The School of Rock: Not your usual music school

CEBU, Philippines - A music school along General Maxilom Avenue, Cebu City bolstered its repute by partnering with a renowned Cebuana singer and a music educator from the United States.

The School of Rock was established in 2011 by Pia Salonga-Quisido (of the Salonga School of Music company) and her husband Erwin Quisido, offering lessons on vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums, bass, saxophone and violin. The school’s name was inspired by the Hollywood movie of the same title starring Jack Black. Back then, the couple merely advertised through social media and had students referred to them through word of mouth.

Pia, hailing from a family of musicians, has been in the music business for more than 20 years. She was former lead vocalist of the all-female band Feminine Mode which recorded two albums under the New Cebu music label.

Erwin, on one hand, comes from a family of artists (he’s the brother of known Cebuano designer Wendell Quisido). He does stage and lighting design and sound system set-up for big corporate accounts under his own trade name Red Rocks Production.

Former “ASAP” regular and cruise performer Anna Fegi was looking for a sound system supplier for her August wedding last year when she met up with Pia, a long-time friend.  What was supposed to be a brief catching up between pals turned into hours of deep conversation. When Pia mentioned she was busy with her school, this tidbit naturally perked up Anna as she had long dreamed of putting up her own music school.

Realizing they shared a common goal of providing a venue for aspiring musical artists where they can hone and showcase their talents, a partnership was hatched and became official by December 2012.

Anna’s husband, Adam Brown from Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., also came on board. Adam was a high school music teacher for five years and had earned his Master’s degree in Music Education, focusing on Curriculum. For four years, he was a drummer, percussionist and musical director for Royal Caribbean International Cruise Lines, the same company where Anna worked as a featured singer.

Putting together their individual expertise makes for a strengthened school — Pia takes care of the school’s operations, administration and marketing; Erwin oversees the school’s technical requirements; Anna conducts vocal workshops for teachers and advanced students; while Adam is responsible for developing the curriculum.

“I’m very excited, because I consider the four of us as the dream team,” said Anna.

While the school’s name might imply lessons focusing on the rock music genre, rock for them actually takes on a different meaning. “For us, rock is fun. Rock is anything you’re passionate about,” Anna explained.

Aside from their high-end instruments and equipment, they said their main edge over other music schools is that they are performance-based.

“A lot of schools conduct one-on-one sessions, and the application comes in the form of a recital maybe at the end of the year. But here, we give them many opportunities to interact with other artists and perform for a wide audience,” Adam said.

“We’ve come up with a curriculum that teaches the fundamentals first such as reading sheet music. After eight sessions of the traditional one-on-one, we gather them as a band to perform together for a real, public performance where they’re supported with professional sound and lights. They are exposed to a mall audience, unlike a typical recital where the audience is usually made up of parents and the people who have to be there. So they’ll really feel how it is to be a rock star. We also try to stay current by teaching students songs that they know,” he added.

For Anna, who has performed with musicians from all over the world, she believes that applying what you learn in a group setting as opposed to always performing solo makes a big difference.

“I’ve experienced having one-on-one sessions with a teacher, but it also helps to work with your fellow musicians. As a singer, it helps to perform with a fellow keyboardist, for example. It helps you grow. For the musicians, it also helps them to work with singers,” she said.

These public performances are held every three months as part of the lessons. The school’s first mall gig for the year will be this April 7th at the Ayala Activity Center, featuring recent students who’ve completed 12 sessions.

Erwin shared, “You can see the progression of their performance and confidence with each gig, because they’re exposed to an audience apart from their families and they’re also supported with a real concert set-up.”Believing that one is “never too young or not so young to learn to be a rock star,” the school does not impose an age range to its enrollees. As a matter of fact, while they have very young students, they also have mothers, fathers, call center agents and even doctors in the group. The good thing is, professionals or adults with day jobs can choose their own schedule.

If you’re still not hooked, well this is Pia’s guarantee: “Most of the students that performed in our summer gig last year were first-timers. So we can turn someone with zero background into a rock star.” (FREEMAN)