Ryan Schiff
District Manager
Born and raised in Long Island, NY, Ryan began playing guitar at age 13 after seeing the movie "La Bamba" about rock legend Ritchie Valens. He studied with Grammy-nominated guitarist Steve Briody for several years before starting his own projects and soon became an instructor himself. While still in New York, his band Code Anchor independently released several EPs and one full-length album, "Rosada," while touring extensively nationwide from 2005-2009. A co-writer in the band, Ryan also played lead and rhythm guitar while singing lead and backup vocals. Memorable stages include the Vans Warped Tour at Nassau Coliseum and headlining bills at some of New York City's greatest venues like CBGBs and The Knitting Factory. It was during this time that Ryan began teaching at School of Rock in Melville, NY. Hungry to pursue new musical ventures, Ryan departed from Code Anchor and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. Since then, he's been busy writing, producing and performing with his newest project, Lou Pine. As a Sony/ATV artist, Lou Pine’s music has been featured on television shows like “Chicago Fire,” “Gordon Ramsay’s The F Word,” and “Food Paradise." Ryan enjoys playing every genre including jazz, funk, country and folk, but credits the blues and rock n' roll as his main influences.
Justin Salmons
Regional Manager, General Manager
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, but raised in Dallas, Texas, Justin has been a music aficionado since elementary school. Inspired by his cousin's ability to riff on a Les Paul as a kid, Justin finally picked up the guitar himself at the age of 13. Initially a rocker, his thirst for a deeper understanding of the inner workings of guitar and music led him to a more diverse repertoire and a greater knowledge of music theory.
Taking advantage of the immense blues, jazz, country, and R&B culture that Texas had to offer, Justin broadened his influences and musical understanding, quickly becoming an old soul in a young body. This led to performing and recording with artists such as Nokie Edwards of The Ventures and Dave Bartholomew, songwriter for Fats Domino, as well as hip-hop legend the D.O.C., and Texas country legends The Light Crust Doughboys, which eventually led to a Grammy nomination in Southern Gospel.
After graduating from the University of North Texas in 2007 and feeling the limitations of Texas, Justin relocated to Los Angeles in 2010. Justin began teaching at School of Rock West LA in 2011 and was promoted to Music Director in 2014. Justin was promoted again to General Manager in 2018 and continues to be dedicated to enriching lives through performance-based music education.
Justine Furgason
Assistant General Manager, Vocal Teacher
Justine Furgason is a School of Rock transplant. She was originally a voice/guitar/keys student at School of Rock Chatham in New Jersey and was a member of their House Band for three years. She then taught lessons, rehearsals, and Little Wing there and at School of Rock Clark. She is a former voice principal and songwriting major at Berklee College of Music.
Justine is a nationally touring solo artist, who did two full runs on the Vans Warped Tour. Currently, she is a touring and recording solo artist and touring keyboardist for the punk band Crooked Teeth.
Jacob Somerscales
Music Director, Drum Teacher
Jacob Somerscales is a drummer, DJ, producer, and ethnomusicologist. Growing up in a city as rich in musical history as St. Louis, Jacob saw no other option than to engulf himself in rhythms and embark on his own musical journey. Jacob’s learning focused greatly on practical diversity of knowledge—recognizing the value of studying all musical styles that come his way—a skill that has taken his music to clubs, studios, and large-scale music festivals across the country.
Apart from teaching private students of all ages and abilities, Jacob regularly guest lectures at public and private universities on music culture and history, and he previously served for three years as Musical Director for the University of Missouri’s diversity orientation initiative, Talking Drum.
In all of his musical endeavors, Jacob seeks to express powerful, dynamic stories and share those feelings with his peers, audiences, and students. His approach to life always bears the reverence and wisdom of a jazz drummer and the flair and presence of a crate-digging DJ.
