Jason Fein
Owner, House Band Director, Show Director & Singing Teacher
Jason's musical journey started very early. He started piano lessons at the age of seven and it wasn't long after that he decided he wanted to learn how to play the guitar. Still not feeling like he had found his true musical calling he decided to give his school chorus a try when he entered high school. Things started moving fast from there. He formed his first band as the lead singer and by the time he graduated high school he went away to college on a vocal performance scholarship. While in college he formed his first touring band called Next Best Thing. They had some success including two albums and a song placed in a very popular motorcycle DVD that pressed over 500,000 copies. After college NBT broke up and Jason was left searching for a new musical outlet. Little did he know he would soon find it in multiple forms. He co-founded The Run Around. In the ten years The Run Around has been together they have played shows all across this country, sold thousands of albums, have a successful music video and shared the stage with such national acts as Tom Petty, Bowling For Soup, Local H, Blues Traveler, Alien Ant Farm, Mest, Head Automatica, Lucky Boys Confusion, Nine Days, Gavin Degraw and many, many more.
In the midst of all this, Jason was hired on as a vocal instructor at another School of Rock in the area. It wasn't long before he was recognized for his ability to direct and put on an impressive live show and was asked to direct the performance program. From there he went on to be the General Manager. He learned that he loved the School of Rock mission and everything it represented and decided he wanted to make School of Rock his life. Plainfield has always been a favorite town of his and just minutes away from where he grew up so he thought it was a great place to set up shop and start the next great chapter of his life. He can't wait to help mold the next generation of rock n' roll royalty.
Hannah Adams
General Manager
Hannah's music career began at the age of 7 when she taught herself how to play piano by ear and wrote her own songs. It is still her go-to even after learning how to read music. Hannah has always loved singing and even started her own band (called "First Light") with her friends when she was 10 years old. She has been in a total of 18 musicals and led a worship band at church for four years.
Music has always been therapy for Hannah and an absolute passion of hers. She attended Judson University for Voice and Piano Performance as well as Worship Arts. It only further grew her love for songwriting and performing. Hannah started out as a Studio Coordinator at School of Rock Geneva which only made her fall even more in love with music and growing students in their musical journey. Hannah's music inspiration is Fleetwood Mac, Billie Eilish, and Brandi Carlile. She can’t wait to help students grow their passion for music and find their inner rockstar.
Tim Daniels
Music Director
Tim plays drums, bass, guitar, and piano. He learned how to play the drums at 8 years old, and has over two decades of live performance experience. His influences include Travis Barker, Joey Jordison, Dan Carle, Mike Portnoy, Ben Harclerode, and Justin Foley. He has a bachelor’s degree in Music Therapy from Illinois State University and has performed in ensembles such as the ISU Wind Symphony, Symphonic Orchestra, Big Red Marching Machine (drumline captain), and Pep Band (head drumset player).
He currently plays drums in the Chicagoland metal band Fools’ Brew and has opened for national acts such as Powerman 5000, (HED) pe, Adema, Korn, Butcher Babies, Soulfly, Kill Devil Hill (ex-Pantera’s Rex Brown and ex-Type O Negative’s Johnny Kelly), Kyng, December In Red, Bridge to Grace, Crobot, Upon A Burning Body, and Green Jelly. Tim has over a decade of experience in working with children and adults with special needs, including Autism Spectrum Disorders and Emotional/Behavior Disorders.
Martin Farrell
Rock 101 and Show Director, Bass Guitar and Guitar Teacher
Martin is a multi-instrumentalist who plays lead guitar, bass, sax, piano, vocals and percussion. A high-energy rocker with infectious enthusiasm, he is passionate about music and devotes his heart and soul to teaching kids to rock! Martin has 24 years of professional stage, recording and teaching experience.
Martin started his musical journey as a jazz saxophone player at 10 years old. An all-state saxophonist, Martin worked with elite directors gaining a solid foundation. Picking up the guitar at 16, he acted as lead guitarist in cover bands throughout High School.
