Bob Jones
Owner, Director
Bob Jones is a compose and multi-instrumentalist living and working in Brooklyn's thriving music scene. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Double Bass Performance from Michigan State University. Equally at home in the genres of rock, classical, folk, electronic, and jazz, Bob has appeared on dozens of albums and has toured extensively in the United States and Europe. With two decades of teaching experience under his belt, Bob takes his role as Music Director at School of Rock New York in stride. His students have gone on to audition for performing arts high schools and colleges and pursue careers in music. He is known for the enthusiasm and patience he shows in lessons, rehearsals, and events.
Sarah E. Taylor
Studio Coordinator
Sarah E. Taylor is our Studio Coordinator at School of Rock New York and is a writer, actor, and producer based out of Long Island, NY. She has written over 20 plays and screenplays and has recently jumped into film production. Her works have won numerous accolades, most recently “Best Horror Short” in the Oregon Screams Film Festival. Sarah is the founder of 860 Films and the face of Nerd Culture Cooking where she cooks recipes from notable nerdy fandoms! She is also a voice actor, an avid gamer, and plays snare drum for the Queer Big Apple Corps, the city’s largest LGBTQ+ marching band!
Peter Katz
Show Director, Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Peter Katz is a Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, and songwriter who has been playing music for over a decade. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Composition from SUNY Purchase College. Aside from being a guitar teacher and bass guitar teacher at School of Rock New York, you can find Peter playing guitar and singing with his band, Peaer, all around the country.
Nick Llobet
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Nick Llobet knew music had to be in his future as soon as he’d seen his first rock show. After playing guitar for a few years, Nick received a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music, where he honed his craft and played with several diverse artists. Nick moved to Denver in 2011 and worked at School of Rock for over two years directing shows and teaching guitar, bass, and vocals. Nick currently resides in New York City and works as a guitar teacher and drum teacher at School of Rock New York, as well as an aspiring songwriter.
Devin McKnight
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Devin McKnight is a guitarist and bassist originally hailing from the DC metropolitan area. After years of studying Guitar Performance at Berklee College of Music and touring in various indie rock bands such as Speedy Ortiz and Grass is Green, he settled in Brooklyn, NY. Since living in Brooklyn, he's started his own band called Maneka, where he writes and produces all the instruments and vocals. Musical stylings of his own music have ranged from hip-hop and rap to melodic indie rock, punk rock and even jazz. Devin has come to believe that a holistic understanding of all genres and instruments, even if rudimentary, can empower young people to start their own musical projects or discover a peaceful outlet they previously didn't know existed. He is a guitar teacher and bass guitar teacher at School of Rock New York.
Adam Sapiro
Show Director, Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Singing Teacher, Keyboard Teacher
Adam Sapiro grew up in Miami, Florida, and attended School of Rock Miami as a student for five years before becoming a teacher at age 18. He holds an Associate’s Degree in Jazz Vocal Performance from Miami Dade College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music in Boston. Before making the move to New York City, Adam performed in Boston projects such as indie rock outfit Red Mill, pop songwriter Griffin Robillard and his own songwriting vehicle, Tree Signs. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Adam plays many styles of music including rock, bluegrass, jazz, metal, and folk. With a deep background in writing and recording as well, he has directed a wide variety of programs at School of Rock in addition to the Performance program, such as the songwriting and recording summer camp. He is a guitar teacher, piano teacher, vocal instructor, and show director at School of Rock New York.
Jen Sapiro
Singing Teacher, Keyboard Teacher
Multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Jen Sapiro, is a professional performing operatic soprano, cellist, and pianist based in New York City. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Stetson University and studied at the Longy Conservatory post-graduate. Jen is involved in a variety of musical projects in the New York City area. She sings, plays piano, and cello in the New York-based indie folk band, Tree Signs. She has also performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, as well as many variety shows off-Broadway. Jen has a healthy-technique-first approach to teaching with an emphasis on open student-teacher communication that has been informed by her own professional experience, the Suzuki Method, and her studies in Alexander Technique. She believes that it is important to develop a tailored approach with every student she teaches.
