Giovanni Mori, former School of Rock student and one of WQED’s summer interns, sits with the co-owners of the Pittsburgh schools, Quinn Lukas and Dan Moore.
Since its foundation in 1998, the School of Rock franchise has taught performance based music education. There are two schools in the Greater Pittsburgh area that have been around for nearly twelve years. One is in Wexford, and the other in Castle Shannon.
Giovanni Mori, former School of Rock student and one of WQED’s summer interns, sits with the co-owners of the Pittsburgh schools, Quinn Lukas and Dan Moore. They discuss what School of Rock is, what students can learn, and what their experience has been like before acquiring ownership.
The schools have many exciting things coming up for the rest of 2025. This includes their Grand Re-Opening events on October 10th in Wexford, and October 17th in Castle Shannon. These events will have many fun activities for new and current students. View trial lessons, mock band rehearsals and performances, and more! There is lot's to do at Pittsburgh's School of Rock!
Visit https://www.schoolofrock.com/ for more information and ways to get involved!
You are listening to WQED's Voice of the Arts podcast. I'm Giovanni Mori. Today I'm speaking with the co-owners of the two School of Rock locations in Pittsburgh. One is in Wexford and the other is in the South Hills. Here they are now, Quinn Lucas and Dan Moore. How are you guys today? Doing well. How about you, Gio? Good. Doing great. Good. Can't complain. It's real nice that you guys were able to take time out of your busy schedules. I know how busy you guys can get. um And just... Talk about the school, talk about all the cool events you got going on. I'm really excited to dive right into it. Awesome. School of Rock is a performance-based music education. Basically, what it boils down to is we take students and teach them music through putting them in bands and on stage. uh And through that, they learn concepts, technique, music theory, uh stagecraft. uh camaraderie and teamwork, uh all the things that an actual working musician need. And it's uh franchise with multiple schools, like basically all around the world, is that right?Correct. correct. Yeah, they actually just opened up one in two in Germany? Germany, really? think it's 417-ish schools in 16 different countries. Wow. close to 70,000 students worldwide. Awesome. And once again, there's two in Pittsburgh, one in Wexford and South Hills. How long has those schools been around? Wexford is 12 years old. South Hills is right behind it, just creeping up on 11, I believe. Wow. And how long has the franchise, like the whole thing, how long has that existed, if you know? The first school was in Philly in 1998. That's what I thought. And I don't think they started franchising until early 2000s. And they started with a Philly school and kind of grew from there. But yeah, I think now we're somewhere around 360, 370 of those schools are franchise schools and the rest are company owned. Nice, nice. And I know people are quick to think of the Jack Black movie, but obviously the schools came first in the 90s, because I think that movie came out, what year was that? 2000 something. think, yeah, early 2000s with that, I would guess. So there you go. The school came first, not the movie, because I know a lot of people get that backwards, actually. Yeah. And judging by the name, it's pretty clear you're pretty focused on the rock genre. Is that safe to assume? ah Yes and no, guess. um Rock is such abroad spectrum. It's such a broad genre that you have R &B and soul and all of these kind of little sub outlets of it. But primarily, compared to something that may be full jazz form or full classical form, it's Primarily rock. Mm-hmm. Yeah when when I do the tours for new clients I usually say we we go from Motown to metal and everything in between That's very funny um And and what can you were kind of touching on this a little bit? what can students learn at the school of rock that they can't learn any other music school? oh Everything from stage presence to uh full on stage craft, learning how equipment works, not just how to play your instrument, how all of, not only instruments work, but all of the PA and back line equipment that goes in with that, like amplifiers, uh microphones, any hardware, anything like that. Also, we try to dive into as much of music history as we can with the groups, and something that like, what makes a certain genre or a certain group special, what um kind of made them say leaders of a certain musical movement and celebrate those kind of those differences between bands, genres and what makes something special. Yeah, and you know, kind of on the musical side of things, um being in a band. as opposed to a one-on-one lesson for how long. Being in that band setting uh gets the kids to focus on listening to their bandmates, uh camaraderie, responsibility for learning their parts, uh not wanting to let down their teammates, their bandmates. Coming to rehearsals prepared is something that we'd love to teach them. Our goal is for when they leave this school, when they graduate out of the program to go on to be in local and hopefully beyond local bands and understand how the dynamics work and how to be a good bandmate. Dealing with all the things that come along with being in a band, especially playing live. uh Working how to deal with and talk with sound engineers and promoters and setting up shows and things like that. Very nice. And I know in my personal experience, I know there's not many schools m that do what the School of Rock does. And I wish more people knew about it, to be honest with you. And I know you guys probably do too, right? For sure. Yeah, it's weird to think that the schools have been in Pittsburgh so long and yet there's so many people that don't know exactly what we do. So kind of going into that, what kinds of programs or opportunities and cool things can students... do at the school? You were talking