T. Alex Budrow
Drum Teacher
Alex Budrow started out in the basement with a passion at 11 years old, like many drummers, and has pursued that through today. He began playing professionally by age 17 and has been studying and playing music for 18 years. He attended The New England Institute of Art and McNally Smith College of Music and got a BA in Audio Media Technology and AP Percussion Performance. His experience as an educator began while still attending NEIA, guest lecturing on Drum Set Production and Performance, which led to teaching private lessons. A position as Music Director for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester in Boston, MA followed soon after. As a drummer pursuing his calling, Alex has performed countless shows, covering a vast spectrum of musical styles. His recording credits boast the same variety. Some of these recordings have even cracked local radio markets. These accomplishments only strengthen his commitment to the daily discipline of a professional musician. Alex believes the experience of music is for everyone. His approach to teaching is a balanced mix of inspiration and diligence designed to take the student where they want to go in their pursuit of a musical life.
Drama Wyatt
Drum Teacher
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California in a musical family, Drama has been around music her entire life and started playing guitar at the age of 8. However, it was when she was 14 years old and started playing the drums that she found her true passion for being a musician. She started taking lessons and enrolled at School of Rock West LA and has been playing ever since.
School of Rock has given Drama many amazing opportunities, such as learning how to play and interact with other musicians, as well as the chance to play legendary venues including Whiskey a Go Go and the Troubadour with rock & roll Hall of Fame member Jackson Browne.
Drama currently attends the Musicians Institute in Hollywood. She has played in several bands and currently plays drums for various singer-songwriters around town and writes her own material. Drama appreciates an array of genres but prefers to play hard rock and alternative rock. Some of her favorite bands include Foo Fighters, The Strokes, Royal Blood, and Marmozets. She continues to strive to be a better musician every day and works very hard towards her goal of becoming a nationwide touring musician.
Amin Mortada
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Vocal Teacher
Amin Mortada is a professional guitarist, bassist, and vocalist. He has performed at notable music festivals such as The Governor's Ball and Warped Tour. He has played alongside world class musicians including Victor Wooten and Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty. He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music where he also studied songwriting and music business. He has several years of teaching experience in addition to his position as Music Director at School of Rock, Watertown. He is a lover of all music and has taught everything from Metal to Jazz to Pop.
Candice Ferguson
Vocal Teacher
Candice was raised in Houston, TX and started her music journey at a young age as a member of a gospel group. After the gospel group disbanded, she continued her musical pursuit as an R&B solo artist and moved to Atlanta, GA where she continued writing and recording music while having the opportunity to work with Grammy-nominated writers and producers. During her time in Atlanta, she performed the National Anthem at the NASCAR Nationwide Series, around the city, and in neighboring states. She vocal trained for several years at Jan Smith Studios, one of the top vocal studios that trained successful artists such as Justin Bieber, Usher, Drake, and more. Now living in LA, she continues pursuing her passion for music and has performed the National Anthem for various professional sports organizations such as the NBA, NHL, and the WNBA. She is currently a vocal/performance coach, and works in A&R and Artist Development at EDGEOUT Records/Universal Music Group.
Michael Campanelli
Piano Teacher
Michael is a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer from Portland, OR. He is a proficient vocalist, keyboardist, guitarist, bassist, drummer and percussionist. His love for music began shortly after starting classical piano lessons at age 7 when he realized he could write and record original songs using his piano skills and Garageband on his brother's laptop. This love led him to learn other instruments, produce original music and play in bands throughout middle and high school - and finally to studying music in college. Currently, he is in his last semester at the University of Southern California studying Popular Music Performance and Music Production under their legendary faculty.
When he’s not studying or practicing, he writes and produces music of many different styles and has released songs, amassing millions of streams. Additionally, he is a professional session musician. Among his session work, he is most proud of his keyboards on Lucky Daye’s song “Used to Be” off the album “Candy Drip.” Michael is extremely excited to share his love and knowledge of creating music with the talented students at the School of Rock!!
Eli Sokolow
Guitar Teacher, Bass Teacher
Eli is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter. Having begun his musical journey attending a Radiohead concert in the womb (true story), music has been the centerpiece of his life from the start. Since the age of five, he has shared the stage with everyone from childhood friends to Slash. Eli studied music production under producer Daniel Jimenez Afanador, graduating from school early to tour with his band. In the last few years, he’s grown as a music educator and producer/songwriter with work ranging from major label EDM acts to indie rock bands. Eli’s instruction focuses on applying concepts through song and keeping the path of progress directed by the student’s goals and musical passions.