Russell Holzman
Drum Teacher
Russell Holzman is a NYC native drummer born in lower Manhattan. Russell attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Music and Art and the Performing Arts before he received a scholarship to attend New England Conservatory of Music. He has performed with artists such as Benny Golson, Lee Konitz, Miguel Zenon, Napoleon Murphy Brock and many more. After three years of teaching at the Outreach Summer Music Workshop in Austria, Russell received a full scholarship to attend the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music in Canada. Since then, he has had the privilege of performing at events such as The Firefly Festival, The Spring 2016 Marc Jacobs Show, The Fauna Otoño Festival, The POP Montreal Music Festival and more. He is a drum teacher at School of Rock New York.
Josh Plath
Drum Teacher
Josh Plath is a New York-based drummer from Rochester, NY. Josh started taking drum lessons with Jeff Welch and also learned through the Hochstein School of Music and started studying under Rich Felice.
In 2008, Josh joined the Army Band and studied at the Armed Forces School of Music. Shortly after he was sent to Fort Drum, New York, and became an Army Bandsman of the 10th Mountain Division Band. Over a two-year period, he performed in Jazz, Funk, Rock, and Orchestral bands across New York and other states in the U.S. Josh was honorable discharged from the military and started attending the New School for Jazz and contemporary music. He studied with such greats as Mike Clark, Shawn Pelton, Mark Guiliana, Adam Deitch, Steven Wolf, and Thomas Pridgen.
During his time in NYC, Josh has been a studio/freelance drummer. He’s played with artists such as Oba, Monroe, The Sweet Things, Gas House Gorillas, and Ginger Minj. Now he currently plays in his own bands: Civilians and Flowmingos. Civilians play a mixture of hip-hop, rock, and contemporary jazz music. They’ve released their first studio album, Look Cool, with another album soon to be released. Josh's other band, Flowmingos, started by playing in the subways and in parks throughout NYC.
Daniel Siles
Drum Teacher
Daniel Siles is a New York-based touring/session drummer and music educator. He graduated magna cum laude from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA in the Spring of 2012.
Since relocating to Brooklyn, NY in the fall of 2012, Daniel has recorded with numerous bands and artists in the United States, Mexico and his native Bolivia. He has toured the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Australia with artists like Young Magic, playing in renowned venues such as The Fillmore, Fonda Theatre and Bowery Ballroom among others.
Daniel has also played in festivals like Northside Festival, Billboard Hot 100 Festival, 30 Days in LA, SXSW, NXNE, Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival, Lowlands Festival, Sweden Emmaboda Festival, Milhoes de Festa, Visions Festival and Strawberry Fields Festival, sharing the stage with artists including Portishead, Queens of The Stone Age and St. Vincent.
Chris Veliz
Drum Teacher
From Miami, Florida, Chris has 9+ years of School of Rock teaching experience in the lesson room and rehearsals. A former School of Rock student himself, Chris brings a fun and exciting teaching style that puts progress and interest front and center. Inspired by drummers like Ringo Starr, Stewart Copeland, Jon Bonham, Neil Peart, and many more, he focuses on musicality as well as technical playing for his students. Chris provides insight from his own experience playing in bands with a wide range of musical styles and genres to give his students versatility and confidence in their playing. Some of his favorite groups and artists include The Beatles, The Police, Elliott Smith, Elvis Costello, Frank Ocean, Bob Dylan, Wilco, and so many more.
Donovan Delgado
Studio Coordinator
Donovan Delgado is a multidisciplinary artist who has followed the path his talents have taken him since the age of eight. His artistic practices include illustration, graphic design, digital photography, analog photography, animation, and creative writing. Throughout his career thus far he has exhibited his work at the CUE Art Foundation, the Fashion Institute of Technology, and The Bruce Museum as well as having his work published in West 27th Magazine. His hard work has earned him Silver keys and multiple Honorable Mentions in Scholastic's Arts & Writing Awards in 2018 and 2019 as well as an exhibition through the 2019 iCreate contest. He is currently pursuing his Bachelor in Fine Art at the Fashion Institute of Technology and planning to obtain his Master's in Fine arts in the near future.
