After a soft opening on June 1, the School of Rock Bay Ridge celebrated its grand opening on Aug. 9 with a traditional ribbon-cutting, a ceremonial guitar smash and rocking performances by its budding “Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame” students.
Located at the corner of Third Avenue and 69th Street, the music school — the third franchise location in Brooklyn — offers a variety of music programs for all ages.
The “Little Wing” program teaches preschoolers, ages 4-5, about rhythm, song structure, melody, and dynamics. The next step toward rock stardom is the “Rookies” program for kids ages 6-7, where they are introduced to instruments like drums, keyboards and guitar.
“And that’s where you kind of begin to see them gravitate towards an [instrument],” said Dana Macrigiane, who owns the franchise with her partners, brothers Andrew and George Totolos, in an interview with Brooklyn Paper.
Once the future Freddy Mercurys or Joan Jetts turn eight, they move to Rock 101, where they receive one weekly private lesson and participate in a weekly group rehearsal until they turn 13.
“So this is where they start to assume the responsibility of their role as a guitarist, or a vocalist, or a keyboardist,” Macrigiane explained.
The School of Rock’s hallmark program is the Performance Program, where teens learn and play rock music’s most iconic songs using School of Rock’s patented method, which integrates group rehearsals, stage performance, song-based learning, the Method Engine and a “revolutionary” Method App.
“It’s all considered what we call performance-based music education,” Macrigiane said. “You’re performing, you’re learning the song, and that’s how you learn how to play.”
Andrew Totolos emphasized that School of Rock is for everyone and encouraged those who don’t think they have musical talent to give it a try.
“I always say you don’t know until you know. You don’t know how to play drums until you learn to play drums,” Totolos told Brooklyn Paper. “The minute you’re in a band, you’re accountable. Your peers lift you. It inspires you to get better, and it just works. Come in here. And I’ll guarantee you I will get the talent out of you.”
School of Rock alum and AllStars band member Taylor Hurt said the school is about more than just learning music — it’s also about learning life lessons.
“[School of Rock] taught me so many valuable lessons, and I don’t think I would be pursuing music professionally if I wasn’t in School of Rock in those formative years,” said Hurt.
Now a keyboardist, sound designer and producer, Hurt teaches students as young as four, and through adulthood.
“It’s so rewarding when you’re teaching such young children such complicated musical concepts, and you see it click in their brain,” Hurt said. “That’s definitely one of the best feelings that I’ve gotten from teaching those young kids.”
Hurt added that School of Rock taught her not only music but also important life skills.
Eight-year-old Zayden Benedict has been playing the piano for two years.
“Coming here really improves my skills, and sometimes it might even help me play piano better, too,” Zayden said. “I just like playing music and exploring and figuring out a bunch of cool things.”
His father, Aaron Benedict, said School of Rock helped Zayden express himself musically.
“If [Zayden] comes in in a bad mood during the day, he comes out in a very upbeat, totally different type of energy afterward,” Benedict said. “He’s been picking up all sorts of instruments. He’s been interested in music in general. So it’s cool to see that language come through with him.”
Council Member Justin Brannan, who represents Bay Ridge, attended the event. Before entering politics, Brannan played in a punk rock band for 15 years. He was a founding member of hardcore bands Indecision and Most Precious Blood.
“A good way to spend a decade if you have one to spare,” Brannan joked with Brooklyn Paper, noting that School of Rock is right up his “alley.”
Brannan pointed out that the space was previously occupied by Circles Cafe, a beloved Bay Ridge institution that closed in 2019.
“69th and Third Avenue was sort of hallowed ground. So having School of Rock here, it’s going to be great for this end of the neighborhood,” he said. “There was nothing like this when I was a kid. Learning a couple of chords in school afforded me a career as a professional musician. So bringing that opportunity to more kids, that’s what it’s all about.”
