Erin Armstrong
General Manager
Erin has been with School of Rock Aurora since December of 2015 and is happy to call the SoR staff her second family. She has been involved in music for as long as she can remember, always singing, strumming her guitar and writing songs to perform for anyone who would listen. Erin graduated from CU Denver with a BS in Music Business and Entertainment Industries. Since then she has managed, performed, and recorded with several local bands over the years including Thanks to Philo, Fable Heist, Extra Gold and most recently Mother Derringer.
Greg Foster
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Greg has become a staple in the Colorado music scene by playing and recording throughout the Midwest in a variety of cover and original bands ranging in styles from hard rock to country, to R&B/funk and blues. He is also a musical composer and producer that can be heard on albums from Millionaire Freaks and 2 Dog Tuesday among others. Bands of note include Nasty’s Nightmare (with KBPI's prime time DJ Uncle Nasty), Sheryl Renee, The Broken Everlys, Kelly J, Buckner FunkenJazz, Voodoo Kings and Carolina Reign. National artists that Greg has worked with or been an opening act for include Mr. Big, Savatage, Styx, Steve Morse Band, Chris Duarte, Jason Ricci, John Lee Hooker Jr., Joe Bonner and Hamilton Loomis. As an instructor he believes that learning the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’ results in improved comprehension and performance.
Carl Sorensen
Drum Teacher
Carl Sorensen started playing drums in his elementary school band. He continued learning music through middle school and high school by taking lessons and playing in jazz band, concert band and marching band. This led him to take his education to the next level at Berklee College of Music, where he studied with Jamey Haddad (Paul Simon), Terri Lynne Carrington (Herbie Hancock), and Kenwood Dennard (Jaco Pastorius) among many other world-class professionals. Carl has since built a reputation in Denver for being 'Denver's Hardest Working Musician' ("Westword," 2014), having played with 100+ different bands in the Denver metro area. Carl currently performs with Dragondeer, Chimney Choir and Extra Gold among others, as well as hosts multiple jam sessions.
Greg King
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Greg King grew up in Boston, MA and started playing guitar at a young age. After graduating from Berklee College of Music with a degree in Guitar Performance, he taught and played gigs all over Boston, New York City and Colorado, as well as in various other cities and states. He loves sharing his passion for music with students, as well as teaching ensembles and group classes. He has experience gigging and playing with many different bands that vary in style/genre. When Greg isn't teaching or gigging he is most likely listening to Led Zeppelin or a variety of funk, jazz, fusion or rock music. He loves teaching all ages and experience levels and is a guitar teacher and bass teacher. He excited to be living in Denver and teaching at School of Rock Aurora.
Josh Bennett
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Josh Bennett has been a musician for 20+ years. His primary instrument is guitar but he dabbles with drums, bass and vocals, as well as ukulele when the mood feels right. Over the years he has played with dozens of bands and artists in genres including rock, blues, country, metal, jazz, funk, ska and punk. Josh has spent years touring the USA, as well as time abroad in Europe and Southeast Asia. Nikki Sixx once described him as "a really cool guy." Josh has recorded on multiple commercial albums, and, with his band Acidic, held the #1 indie song in the country and was #33 on Billboard. During his free time he is an avid hiker and works as a personal trainer. He is a guitar teacher and bass guitar teacher at School of Rock Aurora.
Colin Shore
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Colin Shore is a guitar player specializing in rock, funk and jazz fusion. Born and raised in Atlanta, Colin moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music. Colin spent several years touring the country with his band Mister F, who played well over 100 shows per year. He has been invited to play with blues/soul icon Robert Randolph, smooth jazz artist Earl Klugh and bands such as Twiddle, Aqueous, Kung Fu, Dopapod and Mungion. Colin’s teaching style is highly adaptive to each student’s individual tastes, skills and goals. He is a guitar teacher and bass guitar teacher at School of Rock Aurora.
Kirk Larson
Drum Teacher
Music has always been a big part of Kirk’s life; He has been playing music for 16 years! An artist that has had a big influence on him musically is Steely Dan. He is currently in a couple of different bands, including Kessel Run and Quite Frankly, which are Denver based and Fresh Intellect which is Chicago based. During quarantine when Kirk wasn’t teaching private lessons or running some of our Master Classes, he was recording new music, cooking and watching some of his favorite movies such as Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
Brittany O'Reilly
Vocal Teacher
Brittany is originally from Dallas, Texas but is currently studying music business at CU Denver. She specializes in performance technique and vocal quality/awareness. Throughout her time as a School of Rock student, Brittany was able to perform and command a stage in front of some amazing crowds, including SXSW in Austin, Texas.
Brittany's key strategy when it comes to teaching kids is that they will always have the healthiest vocal quality that they are capable of producing and they will always be the best performer they can be on any stage that they touch. Her background of being open and willing to work with any and all types of genres has allowed her to work on many amazing diverse projects.
Brittany is known for being someone who has an ear for good music and this has led her to travel to many different cities being a “studio sit-in” (someone who artists call when they need help writing songs, composition/production, vocals, etc.). She has also managed a few bands in the Denver and Texas area as well.
Brittany hopes to teach her students that once they're willing to step outside of their musical comfort zone, there is no limit to what they can do.
