Angie McCreight
Owner
Angie has loved music her entire life. One of her earliest memories is listening to artists like Elvis Presley, Elton John and more with her parents as a toddler. Angie started singing at the age of five, joining her church choir at the age of eight. In middle school, Angie was a member of the Ketron Singers who performed at the World's Fair in Knoxville, TN and continued to develop her vocal skills with private lessons. Angie continued to perform in high school with her jazz band and performed in the Tennessee All-State Choir, as well as at the Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts.
Angie continued her vocal training in college and participated in activities that allowed her to continue to perform. She went on to earn a bachelor's degree in medical technology and worked in pharmaceutical research for over 20 years. In 2011, after leaving her career in the pharmaceutical industry, she and her husband Kelly decided to open the first School of Rock in Tennessee in the Franklin/Cool Springs area and opened the Nashville location two years later. Angie is very passionate about providing this outlet for young musicians and has also seen her own children participate in the program and become School of Rock AllStars. Every day is a gift when she sees the students get excited about their music and performing in live music venues, even when they get excited about just being in the building.
Emily McCreight
General Manager
Nashville native Emily McCreight was a student at School of Rock Franklin and graduated from Belmont University in May 2021. After earning her degree in Entertainment Industry Studies and Public Relations, she loved nothing more than coming back to School of Rock to be the studio coordinator for School of Rock Mt. Juliet. Emily then moved on to manage both the School of Rock Mt. Juliet and School of Rock Nashville!
During her time as a School of Rock student, Emily was a 4-time School of Rock AllStar and also had the opportunity to open for Knight Ranger, play on multiple cruise lines, and perform at multiple Nashville Predators games. Some of her biggest inspirations are John Paul Jones, Laura Lee, and The Main Squeeze. Now, Emily finds success with her up-and-coming band, Juke of June, who has performed at the Tennessee Titan’s halftime show, the NSC, Bonnaroo, and even opened for local Nashville band, Moon Taxi!
Sadie Anderson
Assistant General Manager
Sadie Anderson is a singer and songwriter originally from Utah. She started writing songs and singing when she was a kid and never stopped. She graduated with a degree in Commercial Music with an emphasis in Vocal Performance from Utah Valley University and has recently relocated to Nashville, TN! When she’s not at School of Rock she’s performing and writing for her pop project, Dasie!
Steve Rossi
Regional Music Director
Steve Rossi brings many years of experience to the Franklin School of Rock as a seasoned performer. Steve has performed on stage with Rock legend and guitar virtuoso, Peter Frampton on his North American tours, as well as other well-known artists such as vocalist extraordinaire Taylor Dayne, 80s rock legends Cinderella (North American tours), 60s rock n' roll pioneer Gary U.S. Bonds, and many other high profile bands and artists across several continents. He has appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "The Arsenio Hall Show" and NBC's "A 70s Celebration" with Taylor Dayne. Steve has also appeared with headliners The Bee Gees and other notable 70s artists. Other appearances include Solid Gold with Gary U.S. Bonds and on MTV's "The Grind." Steve's album credits include Stevie Wonder, John Kay, Steppenwolf and various other artists. He is an independent composer/producer of music for television multimedia. Clients include ABC/Disney, AE, Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon Networks and The Travel Channel, as well as various other corporate and independent clients. Steve scored two seasons of "Surprise by Design," hit home improvement series on Discovery Channel, and is currently composing and producing original, in-program music for "Good Morning America." He is a guitar teacher, bass guitar teacher and piano teacher at School of Rock Franklin.
