Ray
Owner
Ray grew up in a highly musical atmosphere, living under the same roof as a music minister, band instructor, and singer for the Vocal Majority. From a young age, he gravitated towards Elvis and the Ramones instead of the ’80s new wave of the day. A cancerous tumor left him deaf in one ear, but that didn’t sway his love for music. While living in Grand Junction, Colorado, young Ray decided he wanted to learn guitar. His parents took him to a member of their church, the guitar-tech-turned-guitar-player of the ’80s hair metal band, Quiet Riot. Ray picked up the guitar with ease, as he seemed to do with any instrument (except vocals!).
Ray moved back to Texas during his senior year of high school and immediately joined a band that was looking for a bass player. Following his graduation, Ray became a private school kindergarten teacher by day and a rockstar by night. His band Attention Deficit won the Dallas Observer Award for Best Punk Band in DFW and played bands like Bowling for Soup, Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, and more.
Eventually, some severe health problems resulted in Ray becoming completely deaf for a few months, putting his life and band on hold. When he regained hearing in his good ear, he moved back to Dallas and rejoined his bandmates. They re-formed as a new band named Peacemaker and worked with still-unknown producer Geoff Rockwell (Forever The Sickest Kids, Artist vs Poet, Memphis Mayfire) to record their first full-length as this band. Peacemaker quickly garnered a large following playing with bands like Bad Religion, Hot Water Music, Less Than Jake, and more.
When a School of Rock location opened in North Dallas, Ray was a perfect fit as an instructor. Ray quickly learned that his passion could become a reality and a career. He worked his way up to becoming the Music Director of what became the second-largest School of Rock in the nation, leading him to later train and work in multiple locations in the DFW area. After six years, Ray and his wife moved out to Southern California and led a cultural revolution by opening up multiple brand-new schools before returning to DFW to oversee 27 locations across the US!
But Ray and his wife always knew they wanted to be School of Rock owners, and after eight years with School of Rock, they opened their first location in Bryan/College Station followed by School of Rock The Colony! Ray loves teaching, songwriting, and working with local musicians all day, every day.
Kristin
Owner
Kristin has a degree in English & Child Development from the University of North Texas, as well as a certification in Audio Engineering. She ran one of Texas' largest recording studios, working with artists such as Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, the Jonas Brothers, John Legend, and more.
Since 2009, Kristin has been operating and opening new School of Rock locations from Texas to California, and everywhere in between. She and Ray opened their first school in College Station in 2019, and their second in The Colony in 2021. Kristin is currently an executive for a national franchise organization by day and a musician by night. Kristin has seen firsthand how incredible and life-saving this program is for its students, both young and old.
Rich
Music Director, Drum Teacher, Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher, Band Director
Raised in a musical family, Rich began learning music when he was 5 years old. While he notes that drums are his primary instrument, he is also proficient in guitar, bass, keys, mallet percussion, and vocals. He also dabbles in banjo and cello.
Rich began performing on drums professionally at the age of 17 with students from UNT College of Music and playing almost every venue in Deep Ellum by the time he reached 18. He strongly credits rock music as being the catalyst that led him to study music in college. Rich was accepted to Berklee College of Music but opted to pursue jazz studies at the University of North Texas. Rich worked as an audio engineer at Maximedia Studios, where he got a real insight into the workings of the professional music industry. In his time there he worked with artists such as the Jonas Brothers, Pat Green, Andy Timmons, Amy Lee of Evanescence, Filter, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Missy Elliot, and Timbaland to name a few. He is also a session drummer for many local and regional artists.
Rich has taught with School of Rock for over eight years and was the music director of the Flower Mound school for six years. He continues to maintain strong relationships with musicians and venues in the Denton and DFW music community. Rich composes music on multiple instruments and still performs as a studio musician, in original bands, cover bands, and jazz gigs with talented musicians from all over DFW. However, he strongly believes in teaching as his calling and truest passion.
Ethan
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Ethan was born and raised in Texas sometime in the mid-'90s. While not musicians, his parents loved playing Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, Sabbath, Al Green, The Beatles, Steely Dan, and more. During adolescence, Ethan started to develop his own taste for more obscure, underground music. He would spend hours on the internet in search of new and exciting music; he fell in love with bands and artists such as Hella, Tera Melos, Arab on Radar, Captain Beefheart, and other legendary weirdos. By high school, he got further into the avant-garde and became smitten with the delightfully strange, and sophisticated music of free jazz legends Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Albert Ayler, and gnarly contemporary classical composers like Béla Bartók, Olivier Messiaen, and Iannis Xenakis.