about rehearsals and being in a band setting. Can we go a little bit more into that? Yeah, absolutely. uh So we have programs for a wide age range, uh like starting at a program that we have called Little Wing, which is more of a music discovery program for ages four five. And they basically do things like beat identification, uh instrument identification, uh being able to recognize different types of music, different types of um genres. um And then it kind of graduates into what we call rock rookies, which is kind of almost an expanded version of that. But now we're talking about instrument discovery and getting their hands on instruments for the first time uh and really kind of exploring that. um And then the first performance based program that we have is Rock 101 and that is kind of where a student will get a one-on-one lesson and also they're part of a band or a group with rehearsals so they're responsible for learning certain parts for the song and playing with the group and at the end of usually it's a four-month season. months they get jump on stage and and perform those songs. Yeah so it's a nice little goal. at the end of the programs, at the end of the season, for everyone to kind of work towards. And at the end of the day, that's what musicians do. We play music. And after 101, which is kind of like the beginner, you're learning your skill ladder and the first initial beginner skill set, you graduate into what we refer to as the performance program, which is ages, I mean, roughly 10 to 18. uh And that is for one, a one-on-one lesson to our rehearsal, weekly rehearsal. Yeah, the seasons are themed at that level. Our Rock 101 groups, uh we are working from some songs that are specifically chosen to help them build the fundamentals they need to play rock music in a band setting. But our performance groups, we dive into specific themes. whether it be Aretha Franklin, Classic Metal, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath. those students in the performance program are learning songs according to that specific theme. learning those songs is where we work on the concepts that are involved to play that particular style of music. And then after four-ish months, we set up a show and they perform live at a venue that local and national bands play. So it's not the basement of a VFW or a church. It's a legit live stage with full sound and lights. um It's just, it's an awesome experience. I still remember seeing my first one and uh being completely blown away how... It was nothing like the recitals I did when I was growing up as a young musician. It's a full on rock show. Excellent. And what kind of venues would you say that you guys have played at? uh We play a lot at the Kraft House oh in the South Hills, uh Thunderbird in Lawrenceville. 31 Sports Bar. 31 Sports Bar. We have started a great partnership with the Dive Bar out in the North Hills as well. So we're like we said, we're getting them on to real stages and and we're looking to make new partnerships with other clubs in the area to uh Spirit being one of them. They have a nice setup that they can handle kind of our midseason show I think It'd be nice to get the kids on different stages so they don't get used to you know, the craft house or or one stage because you you know, every stage is gonna be different present different challenges uh And that's another part of what we're teaching the kids, that every live show is not gonna beset up exactly the same or have the same sound engineer, the same lights, small stage, big stage. Cool. So how do you guys attract new students and how can somebody get involved? oh Well, we do everything from marketing events, whether it be a tabling event, say at your local community fair or... uh night markets, stuff like that. We'll actually be at the Pittsburgh VegFest this weekend, and also the Woodland Hills Fair. um So beyond community outreach and events, we do a lot of online promotion. um If you dare to type School of Rock in your Google bar, we will always pop up there. will. Forever and a day, which is a good thing. It is a good thing. um So from there, if you find us online, you can contact us directly. All of our contact info is on there, but you can also fill out what would be an online lead form, which inherently alerts us to contact you back. So we kind of take the guesswork out of it for you. We also have a program uh that we didn't kind of touch on called House Band. um It is the only portion of the school that has an audition process. It is the most mature and skilled players from each school. And like Quinn mentioned at VegFest uh and the Woodland Hills event this weekend, our house bands from the South Hills School and Wexford School will be playing there. And that's another great way for people to see really what we do. There's no better way to see what we do than to actually watch our kids play. ah And if you jump onto either of our local websites, you know, through the the parent School of Rock website. It'll lead you to our local sites. uh All of our upcoming events uh are listed. So anybody can really jump onto that page and say, you know what, I'm going to head out to VegFest, check out the set and then just walk 20 feet to our to our booth, get all the info they want on how to get signed up, come in for a free trial lesson um and get get rocking. um And it could before a young student. We also have adult programs at both schools that run just like our performance programs. So oh you're never too old to get started. My wife just picked up bass about nine months ago. She's in our South Hills adult group and getting ready for her fourth show. Wow. Third show. Yeah. So uh we want everybody, no matter what your age, to enjoy playing music live because it is the best thing ever. It really is. Alright, well that sounds great guys, that's very awesome. let's go into some events and some cool things that you guys got going on. You said VegFest, and then what was the other uh fest that you said? Woodland