CR Gruver
Owner
CR Gruver began his classical training at the age of 9, and by 13 he left formal instruction as a top student to immerse himself in the world of rock and funk. The next three decades were dedicated to perfecting his craft, touring the country relentlessly, and building a successful performance career.
CR is currently a member of the national touring band New Orleans Suspects in addition to being the active owner of School of Rock Metairie / New Orleans. His experience as a national touring professional and seasoned musical director makes him an ideal owner of a School of Rock, as he’ll be able to impart decades of wisdom and knowledge to his students and faculty.
Stacey Morigeau
General Manager
Stacey Morigeau found her way to New Orleans in August 2004. As a lifelong music lover, New Orleans was the perfect place to make her home. That passion for music led to her working with a music nonprofit for over 12 years. Using her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from the University of Montana (musical theatre is her favorite), she has embraced the role of stage manager for many music festivals from French Quarter Festival to Po Boy Festival. You may have heard Stacey on air at WWOZ where she has been a long-time volunteer, or bought merchandise from her locally at gigs for many bands including, Bonerama, the Radiators, New Orleans Nightcrawlers and many more.
Derek DeBlieux
Music Director
Derek is an Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter, guitarist, and music producer living in New Orleans. While attending the Musician's Institute in Los Angeles, he studied under some of the most accomplished guitarists in the world including Scott Henderson (Chick Corea Elektric Band) and Steve Hunter (Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Alice Cooper).
Following his education, Derek pursued a few different musical projects and has shared the stage with national artists including One Republic, DNCE, Panic at the Disco, Plain White Ts, and Kongos. His guitar playing can be heard on the movie soundtracks for Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown, as well as on the television show American Idol.
Derek currently plays shows and releases music under the name Derek W. Dooms. In 2024, he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his song “Shine.”
Nelson Capote
Studio Manager, Bass Guitar Teacher
Nelson Capote is a bassist and multi-instrumentalist located in the New Orleans area. Nelson was raised in a non-musical family but found himself falling in love with music at the age of 13. Once getting exposed to New Orleans culture and music, Nelson became a protégé under New Orleans saxophonist Clarence Johnson III.
Nelson studied at Loyola University New Orleans, majoring in Music Industry Studies. During his time at Loyola, Nelson had the opportunity to perform with some of the school's most renowned gigging artists. Nelson uses social media to share his experiences with fellow musicians, as well as to show off exciting gear that inspires him. Nelson hopes to inspire others by creating content that he wishes his favorite musicians would make.
Conner McCready
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher, Marketing/Social Media Manager
Conner McCready is a multi-instrumentalist from Cleveland, OH now living in New Orleans, LA. He has been an active member of the Cleveland music scene for over a decade and is now currently playing in various groups around New Orleans ranging from soul to bluegrass and hip hop.
Conner is primarily a guitarist but is also proficient in drums, bass guitar, and piano. He is very active in the recording scene as a session musician and engineer for numerous Cleveland and New Orleans-based projects. He received his BA in Music Studies from the University of New Orleans.
Kate Parker
Studio Coordinator, Vocal Teacher
Kate Parker was inspired to start her saxophone career in elementary school after finding a role model in Lisa Simpson. When she became a School of Rock student in Chatham, NJ, she discovered she had a passion not only for sax but also for singing, and picked up flute and piano along the way.
As a School of Rock student, Kate played iconic stages across the country including festivals like Lollapalooza and Summerfest, and went on to participate in the School of Rock AllStars program. She developed a love of working with kids to build their confidence and help them shine through teaching Little Wing classes and working as a writing tutor. Whenever she wasn’t buried in books working towards her degrees in Political Economy and English at Tulane, she jammed with friends at NOLA spots like The Willow and Neutral Ground. Kate is a songwriter and loves to collaborate on her friends' projects ranging from shoegaze to folk rock.
Brayden Turner
Drum Teacher
Brayden Turner is a drummer and multi-instrumentalist. He was raised in New Orleans and received a rich music education from some of the best musicians in the city (Johnny Vidacovich, Ricky Sebastian, Chris Severin and others). He also grew up playing and sitting in with his step-father, musician Billy Iuso. He is an alum of the Berklee College of Music, where he attended on a full scholarship. He has played at The New Orleans Jazz Festival and French Quarter Festival, and toured with two bands during his time at Berklee (Mosie and Lilacs). He played the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas with the band Mosie. In addition to drums, he also plays piano, bass, guitar and vibraphone, and composes his own music. He is a drum teacher at School of Rock Metairie.
Ryan Clute
Bass Guitar Teacher
Ryan is a native of Pittsburgh but moved to New Orleans in 1999 to pursue his passion for music. He fell in love with music at the age of 4 from being surrounded by his parents that taught at the local University. Ryan began piano lessons followed by learning the drums all at the age of 5. The moment he listened to Rush he fell in love with Geddy Lee’s bass playing. During his career Ryan has had the pleasure of working with Doctor John, Allan Toussaint, Gatemouth Brown, Bryan Lee, Gary Brown, and many more! In 2005 he began his transition into “Top 40” gigs, thus finding his way into The Phunky Monkeys were he holds the role as Lead Bass player. In Ryan’s free time he enjoys time with his two sons, Oliver and Miles - many say they’re the sweetest kids ever. Other than time with his children, you can probably find Ryan playing chess, practicing archery, studying cosmology, and many outdoor activities.
Connor Finney
Guitar and Bass Teacher
Connor Finney is a guitarist/bassist from New Orleans. He is the guitarist for Blues Rock Band, Voodoo Roux, and Pop Punk tribute band, Superbloom. Connor has played guitar on a number of sessions along with Choppa’s song, “Louisiana.” Connor hopes to continue to strive as a musician and help teach the next generation of rockers at School of Rock Metairie.
