This new Riverhead music school totally rocks
Calling all aspiring rockers and musicians, School of Rock, Riverhead is the newest place to fine-tune your skills — or to learn new ones!
Located on Main Street in downtown Riverhead, School of Rock opened its doors earlier this year to seasoned and newbie musicians ages 3 through adult for programs, workshops, private lessons, camps, and more.
With a complete renovation, the schoolhouse feels more Brooklyn than Riverehead with industrial loft vibes, recording studio feels, and super cool artwork throughout. Step foot inside the school’s doors and you’ll instantly feel the welcoming beat.
Petite North Fork caught up with the family-owned business to learn its approach and offerings.
“A family-owned business often has deep roots in the community,” said School of Rock, Riverhead General Manager and Julliard grad, Justin Smith whose parents Tracie and Jaime own the Riverhead and Port Jefferson School of Rock locations. “We cherish the connections we've built with our customers, fellow musicians, and local organizations over the years [at the Port Jefferson location since 2011]. It's fulfilling to be an integral part of our community's musical fabric.”
The Smiths plan to do the same and more at their Riverhead location.
“We hope to bring the Joy of music to the public and to promote a love for music in our youth,” added Justin.
Providing not-your-typical music education, School of Rock takes a fun approach to teaching.
“In our school, we have a song-first approach to music education,” Justin shared. “The song-first approach takes fun songs students love and makes it fun while we train them on reading music, Ear Training, Music Theory, Song Form, Nyssma prep, and College prep.”
School of Rock, Riverhead currently offers private 1-on-1 lessons, a Rock 101 program, a Performance program, a Grad Band program, and year-round camps. Rock 101, Performance Program, and Grad Band are all group-based music education classes where students play songs and then perform them live on stage.
The Rock 101 program is for beginner students between the ages of 7 and 12. It’s best to start here if your child is new to learning how to play music.
“Our Performance program is for students between the ages of 7 and 18 and is designed for intermediate to advanced students,” Justin told us. “We tailor the material we play to the student in order to challenge each student on their specific musical level. This class is a 2-hour weekly class where students pick a specific band/genre that we provide and then after rehearsing, students perform live in a professional music venue on Long Island.”
For the youngest rockers, the school features Little Wing and Rookies programs best fit for kids ages 3 to 7.
And for the adults (musically seasoned or not!) who want to get in on the fun, the Grad Band program invited adults to join the band and rock out.
The school also features year-round camps and workshops.
“Our local music camps are perfect for musicians of any skill level who want to play guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and vocals,” said the school. Its current summer 2024 offerings include camps such as The Beatles Camp, a 5-day camp starting July 15, a Guardians of the Galaxy Camp, beginning August 5 and best for students ages 7-18 with some prior experience, and a Rock 101 Camp which runs from July 22 to July 26 for beginners ages 7 to 12.
View School of Rock, Riverhead’s camp programs and more here.
School of Rock, Riverhead is located at 212 W. Main St., Riverhead.