Hills Fair. Woodland Hills Fair, that was it. We have a very special event coming up with Women Who Rock in September, that is at Stage E. Oh good. uh I urge everyone to kind of check into that, it's going to be a great event celebrating uh Women in Rock and Roll, Women in Music, and it is in conjunction with McGee Hospital. Yeah, it's a great organization, definitely check them out. So we're really looking forward to that. uh And also we have uh kind of uh a, well, not kind of, a grand reopening for both of the schools. Yeah. Since Dan and I have taken ownership a little over a year ago, we wanted to uh kind of welcome the community back in and check out what we've been doing. uh Those events are October... October 10th at Wexford. then October 17th, I believe. the South Hills. So please come in. We're going to be doing trial lessons and kind of trial mock groups. uh It is nearing spooky season, so it will be definitely lots of cool things for the kids to do. I'm gonna have a kind of like a red carpet event, photo opportunities for the kids to check out, um and obviously lots of music. Lots of music, yes. That's what it's all about, lots of music. That's very cool, and you said 10th and 17th of October? Correct. Correct. Okay, good, just double checking. So any other events or any other cool things going on in the near future, if you know? Well, we have, um beyond those kind of marketing and live events that we have, we do have our end of season shows right around the corner. September 13th and 14that Bar 31. For Wexford, Yeah. September 6th and 7th for uh South Hills. And then our grad school program will be at Bar 31, September 12th in the evening. So we have our... awesome adults from both schools performing. uh So September is gonna be full of shows. The house bands have a few shows left happening. I know some acoustic shows at Tracks Farms are happening in September as well, so check the websites for all of that. And uh that'll be kind of the final shows for this season's house band. It's always great to jump in and do some fall festivals with some acoustic tunes. Fall is definitely my favorite time of the year. So is mine. Yeah. Lots of cool things going on, it sounds like. Holy cow. Yeah, you guys are having a pretty busy end of 2025. Anything for 2026, if you know? We are always planning new things, building relationships. We started building relationships with Pirates the last few years, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. So be on the lookout for more events with those partners as well. Cool. Awesome. But the main focus is definitely that grand reopening event, I assume, right? Yes. Yeah. We want the community to come in and kind of rediscover or discover what we do um and see the space, see the schools, and come meet some of us and some of the current students and really just get involved in what we do, see what we have to offer uh and how much of a uh commitment we've made to the music community and how dedicated we are to it. yeah, just it's all about music, man. It's all about music, man. That's it. And, you know, when we have the open houses, that'll be a little bit after our fall season. get started I think end of September is when our new seasons get started. We have some awesome themes, wide variety of different types of rock for these kids to dig into. Aretha Franklin, Neo Soul, Classic Metal, Punk, Led Zeppelin, all of those themes are gonna be available this fall. And the one thing that we have as we've taken ownership really, uh taken hold of the music education side of things. as a student is doing maybe an Aretha Franklin theme in the fall, when the spring season rolls around, we want to encourage them to jump into a different genre, learn different concepts for playing different types of rock. It's only going to make them stronger musicians and hopefully increase their love for all kinds of music, not just metal or punk or funk or R &B. There's so much great music out there and we want our students to really enjoy all of it and understand how all of it is so important to all of the other rock genres that are out there. That's very cool. You guys are doing great work. Thanks man. Yeah, thank you. Let's go into some personal questions now for you guys. These are my favorite questions, the ones that really make you think. What was it? that drew you both to where you are with the School of Rock today? oh I knew it. I knew that would be a tough one. That's a long question. oh For me, was my daughter, Olivia, ah is now the GMat our South Hills School. she was taking private one-on-one lessons for guitar and getting super bored. uh I've been a lifelong musician. have always played with people, whether it was orchestral ensembles or as I got out of school, you know, local bands playing all over the city. uh I saw she was getting bored and friends of ours had just enrolled their daughter in the South Hills School, which I think at that point was uh into their third season or second season uh and took Olivia over for a group rehearsal. She fell in love with it. We checked out the end of season show. uh and the rest is history. I mean, Quinn was Olivia's first show director. uh We became friends almost immediately. And then over the years, obviously became much closer friends. uh I ended up taking on a drum instructor position and then eventually the music director. And in 2021, left my carpentry contracting project manager life behind. Came full time at the school. working for the previous owner and then Quinn and I a few years ago put our heads together and our collective love for music and we were able to purchase the school. So that's my story. And it's been awesome that now we have previous students instructing. It's just an awesome place. Yeah. I think honestly like my growing up and having Being lucky enough to be surrounded by music and learning how to play at an early age, um drums and guitar, it really sparked my interest um and quickly became, as soon as I could, became the