Ben K.
Drum Teacher
Ben is a drummer and audio engineer who started his journey as a musician as a School of Rock student and has continued as an instructor. During his tenure at the School of Rock in Oak Park, Illinois, Ben was in the House Band and was a three-time School of Rock AllStar.
In addition to teaching, Ben owns and manages Picture-Minded Studio, which is co-located with the school. When he is not teaching, Ben operates and engineers at the recording studio, working with multiple groups as a drummer, songwriter, producer, and audio engineer.
Matthew P.
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Matthew has been a professional performer and musician since the age of 14. Even today, he still finds time to go out and rock in the smallest venues to some of the biggest.
Matthew has been teaching multiple instruments for over 20 years including guitar, bass, piano, mandolin, banjo, uke, drums, vocals, and sitar. He is very well-versed in the history and content of modern music and his palette of styles is eclectic, but usually finds its way back to where it all began—rock and roll!
Max D.
Music Director, Vocal Teacher, Guitar Teacher
Max is a multi-instrumentalist, audio engineer, and producer from Chicago, Illinois. After spending years as a School of Rock student (including being a three-time AllStar), Max went on to get his audio engineering degree from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.
Max has been producing and writing records nonstop since he was 16 years old, and he brings that same love of music creation and appreciation to his students. Whether it is with his own musical project, Westhead, or dozens of other bands around Chicago and Indiana, you can hear his influence on many recordings in the Midwest.
Kathy G.
Vocal Teacher
Kathy has been involved in theater and music since the age of 12. She began her love of performance by participating in stage plays and expanded into musicals and television commercials. Kathy had years of private vocal lessons with Dan Moore as well as vocal education at Roosevelt University; as a result, she can sing classical, blues, pop ballads, and power rock.
After completing her degree at Loyola University, Kathy became the lead singer of Cat’s Eye, a Chicago-based cover band. For Kathy, music is, and always has been, a powerful force that gives meaning to each and every day. With such dedication and passion, she is grateful to be able to share her experience and talents to teach a new generation of students.
Jimmy D.
Guitar Teacher
Jimmy is a lifetime guitarist. Between the ages of 11 to 18, he was a School of Rock student heavily involved in several performance programs, as well as a House Band veteran, and Project Studio assistant instructor.
Jimmy has taken the skills School of Rock taught him and entered the professional field of engineering and musician-ing. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Audio Engineering & Sound Production from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
During his tenure at Indiana, Jimmy also held two full-time professional positions: Vice President of Operations & Infrastructure at WIUX Pure Student Radio, and Interim Technical Director at the African American Arts Institute. He is the lead guitarist of the band Westhead based out of Indiana, and now Chicago.
In addition to teaching, Jimmy is actively involved with Picture-Minded Studio as an engineer, producer, and systems designer, specializing in audio-over-IP networking, Dolby Atmos, and FX.
Chloe L.
Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Chloe is a composer who earned her Master of Music in Music Composition from Indiana University in May 2023, following her Bachelor of Music in Composition at Wheaton College in 2021. She achieved recognition by winning the Global Music Award, the Schultheis Composition Competition Award, and the Josephine Halvorsen Memorial Composition Prize. Chloe was additionally nominated for the American Prize (Vocal Chamber Division) in 2024.
Chloe has studied composition under mentors such as Shawn Okpebeholo, Xavier Beteta, David Dzubay, Annie Gosfield, and Han Lash. She also pursued a minor in computer music under the direction of John Gibson and Chi Wang. During her time at Indiana University, Chloe focused on interactive music with data-driven instruments for her computer music compositions. Her electronic music works have been invited to various festivals, including Electronic Music Midwest, Moxsonic, and the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival. Outside of academia, Chloe composes Chinese pop music and soundtracks for short films and games.
Duncan K.
Bass Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher
Duncan is an audio engineer and multi-instrumentalist who specializes in rock, jazz, and live sound. He began music studies at age 9, became drum captain of his high school marching band his senior year, and cut his teeth playing and working gigs in the Indy area. He earned his B.S. in Audio Engineering at the IU Jacobs School of Music with a minor ivn music production and has since produced and recorded singles and albums from local Bloomington bands. He has skills in live sound and FOH mixing, working for the likes of Robert Mitus and Carrie Newcomer as well as bands like Hawktail and Humbird. He is currently an intern at Gravity Studios where he assists in large studio recordings as well as mixing and mastering sessions. He has a passion for local music and for cultivating talent with his knowledge of music and audio.
Braeden J.
Drum Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Braeden is a drummer, audio engineer, music entrepreneur, and graduate of the School of Rock in Carmel, IN. He started his first business at the age of sixteen - a small recording and rehearsal studio out of his family home. He went on to study audio engineering at the IU Jacobs School of Music for three years, and in that time dedicated himself to playing as many shows and sessions as possible. It’s there he founded the independent record label Hum Drum Press with Max DiFrisco. Today, he’s drumming for and managing Westhead, teaching at the School of Rock in Lemont, and engineering at Picture-Minded Studio.