After High School, Martin switched to bass and began his 24 year professional career as the primary songwriter and booking manager in the band Marble (https://youtu.be/TdVwoPxVld0). Marble recorded with Ministry producer Fluffy at Chicago Trax and became a staple at Cabaret Metro in the 90s. Marble was a heavy, grunge act notably headlining FreeFest in front of 10,000+ on Cricket Hill.
Martin then joined up with The Bennett Brothers Band, recording the timeless album Spy Boogie (https://youtu.be/VoMfRlSgHBE). BBB played many sold out shows, ultimately treating a huge crowd at Taste of Chicago. The Bennett Brothers Band was southern style rock and West Coast traditional blues.
Playing with the underground band Creepy D (https://youtu.be/fqKpFok6O5E), Martin entertained Mancow several times on national radio, appeared on the nationally syndicated Dave Attel show, and opened for Zwan at a sold out show at Cabaret Metro.
Martin also played lead guitar in the jam band Planet Gello as well as recording with various artists as a studio musician. Martin currently plays in the Chicago blues band: King Cake (bass and keys), Psychedelic Music Revue: Pearl - Janis Joplin Tribute (lead guitar and vocals), and Big Weekend - Classic Rock (lead guitar and vocals).
Ruth Foltz
Show Director, Singing Teacher
Ruth has always had a deep-rooted passion for music. She has been singing as long as she can remember, and has played piano since the age of 8. In school, she was involved in choir in multiple types of ensembles, from traditional to jazz to pop. Outside of school, she was the keyboardist and backup singer in her dad’s rock band, from the ages of 12 to 18. In college she studied music education at North Central College, and was the music director of competitive a cappella group Sonata Problem at NCC.
Currently, in addition to SoR, she works as a barista at Starbucks with her awesome River Square fam, and as an associate producer for the Chicago Harmony Sweepstakes Festival.
Otto Gomora
Drum Teacher
Otto has been playing drums since he was 8 years old. Once in middle school, he joined the school band and remained in the program throughout high school. During his high school years, he started a band with his friends which really ignited his interest in music. Playing with people, like in the band programs here, was what secured his love for music. His high school band evolved into one of his more successful projects called Love in the Dark. After high school, he gained much of his performance experience playing Jazz and R&B gigs with students from UIC. Currently, he has a residency in a Jazz band at Hotel Lincoln on the Northside of Chicago.
Mike Cerqua
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Playing guitar and singing since 5, Mike is skilled in many instruments including bass, drums, audio, and sound engineering. Not just playing solo, Mike is a part of many projects not only as a member but also as a musician for hire. When he's not performing, he is teaching music/private lessons, working in many different settings including schools, theaters, summer camps ,and his family-owned music shop where he started teaching at 16. Working hard to keep his calendar full, Mike brings a very professional, technical, but fun and sarcastic atmosphere. For the last 4 years, Mike has been a music director at a summer camp out in Pennsylvania, and briefly worked at the Gibson guitar factory in Nashville where he was a repair technician fixing and painting guitars.
Kit Tupas
Keyboard Teacher
Kit Tupas is a multi-instrumentalist from Tinley Park, Illinois who has been surrounded by music for as long as he can remember. He has always had a passion for learning new instruments, starting with the piano at age 8 and continuing to learn other instruments such as the guitar, bass, and various brass. Throughout his childhood, he has been involved with many scholastic musical programs, including the marching band, jazz ensembles, choir program, and musical theater. In 2014, Kit was selected to sing in the ILMEA Honors Choir.
Outside of school, Kit performed in many different bands, covering and writing music of all genres including pop-punk, indie rock, funk rock, rhythm and blues, and singer/songwriter. He has enjoyed performing in venues all around the Chicagoland area since he was 12 years old and still enjoys it to this day.
Kit has a quite eclectic taste in music inspired by musicians such as Chance the Rapper, Daniel Caesar, H.E.R., Paramore, Snarky Puppy, Tori Kelly, and Vulfpeck. Kit truly enjoys being an teacher at School of Rock Plainfield, and aspires to spread his passion for learning and performing music to kids and students of all ages.