Jake Fernstrum
Drum Teacher
Jake has had a passion for music for as long as he can remember. He started playing drums at the age of 5 and after being self-taught for six years, he began taking lessons and playing shows at age 11. He began to play professionally at the age of 14.
Jake is a former student and House Band member with School of Rock Aurora, and was selected as a four-time international School of Rock AllStar from 2017-2020. While attending School of Rock, he performed at iconic venues such as Lollapalooza, Red Rocks, Summerfest, and the World Cafe Live. When asked who his “Top 5” drummers are, he replies with John Bonham, Tony Williams, David Garibaldi, Dennis Chambers, and Aaron Spears.
Jake has worked with a vast array of artists across many styles of music, is currently playing with Wild Love Tigress, the Austin Young Band, Downtown Michael Brown & Finding NED, and has worked as a session musician for artists across the U.S. Jake believes that some of the most important parts of playing any instrument are to be passionate, listen to everything, and never have a comfort zone. Jake hopes that he instills a passion for the instrument in every student and a lifelong love for music as a whole.
Xavier Cruz
Drum Teacher
Xavier Cruz, a Denver native, began playing music in middle school. First it began with guitar, then drums, and finally the bass. Playing all through adolescence in Jazz ensemble and after school programs, he came to a decision. Immediately after graduating high school, he packed his bags and moved to Los Angeles, California to attend the Musicians Institute. After years of studying he obtained a degree in drum performance and audio engineering. Post graduation, he began to gig in various bands in Los Angeles of all styles and became a co-founder/producer for an indie record label called Vogue House Sounds. Now having returned back to where it all began, he shares his knowledge to the next generation of little rockers.
Hannah Whitehead
Vocal Teacher, Keyboard Teacher
Hannah was born and raised in Colorado and is currently studying vocal performance at CU Denver. Coming from a family of musicians and performers, Hannah’s love of music started at a very young age. She has had the opportunity to perform across the country, and even internationally, during her time in her undergraduate. While Hannah is passionate about music as a whole, her two biggest passions are musical theater and a cappella music. She is incredibly excited to become a part of the School of Rock team!
Danielle Garcia
Bass Teacher
Born and raised in Longmont, CO, Dani Garcia has been interested in music for as long as she can remember. She began playing classical bass at age 11, and picked up electric bass just a year later. Since then, she has studied rock, pop, funk, and jazz on both the upright and electric bass. Dani is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in jazz bass performance at the University of Denver. She has gigged at various venues around Denver, including Globe Hall, Mercury Café, and Lost Lake Lounge as both an independent jazz musician and with her indie rock band Paulo’s Flood. Dani is passionate about all things bass, and her goal as a teacher is to share her appreciation for the instrument and help students find their own voice as a bassist.
Drae Dunning
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Drae Dunning began playing guitar when he was 12 years old. After high school, he attended the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles where he received a bachelor’s degree in guitar performance. Drae then went on to become the first person to graduate from MI with a master’s degree after writing a thesis on the history and development of British progressive rock. Drae is currently a member of the post-rock band Orna and the metalcore band Stopzone. Drae puts a strong emphasis on music theory and reading standard notation.
Mateo Segovia
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Plucked fresh from the Lone Star state, Mateo comes from a long-standing education in music starting all the way back in elementary school. He eventually attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts where he pursued vocals, violin, and guitar through various groups and ensembles and took a year of college at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, just before the pandemic.
Now living in Denver, Mateo takes part in several musical endeavors while teaching privately and at School of Rock Aurora. Mateo takes influence from the stylings of Carlos Santana, Andy Timmons, and Foo Fighters while manipulating the techniques and tendencies of John Frusciante, John Mayer, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Though rock is his favorite genre, he often ties other genres into his playing to keep things interesting.
Jaden Lueras
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Jaden Lueras is a guitarist who loves playing everything from brutal riffs to beautiful chords, and everything in between. Trained by bluesman Paul Wilson in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Jaden cemented his passion for the electric guitar at an early age, and through the years, his passion and hard work put him on many different stages with many different types of musicians.
This taught Jaden the importance of being able to sonically integrate with others and create an experience that comes only through jelling with fellow band members while maintaining the ingredient that makes him unique. Jaden recognizes the importance of encouraging a musician’s individuality and also understands that learning is a unique process that works differently for everybody. Jaden is over the moon to be a part of the School Of Rock Aurora team.
Luke Willenberg
Bass Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher
Luke’s first time playing drums was at a School of Rock in Oceanside, California. He started playing drums when he was 11 years old and after about a year and a half picked up bass guitar as well. Through middle school and high school, he continued to be an active member of his local School of Rock playing all over Southern California with School of Rock Oceanside’s House Band. He also played in personal bands and in musical programs throughout high school. Luke’s musical adventures have led him to play a variety of different genres, including funk, pop, jazz, Latin, soul, and plenty of rock and his favorite, metal!
Luke is currently studying Audio Production at the University of Colorado Denver and is a nerd about all things bass, drums, audio, rock, metal, and anything else music-related. His goal as an instructor is to give other students the same incredible opportunities, wisdom, and challenges that he received from dozens of amazing instructors during his time as a student at School of Rock.