Phil Martelly
Owner
A graduate of the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston, his passion for music is unmatched by few and is a driving force behind his bringing School of Rock to the Southern Mass/Rhode Island area. He is the definition of the word musician as he plays not one but several instruments: guitar, bass and drums. Phil has played with a lot of the area's hottest bands including Pappy Chulo as the opening act for none other than Incubus.
Shawn Garrity
Owner
Shawn's musical journey began at age eleven when his dad handed him a guitar and taught him a few chords. As he grew, so did his love for music. At fifteen, he joined a band and began writing music and playing original and cover songs at venues throughout New England. He studied jazz and classical music at Western Connecticut State University and earned a B.A. in Music Industry from the University of New Haven. Shawn's original band VulGarrity completed three nationwide tours and shared the stage with Mike Doughty, Days of the New, The Misfits, King’s X, Sponge, The Joy Formidable, Sleeper Agent, Psychostick, The Prodigals, Ra, Robert DeLong, The Heavy, Ra Ra Riot and Electric Six. Shawn's cover band Inside Out can be seen rocking out on stages in and around New England regularly. While Shawn enjoys listening to and playing a wide variety of music, he is most inspired by all things rock.
Matt Earle
Music Director
Matt Earle is the Music Director at School of Rock Norwood and is currently a music production student in college. Matt began teaching drum lessons at School of Rock shortly after graduating from high school. He has also worked as a guitar tech at Noll Guitars and as a music instructor at the Boys and Girls Club in Warwick, RI.
Matt has performed with many groups but mainly performs with his original band, Indelego, and his cover band, Inside Out, around New England on a weekly basis. His musical influences include Jojo Mayer, Tigran Hamasyan, John Bonham, and Matt Cameron.
Nathan Wilcox
Studio Coordinator
Nathan’s passion for music began at the age of 3 after his dad first introduced him to the music of Paul McCartney. Throughout his childhood, Nathan taught himself how to play piano and drums but eventually began taking guitar lessons at age 14 at School of Rock.
As a multi-instrumentalist, Nathan has played across the East Coast with the School of Rock Seekonk House Band as well as with the prestigious Rhode Island cover band, Inside Out. Despite having played hundreds of gigs, teaching students and directing performance groups is very fulfilling for Nathan. Some of his musical influences include Paul McCartney, The Beatles, Steve Lukather, and John Mayer.
Matt Arenburg
Drum Teacher
Matt started playing drums at the age of 4 and joined the School of Rock in Seekonk, MA when he was 8 years old. He quickly became one of the youngest members of the school’s House Band and toured the east coast, playing over a hundred shows as a School of Rock student. Now an instructor, Matt plays shows with numerous bands and side projects of all genres. He is a fan of all kinds of music from prog to pop and his drumming influences include Neil Peart, Gavin Harrison, Marco Minnemann, Justin Tyson, and Stewart Copeland. His favorite bands are Rush, Porcupine Tree, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Who, and Wilco.
Conor Harrington
Vocal Teacher, Drum Teacher
Conor Harrington is a vocal teacher at School of Rock in Norwood, MA. He is a former School of Rock student and hopes to share his experience with others and help students sing how they want to sing.
Outside of school, Conor writes and performs with his bands, Indelego and Iowa Highway. Conor's main musical influences include Prince, Janelle Monáe, Car Seat Headrest, Bob Marley, and Amy Winehouse.
Kyle Kelly
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Kyle started playing guitar and bass at age 15. A couple of years later, he joined his first band with our Music Director Matt Earle, and has been playing in various projects together ever since.
Kyle is a fan of all kinds of music from R&B to alternative rock. His guitar and bass influences include John Frusciante, Prince, Mark Tremonti, John Entwistle, Kirk Hammett, and Dean and Robert DeLeo. Kyle enjoys bands like Alice In Chains, Korn, Deftones, and Stone Temple Pilots.
Justin Hancock
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Justin Hancock is a Boston-based guitarist, singer-songwriter, and teacher. Born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, he played saxophone before making the switch to guitar in his early teens. He was passionate about music at a young age, largely due to his parents raising him on artists such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, John Lennon, Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Who, and The Doors.
Justin was also very influenced by the music that came out in the '90s and began writing songs and performing in bands around the age of 13. After high school, he majored in Music at Westfield State University before transferring to Berklee College of Music in Boston. He graduated in 2009 with a degree in Professional Music.