Rose Blanshei
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Rose Blanshei is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter living and working in Brooklyn, NY. Informed by performance art and a background in critical theory, her artistic practice is concerned with hope and transcendence and seeks to test the limitations of traditional live music performance. Rose's collaborations with artists including musicians, visual artists, sound artists, and filmmakers have yielded versatility and an ability to cultivate a gravitational presence in a myriad of contexts.
Self-taught and hailing from a small town in Northern California, she has since performed on three continents and in spaces like the Guggenheim, the High Line, and Kino Saito. Rose has enjoyed fruitful collaborations with performance artists Naama Tsabar and Ragnar Kjartansson, and supported Bruce Springsteen upon the release of his album, Only the Strong Survive. She currently plays bass in Big Bliss.
Jim Bloom
Drum Teacher
Jim Bloom is a Brooklyn-based drummer and percussionist. After growing up playing in garage rock bands in Philadelphia, Jim attended New York University and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Performance. At NYU, he studied with notable professors, such as Mike Richmond, Tony Moreno, Lenny Picket, and Ari Hoenig. In 2014, Jim traveled to Costa Rica as part of the Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center’s Promising Artists Program, where he performed and gave masterclasses.
Since graduating, Jim has worked as a freelance musician throughout New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. He has toured nationally and performed in prestigious venues, including the Brooklyn Academy of Music; The Kessler, in Dallas, Texas; and The Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C. Jim also plays in NYC regularly with his bands The Academy Blues Project, Anacortes, and The Grasping Straws.
Ollie Bomann
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher
For Ollie Bomann, compassion, empathy, and trust are key to understanding his musical sensibilities. Growing up in Connecticut and Wellington, New Zealand allowed him to understand different intersections of how peoples and cultures get together to celebrate life, art, and happiness. Ollie's bass playing aims to reflect upon those perspectives in whichever musical context he plays in.
As a professional bassist, Ollie has performed or recorded alongside some of New York and New Zealand’s top artists, including Lenny White, Letizia Gambi, Dave Pietro, Malick Koly, Roger Fox, and Cory Champion. During the Covid crisis, Ollie moved back to his hometown of Wellington, New Zealand, and was involved in a number of projects and nationally renowned groups, including serving as Principle Bassist in the Royal New Zealand Airforce Band. He also was the co-founder of Nebulus Slim, which aimed at mixing the traditions of Jazz Rock with dance-floor Electronica. Today, you can see Ollie playing with a variety of bands and artists, both on bass, guitar, and drums. His two main recurring projects are the groups Astrium and Stello, where he performs, composes and directs each group.
Christian Cail
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Rookies Teacher
Christian Cail is a guitarist, composer, and improviser from Mount Airy, North Carolina. He attended UNCSA for high school, studying classical guitar, and then attended UNC Chapel Hill, where he studied music composition and history. His musical interests range from jazz, rock, free improvised music, country, folk, extreme metal, etc. Aside from music, Christian enjoys lifting weights and reading. He taught at School of Rock Chapel Hill for three years prior to moving to New York and is excited to continue teaching the good youngins of the world.
Mario Fontes
Show Director, Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Mario Fontes is a multi-instrumentalist/songwriter from Miami, FL. As an obsessive music fan since age 14, he has performed and organized performances with several bands in the Miami area. During this time, he was a student at School of Rock Miami, participating in both the school’s performance and house band programs. Mario attended Berklee College of Music from 2014 to 2018, where he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in songwriting. While living in the Boston area, he continued performing in local bands ranging in the indie rock, punk, and free jazz genres. Mario continues to work to challenge himself musically by playing in newer projects such as indie-folk artist Tree Signs and indie-pop singer-songwriter Annie Mullee. As a long-time School of Rock teacher in Miami and now New York, his goal is to nurture students’ individual musical strengths and to help them achieve better creative expression through their chosen instruments.