Sean McCreight
Associate Music Director
Born and raised in the Nashville, TN area, Sean McCreight first picked up the guitar at age six but didn't become serious about playing the guitar until he was in sixth grade, when he started taking private lessons and learned about the band KISS. Sean's first guitar influence was Ace Frehley, which led to his first live performance in a KISS tribute band and other performances, including the Halloween KISS House right off of the square in Franklin, TN. To this day, Sean can still play every Ace Frehley solo. Eventually Sean became a student at School of Rock and quickly began to learn about more genres of music and develop a love of the blues, progressive rock, Motown, classic rock, jam bands and many more. As time went on Sean's influences grew to include Pink Floyd, The Allman Brothers, Derek Trucks, Gov't Mule, The Grateful Dead, The Aquarium Rescue Unit and his all time favorite, Widespread Panic. During his time at School of Rock, Sean was a member of the House Band for five years and was a three-time national AllStar. After graduating high school and School of Rock, Sean attended Belmont University and majored in commercial music - guitar and quickly formed his band Sonic Voodoo, a seven-piece fusion rock band based in Nashville, TN. Sean's band has played many high-profile gigs, including playing at the Nashville Predators games and Plaza Parties, as well as opening for Echosmith. The band released their first EP on Spotify and iTunes in March of 2017. Sean is continuing his music education in the Segue 61 program in Nashville, TN and continues to record and perform live with Sonic Voodoo and other artists around town.
Hannah Smith
Singing Teacher, Keyboard Teacher, Guitar Teacher
Hannah’s musical journey began when she was enrolled in piano lessons at five years old. While five-year-old Hannah drew inspiration from Hilary Duff and the Backstreet Boys, today her biggest musical inspirations are Taylor Swift, Snow Patrol, and Jack Antonoff. Originally from Texas, Hannah moved to Nashville in 2014 to attend Belmont University where she studied commercial voice, composition, and arranging, and where she founded and directed Prismatics, an internationally-ranked, award-winning a cappella ensemble. Since graduating in 2018, Hannah continues to teach lessons and masterclasses as well as to work as a live and studio vocalist. When she’s not teaching, Hannah is also a graphic designer and runs an online store while she pursues her Master’s and teaching license at MTSU.
John Vaillancourt
Guitar Teacher, Piano Teacher
In the spirit of keeping the learning process fun and engaging for everyone, John strives to create a stress free, encouraging, and moderately casual environment for his students. While John Vaillancourt mainly offers lessons for guitar, he also offers lessons for keys and bass guitar. Having previously studied at the Berklee College of Music, John is well versed in a multitude of genres including Rock, Pop, Jazz, Funk, R&B, and Country music, and various techniques to help advance your skills. While at Berklee, John also studied songwriting and was Vice President in the Songwriting Club while participating in recording sessions tracking guitar. John's studio knowledge extends further than recording as he studied audio-engineering at The Blackbird Academy and works with recording software as well as consoles and other outboard equipment.
Andrew Howsmon
Bass Guitar Teacher, Guitar Teacher
Andrew Howsmon was born into a family of classical musicians. When he was 14, he found his dad’s old guitar and quickly lost interest in violin. Since then, he’s played guitar and bass with several groups around the Midwest. Drew’s favorite artists (currently) are Stevie Wonder, Vulfpeck, and Led Zeppelin. He has also been known to enjoy bagels with cream cheese and salmon with a large black coffee.
Stewart Grace
Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher
Music has always been an integral part of Stewart's life. As a young student, he first learned to play drums in the middle school band. Then, went on to be the drummer at his local church, and was the drumline instructor at Hopkinsville High School for 7 years simultaneously. During my tenure at HHS, we had 2 undefeated percussion seasons and started an indoor drumline that continues to this day with the instruction of one of my former students. Upon graduating high school, I attended Austin Peay State University as a Music Education major for 2 years, before transferring to the University of Kentucky and graduating with my B.A in Linguistics. After graduating from UK, I began teaching at School of Rock in Vienna, VA, where I was promoted to lead instructor and director of the Rock 101 program. I also played in several bands throughout the years, varying in genres such as pop, metal, rock, blues and jazz!
