What is Detroit School of Music?
Detroit School of Music offers individual music lessons to students of all ages in piano, drums, guitar, voice, and wind instruments (woodwinds + brass). I’d been teaching music in Detroit schools for a number of years, where the arts programs were pretty lean. Kids and parents were continually asking me if there were any nearby opportunities for more music enrichment. At this same time, I was also teaching on weekends at a private music studio in the suburbs, and I got this idea in my head – why couldn’t that happen here in Detroit?
What was your experience in Build?
I took one of the very first Build classes offered at D:hive in spring of 2012. My idea was really a pipedream at that point. The class was set up so logically and I went through each session more confidant that my idea was feasible and that maybe it could actually happen. I still consult my binder today – it’s a timeless resource. The people I met in my class were already doing big things and that was inspiring to me. It’s been motivating to see their brands grow and evolve, as I work to grow mine.
Inside Detroit School of Music at 2051 Rosa Parks
“I took one of the very first Build classes offered at D:hive in spring of 2012. I still consult my binder today – it’s a timeless resource.”
What are your recent developments?
After the class I quit my freelance jobs and rented a small room in midtown where I started offering piano lessons. I presented at Detroit SOUP and over the next two years I gained more exposure and more people began offering their encouragement and support. It was a definitely an organic growth but I was getting to a point where I needed to go all in. My original vision was always to offer much more than just piano lessons. We moved to our new, bigger, space in Corktown in July 2014 and started accepting students again in September. Right now we have six instructors and students of all ages.
What’s in the future for Detroit School of Music?
I hope to start a violin program soon. I’d also really like to hold more group classes and partner with local community schools to continue expanding. As we grow we can hopefully start forming ensembles and presenting more student performances. The most important thing is to be able to take anyone where they want to go with their music. We want to help people appreciate the beauty of music and allow them to really develop that side of themselves.