyrics and melody. Inspired by lyrically centered artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Joni Mitchell, and Stevie Nicks, Kayla has found her unique niche in the folk-rock world. She released her debut record in October 2023.
Her teaching journey began at the School of Rock in Zionsville in early 2023. Since relocating, Kayla is avidly writing and collaborating with as many creatives as possible. She is thrilled to bring her passion for teaching and vocal performance with her to the School of Rock in Nashville!
Logan Kehle
Drum Teacher
Originally from Chicago, Logan began his journey behind the drumkit at his hometown School Of Rock at the age of nine years old. As a firm believer in the idea that there will always be more to learn about drumming and music, he started taking influence from drummers like Mitch Mitchell of The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Bill Ward of Black Sabbath eventually taking influence from Matt Halpern of Periphery and Two of Sleep Token. In hopes of pursuing his music career, Logan moved to Nashville. Not only does he teach here, but he built his own modern metal outfit from the ground up. He has quickly gained experience through this group playing popular venues such as the Cobra and even Festivals.
Sean Halpin
Drum Teacher
Sean was a School of Rock student in Northern New Jersey for many years, taking lessons/performance programs and participating in House Band for several years. After graduating high school, he began teaching at two School of Rock locations in Northern New Jersey before relocating to Nashville to study at Belmont University. Sean loves to perform and is always pulling off stick tricks and stunts behind the kit. He has had the opportunity to perform at a variety of venues, including the famous Bitter End and multiple Summerfest stages. He is well versed in multiple musical genres, including metal, math rock, jazz, RnB, classic rock, progressive rock/metal, funk, and even symphonic band! Sean’s inspirations come from drummers like Mike Portnoy, Matt Garstka, Thomas Haake, and others like Art Blakey, Quest Love, and Vinny Colaiuta. Sean’s teaching approach focuses on helping students understand every aspect of what they play: the musical genre, proper technique, drum notation, and more. He strives to challenge his students to push themselves to become the best drummers they can, while also having fun and fostering a lifelong love for music.
Ty Jacobs
Guitar Teacher, Vocal Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Ty is from Cleveland, OH, and used to go to his local School of Rock! Currently, he's a sophomore AET major at Belmont University and plays guitar, bass, keys, some drums, and also sings. Basically, anything that has to do with music he loves, so Ty is super excited to be teaching at the School of Rock in Nashville! Some of his favorite artists/bands right now are Pink Floyd, KGLW, Mammoth WVH, Snarky Puppy, Genesis, the list goes on and on. He's super excited to be in Nashville and to be instructing our School of Rock students!
Sam Crompton
Vocal Teacher
Sami Crompton is a Greensboro, NC native singer/songwriter who has been singing for 15 years and playing piano for 6 and moved to Nashville in 2020. He started singing when he was 6 years old after someone had mentioned he had a great voice! Since then, he’s had vocal lessons from opera singers, renowned high school choir directors, and many more who have ties into musical theater and rock. Some of his influences are Aerosmith, Fall Out Boy, Jeff Buckley, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Erykah Badu. Sami looks forward to getting to see his students and hearing them improve!
Andrew Lucas
Guitar Teacher
Andrew is a guitarist, arranger, and music director hailing from Morristown, New Jersey. He is a former School of Rock student and explored many genres ranging from rock and metal to fusion and jazz, leading to his mastery of the instrument.
Andrew was a member of his school's House Band and was thrice selected to the School of Rock AllStars program, giving him immense experience in stage performance and life on the road. This led to Andrew's application and acceptance into Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied arranging and production, applying those skills to many scenarios. Having arranged for many artists, ensembles, and showcases at Berklee, Andrew has developed an immense understanding of the art, working on arrangements for big bands, contemporary ensembles, and string ensembles. Through experience on the stage, he has also used his technical proficiency in Logic X, Pro Tools, and Ableton to MD for up-and-coming artists in the industry, bringing lively arrangements and high-quality productions to their live shows.
Andrew was hired to play guitar for MARIS at the 2024 Boston Calling Music Festival, a gig he says he will never forget. Now living in Nashville, Andrew strives to be one of the most successful players in the industry, where he is focused on bringing the art and the passion back into music.
Soraya Rafat
Guitar Teacher
Soraya Rafat is a professional touring guitarist, session musician, and producer. She moved to Nashville after graduating from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA this year. Originally from Jacksonville, FL, Soraya picked up the guitar at the age of 11 and has not put it down ever since. Her love for making music eventually brought her to other instruments like bass, piano, drums, and many more. She also taught herself a bit about music production before learning more about it in college. Outside of music, Soraya loves dogs, traveling, and going on adventures with her friends. Soraya is committed to constantly learning and growing as a musician, and she is very excited to bring this energy to the School of Rock in Nashville!