Antonio Fungairino
Drum Teacher
Antonio Fungairino has been playing drums for over 13 years. A former student of School of Rock, Antonio was an active member of the House Band and a two-year AllStar. Along with participating in the Philadelphia house show scene, he taught drums and ran summer camps at School of Rock over breaks between college semesters. He has played drums on many musical projects over the years, ranging from sludge metal to prog to folk-rock to shoegaze. He graduated with a degree in film from Temple University in 2021 and promptly moved to Los Angeles to pursue filmmaking.
Some of Antonio's favorite artists include King Crimson, Kendrick Lamar, Weezer, Frank Zappa, Prince, Kanye West, Palm, Jeff Rosenstock, Bruce Springsteen, Fun, Duke Deuce, Pharoah Sanders, and Pig Destroyer!
Bobby Danzi
Assistant Music Director, Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Originally from Long Island, New York, Bobby had an early obsession with all things music. After picking up the guitar when he was 11 years old, he soon found himself writing and recording his own songs.
Bobby went on to attend Berklee College of Music from 2014-2018, where he graduated with a degree in music production and engineering. Since college, he has worked in both Nashville and Los Angeles as a guitarist and recording engineer across a wide variety of genres. With a personal focus on alternative, hard rock, and progressive rock, Bobby leads two bands in LA, including his main project, Deer Pilot, in which he is the primary writer and performer.
Mykel Pay
Vocal Teacher
Mykel is an independent artist and songwriter who trained in musical theater (at the Utah Conservatory of Performing Arts) for 11 years before venturing into the pop/songwriting world in Los Angeles at just 19 years old. She received her education through UCLA Extension's Independent Music Production program and spent six years doing studio, writing, and performance work in the city. She has written for herself as well as TV shows and movies featured on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Lifetime, and Bravo Network.
Mykel’s private vocal training spans multiple styles/methods. This allows her to prioritize overall strengthening and control of the voice as opposed to a genre-specific approach, which increases the versatility and vocal longevity of her students. She has taught vocal lessons privately for five years and cannot wait to infuse the School of Rock student community with her love of creativity, self-expression, and vocal excellence!
Parker Goessling
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Parker Goessling was born in Duluth, Minnesota, and began playing guitar at the age of 9 after being introduced to classic rock through the likes of The Who’s “Substitute” and the opening riff to Led Zeppelin’s “Communication Breakdown.”
After moving to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music, Parker toured with New York-based jam band Baked Goods and contributed guitar to their 2017 EP, A Vivid Hallucination.
Upon returning to Boston, Parker began working as an in-demand guitarist in the New England area for local artists and function bands, performing live with Houston Bernard and Kellan Donavan along with contributing guitars to albums by Erin Bonnie, Don’t Call Me Tina, and Bill Moody, among others. He relocated to Los Angeles in late 2022 to pursue further musical opportunities.
Gabriella Hirsch
Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Gabriella is a musician (piano, guitar, voice) and composer/lyricist for film, TV, and theater. She loves teaching students of all ages and abilities. Gaby earned her master's degree in Music Composition: Screen-Scoring at NYU, and a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Music Therapy from the University of Miami. She has taught piano lessons and a wide range of instrument and ensemble classes at community music schools over the past decade.
Gabriella has performed at festivals, venues, and events in Chicago (Sleeping Village, Red Bull Music Presents Xicago, the Neo-Futurists Theater, iO Chicago), New York (The Duplex, The Center), and Miami (Miami Music Festival). Her songs and scores have been heard at the Vancouver International Film Festival, Hollywood and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals, Chicago Musical Theatre Festival, Toronto International Women Film Festival, Lisboa Indie Film Festival, and more.
Sean Marcelin
Guitar Teacher
Growing up in Miami, Florida, Sean Marcelin has been surrounded by music his whole life; he has been playing guitar for over 15 years, alongside piano, bass, saxophone, percussion, and more. Sean is a fan of most genres of music but consistently finds himself listening to rock: classic, progressive, alternative, soft, hard, experimental, you name it.