Justin has performed all over the U.S. and other parts of the world, including Egypt and Costa Rica. Since 2010, the majority of his touring, songwriting, and recording has been with the award-winning rock band Hayley Jane and the Primates. They have toured the country multiple times, been featured in several national publications, and have performed at some of the most well-known venues and high-profile music festivals in the Northeast. They have shared lineups and bills with artists such as Trey Anastasio (Phish), Wilco, Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead), My Morning Jacket, Weezer, Gregg Allman, Umphrey's McGee, Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers, Gov't Mule), Ben Harper, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Blues Traveler, Sharon Jones, Moe, Dweezil Zappa, Dickey Betts (Allman Brothers), Chris Robinson (The Black Crowes), G. Love and Special Sauce, and Stephen Marley.
Campbell Fackre
Guitar Teacher
Campbell started playing guitar at age 9, taking lessons from a local church pastor and joining Sunday afternoon blues jams at the church. Through middle and high school he played in jazz ensembles, attended a summer camp at Berklee, and began writing original music. Some of his inspirations include Jimi Hendrix, Derek Trucks, The Grateful Deal, Duster, and Vundabar. He currently fronts the mathy pop rock trio, Three Mandareens, and spends time performing as well as recording and mixing music for other artists.
Emma Barucci
Vocal Teacher
Emma is a Vocal teacher at the School of Rock in Norwood/Walpole. She is also a student at Berklee Online, studying to achieve her Vocal Technique and Musicianship Certificate. She has been singing for over 12 years and is trained in all types of vocal styles with a particular interest in Musical Theatre.
Emma has performed in musicals around her community, with her biggest role starring as "Annie" in Annie! She was awarded the "Triple Threat Talent" Award at the Onstage New York Competition, and was named the "Broadway Star - Best All Around Vocalist" at the Access Broadway Competition when she was 13 years old. Additionally, she has auditioned for multiple broadway shows such as Matilda, School of Rock, and Annie. She has also studied with broadway stars such as Amy Spanger, who starred in the Musical "Rent" and "Matilda". Aside from vocals, she has taken an interest in learning the Guitar, Piano, Ukulele, and Drums.
Currently, her favorite artist is Billie Eilish! She also loves Renee Rapp, Olivia Rodrigo, The Beetles, The Backseat Lovers, Radiohead and so much more!
Outside of School of Rock, Emma is an avid Disney enthusiast and true crime lover! Her other hobbies include, drawing, reading, and hanging out with her 2 dogs Mayce and Lola.
Zack Stewart
Keyboard + Piano Teacher, Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher
Zack Stewart’s first memory of being interested in music was on a playground in the fourth grade. The song was "Shout at the Devil" and the minute school was over, Mötley Crüe was to be his first album purchase. Many rock, metal, and punk albums were to follow.
The first time Zack made music was when his best friend got a guitar and they realized they could do this band thing too. So at 12 years old, Zack got a drum set and they made their friend Jack Hanlon get a bass. The punk rock group Social MENACE was born! Jack eventually formed The Amazing Royal Crowns, who went on to become one the most successful bands out of Providence.
In high school music class, Zack got an Irish tin whistle and had an instant connection. He thought it would be cool to mix hardcore and Celtic music, so he formed a band called Paddy's Pig. They had vocals, drums, bass, guitar, banjo, accordion, and tin whistle and were a seven-piece explosion who gigged all over Boston and Providence. One night in 1997 they played with a new band called Dropkick Murphys, who back then only consisted of the standard guitar, bass, drums, and vocals, and played straight-ahead punk. After the show, they said they were blown away by Paddy’s Pig and a month later Dropkick Murphys added bagpipes, banjo, and accordion, and became the biggest band Boston has known.
Music has taken Zack all over the country and he can't imagine a life without this creative outlet. He is excited to write the next chapter right here at the School of Rock in Norwood!
Sean Whitkens
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Sean fell in love with music at an early age. He began taking piano lessons in kindergarten and quickly became enthralled with composition. As his musical horizons broadened, so did his love for other instruments including bass, ukulele, and guitar. Writing songs frequently by 14, Sean joined his first band and started experimenting with music production. In school, he studied music history and played in the Jazz and Symphonic bands. He now performs across New England with his passion project “The Park Hill Romance.” Some of Sean’s biggest musical influences include Jack White, My Chemical Romance, Twenty One Pilots, Knocked Loose, David Bowie, Ghost, and Electric Light Orchestra.