Jared Tuitel
Guitar Teacher, Piano Teacher, Drums Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Singing Teacher
Jared Tuitel is a music teacher who enjoys sharing his passion for music while meeting his students where they are with understanding, empathy, and compassion. He attended Berklee College of Music right out of high school to study music and guitar graduating with a Bachelor's degree in professional music. During his time at Berklee, he played in a band with his schoolmates who played shows all around Boston and the east coast. After graduating, he worked for a daycare that put on mini concerts for families and their kids. This propelled him into his teaching career which he began shortly after when he moved back to his hometown of Grand Rapids Michigan teaching at local music academies. During the pandemic, he was brought into the world of teaching on zoom and began teaching for an online company on top of the local academies. Jared has most recently relocated himself in Nashville Tennessee to continue teaching and expanding his music career.
In his free time, Jared enjoys working on his personal music endeavors. He also enjoys running, swimming, meditating, and spending time with his family and friends. He was lucky enough to study abroad in Valencia Spain during his last semester at Berklee.
Annalee Condiles
Singing Teacher
Annalee Condiles is currently a student at Belmont University majoring in Music Business (live event management) and minoring in dance. She first got involved with singing through musical theater and to this day can call herself a proud theater kid, although the School of Rock program is really where her love grew.
Annalee is a School of Rock alumna and was part of her school's House Band and was also an AllStar in 2019 and 2020. Her rock inspirations range from Earth, Wind & Fire to No Doubt to Black Sabbath, and she is so excited to share her passion for singing with the School of Rock community in Mt. Juliet, TN!
Jordan Caulk
Singing Teacher
Even though she came from a musical theatre and choral background, Jordan has lived and loved rock music her entire life. As a child of the 90s, some of her favorite bands include Alice In Chains, Queens of the Stone Age, and Soundgarden.
Jordan isn't just a fan of grunge and alternative rock, however; she sang with a traveling cover band that played medleys of everything from oldies to rap to metal to Top 40s, and she learned plenty about the classics during her years working at the School of Rock in Naperville, IL.
In addition to expanding her musical repertoire, Jordan has also used her time at School of Rock to learn how to play the keys and bass guitar!
Tara Curran
Singing Teacher
Originally from Westchester, NY, Tara Curran has been singing since she was 6 years old and began her School of Rock journey at the age of 9 with the Bedford, NY location. She was raised with various musical genres, including classic rock and metal, but found her calling in the blues, gospel, funk, and soul. Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Christina Aguilera, Janis Joplin, and Susan Tedeschi are among many on her long list of influences, but don’t let that fool you! Tara’s sound is entirely her own. Her soulful, powerhouse vocals and her unique and captivating stagecraft have been a mainstay of the Westchester County/New York City music scene since she began her professional career at 11 years old.
Outside of her early School of Rock training, Tara trains with renowned vocal coach Don Lawrence, focusing on the Lawrence Technique, a technique used by artists including Lady Gaga, Mick Jagger, Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, and Axl Rose.
In 2022, Tara was invited back to School of Rock Bedford as a vocal instructor before moving to Nashville for a 2023 study-away program, where she fell in love with the city, the music scene, and the people. She has spent the last year gaining industry experience at Big Machine Label Group, focusing on Promotion, Streaming, and Marketing. Currently, Tara plans on transferring to a school in Nashville and hopes to continue to learn more about the Music Industry and release music soon!
Tara’s goal is to create a trust-based relationship with her students, and she is so excited to help cultivate their love of singing and performance!
Griffen Kranz
Drum Teacher
Griffen Kranz has been playing drums and writing music since he was 10 years old and has been lucky enough to spend the last decade fulfilling roles in the audio, visual, live music, and performing industries. He started his career as a recording engineer for any local artist that was willing to let him work with them, and this blossomed into him moving to Phoenix and eventually Los Angeles to fully pursue a career in music.
After spending years in California, Griffen recently decided to move to Nashville to be on the road more and tour with his band Winona Fighter!