Sean has been playing in and leading bands since high school and throughout his time at Berklee College of Music (‘23). Now, after making a home in Venice, CA, he’s ready to bring his passion for music to School of Rock students!
Xander Burmer
Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Xander is a seasoned live performer and lifelong musician. As a child, he was classically trained on the piano for 12 years. Then as a teenager, he also picked up guitar and soon started playing in local bands. Shortly after his 21st birthday, Xander left on his first full U.S. tour playing keys in a piano rock band. He then toured for half a decade, including multiple trips across the U.S. and Japan, as well as an Armed Forces Entertainment tour through Southeast Asia. He played festivals like SXSW, had placements on MTV reality shows, and live radio performances on Seattle’s 106.1 KISS FM.
After his tenure on the road, Xander relocated to Los Angeles, where he has continued to hone his musical crafts while playing locally with multiple bands spanning many genres over the years. With a particular focus on the piano and keys, guitar, and bass, he is an active live performer, session musician, and instructor in the area.
Curt Harpel
Vocal Teacher
Curt is a seasoned singer, producer, composer, and voice teacher. He has a strong foundation in music, including studies at the Manhattan School of Music and the Santa Fe Opera, plus vocal training with notable coaches.
Curt is a multi-talented musician. He holds a degree in Music Production and is proficient in piano, guitar, and bass. His career highlights include Broadway tours, producing music for movie trailers, and composing original music for films. His work has been featured in popular TV shows, and he has won an award at the Sundance Film Festival.
As a voice teacher, Curt shares his expertise and passion for rock music with aspiring young vocalists, making a lasting impact on the School of Rock Venice community.
Dakota Luna
Vocal Teacher
Dakota Luna is a vocalist, songwriter, educator, musician, and a graduate of UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music with a degree in Ethnomusicology. Beginning in professional musical theater at age 7, she has been performing for over a decade in a variety of settings: as a solo artist, leader of her own band, backup vocalist, and member of a variety of ensembles, choirs, musicals, and a cappella groups.
Dakota studied Vocal Music for four years at Oakland School for The Arts where she received comprehensive training in vocal technique, jazz, classical, and pop/R&B repertoire, music theory and aural skills, and composition. During her time at OSA, she was a member of the award-winning a cappella group Vocal Rush and had the chance to perform alongside award-winning artists such as Daveed Diggs, Dave Grohl, Wilson Heredia, and Ryan Tedder. During college, Dakota began performing with her own band around LA to audiences of up to 6,000 people. As an Ethnomusicology major, she has sung a range of styles including Balkan Folk Music, Mariachi, Iranian Avaz, Brazilian Samba, Afro-Latin Jazz, Gospel, and Klezmer (as the lead singer for UCLA’s Gluck Fellowship Klezmer Ensemble).
Along with performing, teaching has been Dakota's long-standing passion. With over five years of experience teaching music to K-12 students, she has taught everything from guitar and piano to voice, musical theater, music theory, and songwriting. She is excited by music’s ability to encourage confidence, community, joy, identity, and passion in young students! Dakota believes that teaching all genres, eras, and traditions of music, especially styles that students are excited about and feel represented in, is the best way to keep students learning and playing music for a lifetime!
CJ Maus
Keyboard + Piano Teacher
CJ Maus is a trumpet and keys player, DJ, producer, and lover of hardware synthesizers. His musical journey started on keys at the age of 8, after listening to his mom play Andrew Lloyd Webber and other show tunes on their home piano. CJ eventually picked up the guitar with dreams of being a rock star and spent several years leading his worship band and learning classic rock tunes in his basement. In high school, he found the joys of improvisation through jazz as a trumpet player and pivoted his focus to trumpet and jazz studies at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
In everything he plays, CJ seeks to embrace self-expression and explore the role of technology in the creative process—often incorporating guitar pedals in his trumpet playing and custom synth patches on keys. As an arranger and supporting musician, he enjoys helping artists find new ways of expressing their musical vision both on the stage and in their recordings. CJ continues to perform, write, and record with artists across the local LA scene.