Thea Aksland
Vocal Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Thea Aksland was born and raised in colorful Colorado. She started her music career in the Rocky Mountain Children’s Choir at age 5 and progressed to songwriting, production, and solo performance which led her to Denver School of the Arts. She is currently studying popular and commercial music at Loyola University with a concentration in songwriting and production engineering.
Throughout her musical career, Thea has won the hearts of music lovers from all walks of life with over 10,000 streams each year. She has released three albums and five singles within the past few years. As a solo artist taking the world by storm, she continues to write, create, and perform her music for audiences to enjoy. Thea has been earning the admiration and affection of fans around New Orleans and internationally ever since. Her fans serve as both an inspiration and a creative drive. As much as Thea loves the stage, teaching and inspiring young artists is the best way to bring others' passion to center stage. Music changed her life, and her mission is to change yours.
Ray Tanet
Guitar Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher, Little Wing Teacher, Rookies Teacher
Ray was born and raised in New Orleans and started studying music at the age of 9. He continues to study to this day and has most recently attended master classes with Certified Guitar Player Tommy Emmanuel. Ray has had the pleasure of performing in coffee houses as well as the French Quarter and Satchmo Festivals.
Ray gained a good foundation in record production and engineering through studies at Ultrasonic Studios, and with this knowledge, he engineered and produced independent projects. With a successful background in counseling youth activity programs, Ray is very comfortable sharing and teaching music to children.
Devon Edmond
Drum Teacher
Devon Edmond is a drummer originally from Chicago, IL. He got his start with music in marching band and then later transitioned to playing drum kit. He now plays with a variety of performers in New Orleans but mainly as the drummer for Sierra Green and The Soul Machine. Devon has performed at French Quarter Festival as well as High Sierra Festival. He has been instructing one-on-one lessons as well as full classes of all ages since 2014. Devon loves music history and bringing out the passion and motivation in his students by exposing them to the greats who came before us.
Samantha Royer
Vocal Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Samantha Royer takes life’s twists and turns and creates music. She has been singing since her earliest days, learning all the words to “Goodbye Earl” by The Chicks at the age of 4. Since then, she has picked up the guitar and piano and taken the stage. Samantha began taking music seriously at the age of 11 when she enrolled in a music education program similar to School of Rock!
It was there that Samantha learned the art of songwriting, and how collaborating with other musicians is the heartbeat of musical creativity. She has studied at some of the country’s highest-rated musical conservatories such as The New School and Loyola University of New Orleans, gaining insight into the modern world of music production.
Since beginning her career, Samantha has performed at venues such as The Bitter End in New York City, and New Orleans's own Tipitina’s. She has recorded, produced, and released her own works of music on SoundCloud and plans to expand to the rest of the streaming world in the future. When she isn’t writing songs, Samantha can be seen rollerskating in Audubon Park or taking time to learn something new!
Stephen Brashear
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Vocal Teacher
Stephen Brashear is an Americana artist and music educator born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Brashear has toured both solo and with his band in North America and Europe. His unique Bayou Soul meets Dirt Road Country style of playing and songwriting tells the stories of his life traveling and has captured audiences from around the world.
Brad Bourgeois
Drum Teacher
Brad Bourgeois has a diverse musical background. Growing up in New Orleans, Brad was always around and inspired by the city's music. His education took him to Boston and Berklee College of Music, where he studied many styles in their respective traditions. Brad finished his education at the University of New Orleans where he studied with some of the finest musicians New Orleans has to offer. Throughout college, he played in numerous groups touring through the Northeast and Southeast.
Brad then spent five years in the Navy Music Program, furthering his knowledge of classical, big band, popular music, and march music performance and playing in an extensive list of ensemble settings. Since returning to New Orleans, Brad has been playing in many different groups and teaching for the last several years at various schools around the city.
Blake Pujol
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher
Blake Pujol began his musical journey at the age of 12, learning entire albums by Metallica, Killswitch Engage, Rage Against the Machine, and Slipknot on the guitar and playing along to them in his bedroom. After diving deep into heavy metal and rock music for 10 years, Blake decided to study jazz to broaden his musical horizons.
Blake graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2016 with a double degree in jazz studies and music media. He has been a guitar teacher at School of Rock since 2015 and a consistently gigging musician for nearly two decades. Blake has performed all over the South with bands such as Brass Mimosa, Dwight James and the Royals, Bad Bongo and The Rouge Krewe.
Jess Thibodaux
Vocal Teacher, Guitar Teacher
Jesse Thibodaux is a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter born and raised in New Orleans. Jesse’s love for music started at a very young age from watching their father play guitar, and Jesse’s love for performing began in middle school choir when they got their first solo.
Jesse is currently studying popular and commercial music at Loyola University with a focus on songwriting. They believe they would not be where they are today without the many amazing music teachers and professors they have studied with and hopes to pass on the knowledge and guidance they have received.
Cameron Wick
Drum Teacher
Cameron is a graduate of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, Florida. He comes from a background of symphonic percussion, drum set, and hand percussion. Cameron has taught privately for 15 years and has worked as an instructor at Guitar Center Lessons Studio and the Music’s Edge Rock Camp in Eugene, Oregon.
Cameron currently plays with Project Pebble, a New Orleans-based jazz-funk band. Cameron has performed at the Oregon Country Fair and the Eugene Salsa Festival and has toured the Pacific Northwest with El Borko Surf. He draws inspiration from many of the great American jazz drummers, as well as progressive rock, funk, and fusion drumming. He is also influenced by the vast cultural traditions of percussion, whether it be congas, tabla, cajon, djembe, doumbek, or mallet percussion.