A music composer tried teaching and loved it since the first lesson. The guitar, keys, and bass instructor had an interesting story of how he joined the School of Rock. Read on to find out!

Freelance music composer Dillon Rairdin has been playing music for about 22 years. Teaching was never something he considered until he got an inquiry from School of Rock Cedar Rapids/Marion manager Ian Draves.

“I eventually ended up taking on the job and loved it from day one,” he said.

A revealing moment happened after his first lesson.

“I felt like I had really clicked with the student and we learned some great stuff,” Rairdin said.

Now, he teaches everything the school offers besides drums and vocals. While most of his students play guitar, keys and bass are instruments he’s familiar with in performance.

Besides being a great place to learn, Rairdin says the school is also a great place to build community.

“I love seeing the students become friends and form strong bonds through a shared love of music,” he said. “I hope when they look back they remember me as a blessing in their life, even if they don’t continue in music.”

Rairdin says he worked with some wonderful teachers and mentors growing up who helped shape him.

As he continues to help his students, he hopes to take those memories and lessons learned and share it with them.

More about Dillon:

Favorite song to perform: Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell on bass

Fun fact (in his own words): My first real concert was Weird Al when I was 12. He was signing autographs after the show and I waited out by his bus for what felt like an eternity. When I was finally next in line, I realized I didn’t have anything for him to sign, so I took off my right shoe and asked if he would sign it; he simply laughed warmly and said “For sure, man.” Somewhere amongst my stuff, I still have that precious black and white Converse All Star with Weird Al Yankovic’s signature!