Frankie Muriel
Owner, Director of Operations
From his hair band days on MTV to his 20+ years as a lead singer and front man of St. Louis based DRZHIVEGAS, Frankie has performed on stages all over the world. His experience of performing in venues, from intimate clubs to arenas, will bring a real world perspective to the St Porter’s school. When he partnered with School of Rock, Frankie instantly connected to the SOR philosophy of using group based music education to bring to the kids something that professional musicians have learned and understand that being in a band is how you learn the importance of group goals and supporting each other creating something greater than the sum of its parts.
As a lifelong performer, Frankie is excited to bring these lessons and his real world experiences to a new generation of rockers!
Frankie knows all aspects of the music business, writing, engineering and producing music in his recording studio. He travels whenever his schedule allows, loves to cook and knows the best restaurants all around the world!
Diane Mantovani
Owner
Diane is a residential and commercial interior designer who has established herself as a leader in the St Louis design community. She opened her award-winning design firm, Savvy Design Group, in 2009. She has a strong passion for design, a creative eye and finds inspiration in her clients and her many travels.
With a lifelong love of music and a background in special education, establishing a School of Rock checked all the boxes for Diane. She loves architecture, coffee dates, art galleries, and especially live music! She spends her free time with her close friends and family hanging around town. She also loves spending as much time as possible on the beach in North Carolina!
Julia Makarsky
Studio Coordinator
Julia is the smiling face you see when you enter the St Peters SOR! She is from St. Louis and recently graduated from Missouri State University with her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and an Undergraduate Certificate in Writing for Television and Film. At Missouri State, she helped produce successful plays, a one act festival, musical cabarets, and directed a self- written web series. She also plays the violin.
Her favorite musical artists include Muse, Harry Styles, ABBA, Arctic Monkeys, and Queen.
Ethan Jones
Music Director, Guitar Teacher
A native of Southern Illinois and SIUE alumnus, Ethan Jones is a recognized name in the St. Louis music scene. Whether it’s country, blues, 80’s, 90’s, (anything from Eagles to Earth Wind and Fire) he covers all the bases in a fun sing a long setting with his acoustic sets. While being known as the STL Troubadour, Ethan plays lead guitar for party band DRZHIVEGAS.
Ethan was a featured contestant AMERICAN IDOL making it to Hollywood Week! He has performed thousands of shows all over the country. In his free time, he likes watching movies and playing video games.
Sean Buchert
Assistant Music Director, Drum Teacher, Guitar Teacher, Keyboard Teacher, Singing Teacher
Sean graduated from Webster University as a communications major with a minor in audio production. His work as a musician and recording engineer/ mixer Sean has been the focus of articles in the Riverfront Times “Best Local” band and song series for original music.
He has been playing music his entire life, starting with piano, learning the guitar from his father, and eventually finding the drums on his own. He has been performing in various groups and styles for 10 years, and has played on some of the area’s biggest stages. Sean’s favorite part of being a music educator is figuring out what a student aspires to and providing them with the tools to achieve their goals. His hopes that sharing his experiences will help students unlock the artist and performer within them, not just the musician.
Jonathan ‘Louie” Dalton
Bass Teacher, Keyboard Teacher
Jonathan “Louie” Dalton was born and raised in St. Louis. A multi- instrumental performer, Louie began his musical journey playing electric bass in Francis Howell North’s Jazz band. He went on to play in St. Charles Community College’s Jazz ensemble. Louie has been a student at Lindenwood University since the fall of 2019. He is expected to graduate in the spring of 2022 with a BA in Music Business. He is a member of many ensembles at LU, including Endeavor, a free jazz group. Louie has also played with rock groups such as Falling with Style, Polysonikx, The Plums, and has performed at venues such as Brewskeez, Blueberry Hill Duck Room, Red Flag, and Pop’s Nightclub.
Ryan Hill
Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher, Singing Teacher
Born and raised in St. Louis, MO. Ryan went to high school at Francis Howell High, and graduated from Mizzou with a Bachelors in Psychology. Ryan was introduced to music at an early age, but didn’t begin playing until he was about 11 years old. His father, grandmother and stepmom all played and influenced his love of music, especially his step mom, Jenny. He also was inspired by The Guitar Hero and RockBand video games. That was when rock music became his passion.
Ryan has played in several bands over the years. He began performing as a bass player. He has written songs and in 2017 he formed his own band, Armenta.
Bill Sanders
Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher
Bill attended UMSL School of Music for two years, and has studied jazz and classical guitar, as well as music theory and history. He joined the SOR team in January. He has been playing music most of his life, starting with guitar at a very young age and picking up drums when he was about twelve years old. His main instruments are guitar and drums, but he plays bass and keyboards as well.
Bill enjoys a wide variety of music, including rock ‘n’ roll, punk, rap, jazz, electronic, indie, and much more. Some of his favorite activities outside of music include watching movies, enjoying the outdoors, traveling, and hanging out having fun with friends.
Danielle Walters
Marketing Coordinator Little Wings Teacher, Guitar Teacher, Vocal Teacher
Danielle Walters’ first real love was music. Her obsession started in elementary school, where she began to learn violin, upright bass, and saxophone; and continued through her adolescent and adult years. In addition to playing music, she participated in live performances as a competition dancer and as a Muny Kid/Teen, where she gained more experience in live singing, dancing, and acting. Most recently, she formed her band, The Extra 3, where she is the lead vocalist and regularly plays around St.Louis.
Although she struggled with stage fright through her adolescence, she found music to be a therapeutic outlet for herself and fell in love with performance.
She’s grateful for the opportunity to help mentor the next generation of live performers and musicians with School of Rock.