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School of Rock Music Comes To Denver

Contributed by: chris soucy on 3/5/2008

A music powerhouse opened its doors the first week of January 2008, determined to toss some grit back into the local music scene, one kid rocker at a time.

The Paul Green School of Rock opens its latest outpost in Denver, offering kids an education in rock music from A-Z (that's Aerosmith and AC/DC to Zappa and Zeppelin!).

This will not be music education for "American Idol" wannabes. Instead, children aged 7-18 will receive private lessons on grittier rock 'n' roll during afternoon sessions, with weekly three-hour group rehearsals and regularly scheduled concerts at local clubs. The Denver School of Rock will be able to handle up to 150 students. The School of Rock will also run one-week mini Summer Boot Camp version of the program in June and July.

The school's performance-based program - lessons in conjunction with rehearsals and shows - is designed to get students, even younger beginners, ready to play music live: in front of real audiences, on real professional gear, loud! In the school's first 12-week session, which started in early January, students will learn the classic Pink Floyd album "The Wall," and then perform the masterpiece, in its entirety, at a concert on May 18 at the Taod Tavern in Littleton.

The Denver school is run by Front Rage musician Chris Soucy, who toured for several years with Colorado-based songwriter Sally Taylor (daughter of James Taylor and Carly Simon) and has played throughout the country in various rock bands and orchestras. Along with having a Masters in Education from Smith College, Soucy is a busy local multi-instrumentalist. He has now decided to put his two passions together-music and education. Explains Soucy: "This program truly motivates and inspires young musicians to do things they may have only dreamed possible. As I talk to local professional musicians these days, I keep hearing the same thing: 'I wish a program like this existed when I was learning the ropes of the business.'"

The School of Rock curriculum focuses on the classic rock that 30 and 40 something's grew up with on the radio.

The Denver school located in the Grant Avenue Community Center (216 South Grant Street) is also is the 32nd member of a chain created nine years ago by Paul Green. The organization has already generated a documentary, "Rock School," a summer music festival (SORFest) and plenty of attention with its rapid growth throughout the country.

For further information or to schedule an interview please contact Chris Soucy at Denver@schoolofrock.com / 720 276 7625.

About The Paul Green School of Rock:

The Paul Green School of Rock is the original and premier performance-based rock music school in the country for kids 7-18. Founded on Green's original program of weekly, individualized instruction sessions augmented by rigorous group rehearsals, the Paul Green School of Rock effectively motivates students to practice-driven by frequent performances where they discover that how hard they work leads directly to applause, the most beautiful music of all. Each year, the 30+ School of Rock branches around the country give more than 1,000 concerts at established venues including The Whiskey, BB King's and Carnegie Hall and at festivals such as Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, the Zappanale in Germany and the first ever SORFest ('07). The School's All-Stars have performed with Alice Cooper, Eddie Vedder, Sting, Ann Wilson of Heart, Adrian Belew of the Talking Heads and Perry Farrell, among others, and have toured with Jon Anderson of Yes as his featured back-up band. Founded in 1998, the Paul Green School of Rock Music was the subject of the documentary Rock School, which regularly airs on A&E since its debut at Sundance in 2005. The School also served as the apparent inspiration for the Jack Black hit comedy, School of Rock. .


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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

chris soucy

denver , CO

chris soucy has posted 1 story and 0 comments since joining on 3/3/2008. chris soucy 's average story rating is 5.
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