band and orchestra and choir kid in school, because I just wanted to play all the time, didn't matter. um And started bands at a super early age, some of them never made out of the basement. Some did. ah um And that just sparked early on like this just insatiable, just love for music and creating it. um And once I started kind of my college career, I started teaching um traditional one-on-one lessons at a music store. um And, you know, I was like, oh, wow, this is, I really, really enjoy doing this. And then graduated. uh and kind of moved back to Pittsburgh. And I was doing a lot of other things professionally, but still playing music professionally as well. And it came time to kind of look at what I wanted to do. And I really did miss instructing. And I had a couple friends who were teaching at the Wexford location. was the only location that was in Pittsburgh at the time. And they suggested I come up and check it out. And I did, and I was blown away bynot only how cool it was and uh how powerful it was, but how different it was.It was so different from teaching traditional one-on-one lessons um where the student can really just get bored with it so easily. Andyou have so much turnover in kind of your student body and your... one-on-one lessons in School of Rock is so different because it is that kind of, that team aspect and that responsibility to your bandmates and the fact that, I was like, wow, this place is actually putting students on stage and they're playing. And not just playing, but playing really well and learning so much and it got me hooked. and I started instructing and directing shows. Then we opened up our second location in South Hills. That's when I met Dan. Shortly after that, I think I became music director at the Wexford location and Dan and I were working all the time together. By that point, and we were both completely sold out to what the programs do. goodness, yeah. My whole family's involved at this point. My wife's taking lessons. My younger daughter, Julia's. now instructing after going through the program. uh I used to renovate people's houses and build houses for them, which was extremely rewarding, but does not compare to what Quinn and I are doing now. It's just hands down the most rewarding thing I've ever done. Like he said, it's so powerful to watch a student go from extremely shy, barely even looking up when they're playing their instrument to... being on stage, jumping off a drum riser and banging their head to whatever it is they're playing. Andthe massive smiles on their faces while they're doing it. Exactly. um whenever you hear parents say that a place has enabled music to be the center of their family now, um that's one of thenot only coolest, but one of the most heartfelt and things that was ever said to me. knowing that we even played a small role in that, but that our instructors are instilling that. you know, whole families are discovering music and making it the center of who they are. And it's so awesome to hear. That's really sweet. I'm like crying over here, Lots of good experiences, I can tell, in the 12 years. Well... uh the how many years you guys have been involved. How long have you guys, were you guys there from day one of the school or just a little bit after? Almost day one. um Just encroaching on 12 years for me. And then I was there from day one for the South Hills School. uh The drum sets he built are still there. Yeah.They are. And I keep rebuilding them now. Yeah, and I've been... uh The third season of the South Hills School, think, when Liv officially joined. So that'd be like end of 2014, beginning of 2015, I believe. Wow. Yeah. That's a lot of time. And you guys make it worth your while. And I can tell you guys are really passionate about the school and what you're doing. And that's really awesome to hear. What is... We kinda talked about it. Anything else for the school that you guys wanna get into? Anything that we didn't mention, events-wise? franchise-wise also, if you happen to know? uh Well, mean, school-wise, as far as our two locations, uh the Westford location is located directly off of Perry Highway. The South Hills location's located directly off of Library Road. If you're driving past and you're curious, Stop in and us. We love talking about the programs in the schools. uh Hopefully that translates. But please stop in and see us. We have a great staff. They're super knowledgeable. You can talk to anyone about what we do. And you'll see the smile on their face. And all of our instructors, they're working musicians, oh which is super important to us. If we are going to teach kids how to be in rock bands, we need to have staff members and instructors that know what it's like to be in rock bands. uh So we have a lot of them in the local scene. oh Some of them in the national uh present company here included in international scene. So we not only talk the talk, but we walk the walk. We're out there playing. Whether it's Quinn over in Germany touring or it's... know, playing a Monday night show to five people. We love both of them. It's awesome. What's next for you guys personally? Assuming you guys have a life outside of the school of rock. Got a bunch of shows coming up. Bunch of shows, yeah. Bunch of shows coming up.The grind doesn't stop for anybody. No, no, not at all. It's still show season as I refer to it. Yeah. um That won't stop until it snows.Yeah. And then Christmas and then more shows. And then more shows and we do we start it all over again. Yeah. Yep. And I wouldn't give it up for anything. No. No. All right. Well, I think I think we covered everything, guys. Thank you so much for coming in and taking the time out of your day. Thank you for having us. Of course. Awesome. Thank you, guys. And that's all for this episode of WQED's Voice of the Arts podcast. Make sure to subscribe to Voice of the Arts wherever you listen to podcasts so you're notified when new episodes become available. I'm Giovanni Mori, this is the Voice of the Arts.