Pete Lazorcik
Drum Teacher
Pete Lazorcik is a New York-based drummer and educator. He grew up in the small town of Lebanon, Pennsylvania with a dad who was a full-time drummer/educator. Pete moved to NYC at the age of 18 to attend the Manhattan School of Music, from which he graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Music degree. While attending Manhattan School of Music, Pete had the privilege of studying with renowned drum educators John Riley and Kendrick Scott who, along with his dad, instilled in him a true appreciation and love for education.
Pete first began teaching private drum lessons while in college and quickly realized how much he enjoyed passing along his musical knowledge to others. He also keeps a very busy gigging schedule, regularly playing everything from pop-punk to jazz to indie rock to theater and just about everything in between. Pete's wide range of gigging and teaching experience gives him the versatility to teach just about anything a student may want or need to learn.
Daniel Lerner
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Daniel Lerner is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer from New York City. Having studied classical piano and rock guitar from a young age, Daniel has been a practicing and performing musician for over 18 years. Daniel attended School of Rock NYC from ages 14-16, where he played guitar and sang in the Red Hot Chili Peppers/Foo Fighters show, as well as the UK2K and Pearl Jam/Soundgarden shows.
Daniel went on to graduate from the University of Miami Frost School of Music with a Bachelor’s Degree of Music in Film Scoring & Production, with a focus in contemporary guitar styles and songwriting. An avid songwriter, his original music combines guitar-driven indie rock and pop, R&B grooves, and introspective lyric writing; in 2021 his debut album was released, which he wrote, produced, and released on his own. Daniel is currently writing and producing a new EP and performing at NYC venues, as well as working as a guitarist, producer, and songwriter for fellow NYC acts in the DIY scene.
Jordi Polycarpe
Singing Teacher, Keyboard Teacher
Jordi Polycarpe is a singer-songwriter, artist, and producer from NYC. She is recent graduate from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music where she studied Modern Artist Development & Entrepreneurship, Music Business, and Contemporary American Music. Jordi also taught Vocals and Keys at School of Rock Coral Gables before moving back to NYC and joining the School of Rock New York team. As a recent student herself, Jordi believes that patience, enthusiasm, and individual expression are what turn real potential into raw talent. As an artist, you can find her on all streaming platforms, and playing local shows with her supporting band throughout the city.
Kathy Sheppard
Show Director, Singing Teacher, Keyboard Teacher
Kathy Sheppard began her career with the all-female hard rock band Scarlet Fever, working with songwriters Ritchie Cordell and Marty Kupersmith, and producer Gary Katz. She was then active in the New York recording scene during its waning days, providing keyboard tracks for industrial and other projects, alongside such heavyweights as Elliott Randall, Chris Parker, and Will Lee.
For nearly two decades, Kathy worked as the New York Area Regional Admissions Representative for her alma mater, the Berklee College of Music, and was also a founding member of the New York chapter of the Berklee Alumni Club. She maintained a full private teaching schedule, and performed in diverse musical situations from the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra to Tinseltown Rebellion, a tribute to Frank Zappa.
Kathy came to the New York School of Rock on July 1, 2007, and has found joy directing the Saturday morning performance program. She has co-produced Shepstock, an annual rock extravaganza to benefit the Best Answer for Cancer Foundation. She currently composes and performs original jazz fusion with her trio, Curiosity Shop.
Anna Wilson
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Anna Wilson is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter based in New York City. She was born and raised in Washington, D.C., where she grew up playing in bands and performing in clubs on school nights. Anna attended Berklee College of Music, where she studied guitar and pedal steel guitar. She performs, writes, and records with her own project in addition to playing guitar and pedal steel for other artists.