While Ethan was developing his own musical taste, he was given a drum set by a neighbor, who would become a long-time best friend and musical partner. Ethan fell in love with playing the drums. A year later, his father got an acoustic guitar for Christmas and he fell in love all over again. He would spend hours every day practicing both guitar and drums alone. As an alumnus of School of Rock, Ethan eventually started a band with friends from 2008 through 2014. His current bands, “Sexual Jeremy” and “Darling Farm,” have toured all over the country which is what Ethan loves. You can also find him playing country, jazz, and cover band gigs.
Mak
School Coordinator
Mak was born on a farm in the middle of South Texas. Her family of farmers, ranchers, and mechanics soon picked up on the fact that she was far more artistic than anyone could have anticipated. She began drawing at 3, dancing at 4, and made her acting debut in Victoria Community Theatre at 5.
In high school, Mak competed in UIL One Act Play, marching band, speech & debate, track, basketball, spelling bees, and several art competitions. She was a member of the District Youth Council, National Honors Society, and Mathletes, and was President of the Theatre Club and Treasurer of the Art Club. Outside of school, Mak was a member of the Townhall Players theater troupe, selling commissioned art, competing in pageants, and working on the farm. By the time she graduated from high school with honors, she was a regional champion for Poetry Interpretation three years in a row, a State Competition awarded actor, a State Awarded artist, and had been accepted to study film acting at the KD Conservatory in Dallas, TX.
Mak continued working as an artist while studying acting under Ashlee Elizabeth Bashore, Sarah Rutan, John S. Davies, and Michael Serrechia. She graduated with her degree in acting in 2021. Since then, she has taken residence in Denton, TX. She continues to work on her craft in both visual and performing arts, playing guitar, keys, and singing.
JT
Bass Guitar Teacher, Guitar Teacher, Vocal Teacher, Band Teacher
JT’s love of music began in the backseat of his dad’s ‘89 Pontiac Grand Am, listening to cassettes of The Eagles and The Cars. His favorite band very quickly became the Beatles because of their iconic songwriting, legendary artistry, and innovation when it came to genre-bending and creating new sounds. Completely inspired, JT started singing in his school choir and even enrolling at a School of Rock for guitar lessons! By high school, he was touring across the country to compete in choir competitions.
JT attended OSU and was a featured soloist in NATS. Under the direction of renowned choir director and composer Z. Randall Stroope, JT toured for choir again—this time, across Europe. At the University of North Texas, he joined the UNT A Capella Choir under the direction of Dr. Allen Hightower and completed his bachelor's degree in Music.
Nowadays, JT can be found singing and playing bass and guitar around the DFW area. You can find him performing solo, at open mics, or with his band Nightwatch. When he’s not writing songs, rehearsing, or performing, he teaches vocals, bass, guitar, and keys at School of Rock The Colony.
Jack
Guitar Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
On Christmas Day, at 10 years old, Jack would open a gift that would change his life forever: his first guitar.
Jack discovered The Beatles at a young age and so, of course, the first songs he would learn came from British Invasion bands: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Kinks. Jack soon found himself immersed in works from blues legends such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. In middle school, his repertoire expanded into classic heavy metal bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden and funk bands like Parliament-Funkadelic, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Sly & The Family Stone.
Jack found himself at UNT for music and began studying composition and classical guitar, playing pieces by Leo Brouwer, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Mateo Carcassi. He discovered and loved the music of composers like Igor Stravinsky, Charles Ives, and Frank Zappa—Jack even began composing his own music!
Outside of teaching guitar, bass, and keys at School of Rock The Colony, Jack plays in a Denton-based band called Nightwatch along with JT!
Dylan
Bass Guitar Teacher, Band Teacher
Dylan grew up in the Texas Hill Country, a place where musical inspiration was initially scarce. Everything changed when he was introduced to punk rock—a discovery pivotal to his newfound passion for music and his lifelong journey as a musician.
Dylan started playing piano and guitar but found his true calling after picking up the bass—and, eventually, the double bass! All these instruments led him to pursue jazz studies at the University of North Texas. Dylan has a deep love for music theory and enjoys composing and arranging music. Dylan now plays professionally across the DFW area, including with the jazz band Beauty Industry with both Rich and Adam!
Dylan’s favorite artists include, but are not limited to: John Zorn, The Minutemen, Carla Bley, The Ramones, Linda May Han Oh, Charlie Haden, Daniel Johnston, Selena, Richard Wagner, and Bad Religion.