Andrew Schneider
Keyboard + Piano Teacher, Singing Teacher
Andrew Schneider has been teaching and performing professionally for over a decade. He went to Millikin University for his undergraduate degree and majored in Commercial Music and then went to graduate school at Northern Illinois University where he specialized in Studio Music and Audio Engineering.
As a singer, Andrew has a strong background in performing various types of music from jazz, blues, and rock to musical theater, classical, folk, and pop. He has also performed as a Bass II in the elite professional choral ensemble Cor Contiamo and can teach any student any style of music they are interested in.
As a pianist, Andrew specializes in performing jazz, blues, and rock and teaches his students how to improvise in these styles. He also has a strong background in music theory and music literacy for students interested in learning how to read and fully understand the music they are performing.
Bri Braggs
Singing Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Bri is an up-and-coming R&B artist who draws inspiration from SZA, Ariana Grande, and Victoria Monét. Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Bri defied the expectations of those around her and decided to pursue music full-time. In Berklee's 75th Anniversary show, she debuted as an artist with a self-directed top-tier music video of her debut single, "Let Me See You," and later premiered in a H.E.R. tribute.
Bri is dedicated to promoting diversity and encouraging self-love within her musical career. She recently released her second single "Nirvana" and plans to release more of her music in the coming months.
Madison Colasanti
Bass Guitar Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher, Singing Teacher
Madison was exposed to music at a very young age. Her dad has played guitar and been the lead vocalist in oldies cover bands since before she was born. Through his influence, she joined the choir and band in middle school and continued through college.
Madison graduated as a vocal major with a bachelor's degree in Music Education from VanderCook College of Music, where she originally started out with bass clarinet as her primary instrument. She continues to share her passion by playing guitar, bass, keyboard, and singing in a '50s/'60s band with her dad, and performing in local community musical theatre productions.
Emma Tums
Singing Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Emma has been a musician since she was 5 years old and was inspired to have a love for music from her father. As a multi-instrumentalist, she has experience with piano, vocals, and guitar. At a young age, she was classically trained on the piano, has had years of experience in musical theater, and was a former student at School of Rock in Chicago. During her time as a School of Rock student, Emma performed many shows at venues and festivals such as House of Blues, Reggies, Summerfest, Wicker Park Fest, and many more!
Emma studied classical guitar at Lincoln-Way Central. Music has always been a part of her life and she loves almost every and any genre! While living in Phoenix, she was an instructor at School of Rock Scottsdale while studying Engineering at Grand Canyon University. Emma moved to California to study music production and graduated from Icon Collective in Burbank studying their Advanced Music Production Program and their Flagship Program. She was nominated for Ambassador of the Year at Icon Collective. Emma has always been a songwriter since a young age and embodies the ability to create original music from rock to electronic music. With her ability as a recording engineer and songwriter, she is in the midst of writing three rock, indie, and folk albums for her artist project, Emma Vera Eve.
Emmanuel Martinez
Guitar Teacher
Emmanuel has over 13 years of experience in the music sector with a combination of skills in performing, producing, and teaching music. He is a talented musician proficient at both the electric and acoustic guitar, drums, and bass. He was the lead guitarist for several bands, such as Fracture the President, and Overthrown. He has a multitude of experiences performing live in front of audiences of large venues and local DIY music scenes.
In addition to playing lead guitar, Emmanuel recorded music for Overthrown, releasing singles such as "Pariah" and a full-length self-titled EP. He has also done all the production for Party Rice's discography, with the most recent release of the EP, "Random Act of Violence."
Emmanuel is a guitar instructor at School of Rock Plainfield, where he teaches the fundamentals of guitar and performance-based music education to students ranging from small children to adults. He also expands his teachings outside the school and has launched his own business, Guitar with Emmanuel, where people of all ages and backgrounds can receive one-on-one beginner guitar lessons.
Emmanuel's passion for music expands even further. Aside from being a guitar instructor, he is also a Guitar Case Technician at Hoffee Carbon Fiber Cases, where he has developed rigorous craftsmanship for building carbon fiber cases for guitars, banjos, and mandolins.