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Ben Richards |
Sandy School of Rock General Manager Ben Richards has been an active member of the SLC music community for over 15 years. He has played countless gigs with various original and cover projects such as Slapdown, Gold Standard, Voodoo Box, and The Dropouts, and has shared the stage with bands such as Everclear and Liquid Soul. He also has over 15 years experience as a guitar teacher.... |
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Trevor Alder |
Bass Instructor/Show Director Trevor was born in Cleveland, Ohio and started playing bass at the age of 13. He moved to Utah in 2007 and has been teaching at the School of Rock ever since. His influences include; Les Claypool, Jonas Hellborg, James Jamerson, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Victor Wooten, Stanley Clarke, Jaco Pastorious, Bootsy Collins and Roger Waters.... |
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Jake Bills |
Bass Instructor Jake starting playing bass around age 11. Around age 14, he was informed about the School of Rock program and joined. During his time there, he had the opportunity to share the stage with the likes of Napoleon Murphy Brock (Frank Zappa) and Earl Slick (of David Bowie and John Lennon fame). He toured twice as an All Star during his time at... |
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Van Christensen |
Drum Instructor/Show Director Van Christensen has been playing the drums for over 30 years. His early influences were Buddy Rich, Neil Peart, John Bonham, and Terry Bozzio. At the age of 17, Van played his first professional musical and his first Bar gig. His high school jazz band took 2nd in State and he won "Outstanding Soloist" and "Outstanding Rhythm Section" awards. By... |
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Alex Leota |
Studio Coordinator/Drum Instructor |
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Matt Howitz |
Show coordinator, Drum Instructor Matt Howitz is a graduate of the School of Rock program, spending nearly 5 years participating with the "Show Band" and "All Star" groups around the country. During his time in Show Band and as an "All Star", Matt garnered the reputation for being a very solid and entertaining drummer. When on stage, Matt has the innate ability to carry... |
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Monty Dillon |
Guitar Instructor/Show Director Monty has been playing guitar for 10 years and started teaching in 2008. He grew up on the likes of Metallica, Joe Satriani, Michael Hedges, and extensive music theory alongside brother Ed. He has been involved in many different musical styles since then. He played jazz trumpet extensively, including lead in West Side Story and winning his high... |
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Zak Newsom |
Resident Rock Star/Guitar Instructor sandy@schoolofrock.com
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Chris Stevenson |
Guitar Instructor sandy@schoolofrock.com
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Kai Tawa |
Guitar Instructor/101 Director (Group A) Kai has been playing guitar for nearly 5 years, spending 3 as an enthusiastic, ambitious, and talented student at the School of Rock. He successfully auditioned into the prestigious Showband his first try and stayed in for over 2 years, with one of his last shows with the group being at the invitation-only NAMM convention in Anaheim. Ever eager... |
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Adrian De La Cruz |
Guitar Instructor/ Little Rock Director |
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Alec Jackson |
Keyboard Instructor/Prodigy |
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Donna Gibbons |
Vocal and Keyboard Instructor Donna, the daughter of a PhD in Music education, was immersed in music at a very young age. She started working as a professional musician at age 12 with her dad and brothers and went on to perform with other bands, as a solo artist, and also worked in concert promotion all before the age of 19. Working back stage at the Terrace Ballroom... |
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Karen Christensen |
Little Wing Director
Karen has been a music lover as long as she can remember. She started playing classical piano around age five and later went on to learn guitar, clarinet, vocals, and teach piano lessons. She is always exploring music and enjoys discovering new types and styles. Karen writes both music and poetry and represented Salt Lake City for the... |
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Trishelle Longhurst |
Vocal Instructor Trishelle has been singing since before she was able to speak. Her influences span all genres and include Mariah Carey, Sade, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin and even Judy Garland. Throughout the years she has been in countless choirs, musical theatre productions and performing groups. At the age of 16 she began learning speech level singing and has... |
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