Zach Zito
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Zach Zito is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, and audio producer. He is a guitar teacher and bass guitar teacher at the School of Rock in Venice, California.
Having grown up around an enriching artistic environment in St. Louis, MO, Zach naturally fell into these creative roles at a young age. With the influence of like-minded friends and his father, also a professional musician, he has been performing for over 17 years. It has led to many amazing musical projects and experiences around the globe, from Moscow to Los Angeles.
Zach currently resides in the LA area where he performs and writes music professionally, edits podcasts, and is an amateur ecologist, volunteering his time with local environmental organizations educating others on the importance of biodiversity.
Cassandra Sabol
Vocal Teacher
Cassandra Sabo—also known as Valentine Ephemeris—is a vocalist, songwriter, producer, educator, keyboardist, bassist, and guitarist. Originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Cassandra began playing and singing at a young age in the church choir, the school band, and coffee shop open mics. They began playing in local bands at age 15. Most notably, they were a member of the cinematic indie rock band Coyote Kid. With Coyote Kid, Cassandra toured nationally and released multiple albums. Cassandra is currently pursuing a new solo project as Valentine Ephemeris, creating dark indie pop music.
Cassandra’s educational background is from McNally Smith College of Music where they studied vocal performance and music production. Cassandra has multiple years of teaching experience with School of Rock. In addition to their time at School of Rock, Cassandra has worked with organizations like She Rock She Rock and has taught freelance as well.
Cassandra is passionate about helping students develop their unique style. Cassandra's goal is to create a supportive, inclusive environment where students feel empowered to express themselves while learning healthy, sustainable techniques.
Phoebe Randall
Studio Coordinator
Born and raised under the blazing Arizona sun, yet somehow incapable of absorbing vitamin D, Phoebe Randall has loved and valued music since she got her hands on a Hello Kitty boombox and her very first CD—a Britany Spears album she won at Dave and Busters.
Phoebe loves to sing, and has been trying to learn guitar for years, but just can’t get those barre chords down. She graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Art Studies, focusing primarily on animation. She loves how animation is a marriage of moving images and sound, the two made more impactful together than apart.
Phoebe loves that music alone can transport us to worlds of our creation, and she believes strongly in the therapeutic power of listening to and playing music. Phoebe will often be found listening to her favorite artists while she draws, goes on a hike, or while she’s brushing her teeth. She very much looks forward to supporting you on your uniquely beautiful artistic journey!
T'Shommie Tyler
Studio Coordinator
T’Shommie was born and raised in Miami, Florida to a musical Caribbean family, and has been obsessed with music ever since. Prime memories include loud family parties every weekend and—to provide a sense of nostalgia—purchasing a platinum blonde Miley Cyrus Hannah Montana wig, wearing it in public, and performing.
T’Shommie later moved to Houston and then relocated to California where she attended Cal State LA. She was the first in her family to receive her graduate degree. T’Shommie loves the music and entertainment business and creative movement (aka dancing). Channeling her instrumentation, her first love was the drums, but she couldn’t quite practice snare the consistency of it. Next up was the guitar, and the same thing there. She’ll come around one day.
Some of T’Shommie’s favorite artists and bands include Janis Joplin, Earth, Wind & Fire, Cream, Dijon, Yebba, Metallica, Selena, and Machel Montano. She's excited to be a part of the School of Rock Venice team!
Joey Marcello
Drum Teacher
Starting his professional drumming career at the age of 16, Joey Marcello has performed for a wide array of ensembles, musicals, studio sessions, and bands. Growing up in a small town in upstate New York, Joey taught himself how to play drums, bass, guitar, and piano from a young age, frequently writing and recording his own songs and burning them onto CDs with his hand-me-down Tascam Portastudio.
Following his love for songwriting and performance, Joey studied at Berklee College of Music where he performed with high-achieving ensembles such as Tia Fuller's Rainbow All Stars Jazz Ensemble and Boston-based pop group BLUSH. He has also released over fifty independent studio records since 2020 covering a variety of genres. Now based in LA, Joey performs frequently with indie rock band Membership and enjoys making music with everyone he meets.
