Bea Escobar
Owner, General Manager
Bea Escobar has been a resident of Northwest Arkansas for nearly 20 years. Bea comes from a musical family and saw the opportunity to address the unique needs of NWA students wanting performance-based music education. With over 25 years of successful corporate experience and a degree in business, she launched School of Rock Fayetteville in 2016 and acquired School of Rock Bentonville in 2021. In Bea’s words, owning a School of Rock is easily the most rewarding and successful enterprise she has ever been a part of. The school is always full of laughter, music, and happiness. It is so much more than just a business to her.
Eric Watson
Music Director
Eric Watson started playing guitar at 13 years of age in good ol' Arkansas and quickly dove into his local music scene. Eric identified with many of the local acts he heard and saw play as a kid, and looked up to what they did. He wanted to play on stage too. Eric saw the opportunity to start seriously studying music, including theory, in high school and he embraced it, adding vocal music to his repertoire. After high school he studied Vocal Music Education both at Arkansas Tech and at the University of Arkansas in Fort Smith, participating in multiple choral groups and jazz ensembles.
Outside of academic music, Eric has been in rock and roll bands spanning from heavy metal to pop-punk and loves all kinds of music. Eric currently plays bass and tours in the progressive metal band Terminus. Eric prides himself in being able to take influence and knowledge in both theory and technique spanning a variety of genres and apply them to whatever he is currently working on. At School of Rock Bentonville, Eric loves to utilize this with his students who have varying tastes. Music has been one of the biggest parts of Eric's life and continues to shape everything he does!
Amanda Cole
Vocal Teacher
From LA to Amsterdam, Amanda Cole has performed every genre of music imaginable. Country, R&B, rock, classical even Tejano have all been a part of her growing repertoire.
Amanda has shared the stage with many R&B and pop greats such as Destiny's Child, Mary J. Blige, and the late greats Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. For a few years, Amanda performed as a replacement member of the legendary girl group En Vogue and has extensive experience on and off stage. As an actress, Amanda has been featured in productions such as Ain't Misbehavin', Anything Goes, and Dream Girls, as well as a string of other successful gospel and off-Broadway stage plays.
Amanda received rave reviews performing an 18-song, symphonic tribute to the late Ms. Whitney Houston with countless symphony orchestras around the country. She has over 130 million views collectively on Facebook as well as over 10 million on YouTube.
Matthew Smith
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Matthew teaches guitar and bass guitar at School of Rock Bentonville. He attended McNally Smith College of Music for guitar performance. He has played rock, Latin, and blues, and is currently part of a metal band called Endfall. He records and mixes the band's song demos. Outside of music, Matthew enjoys photography, videography, and video editing.
Max Hinojosa
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher, Drum Teacher, Vocal Teacher
Max is a passionate multi-instrumentalist who has been playing music for as long as he can remember. He began playing guitar at the age of 5 and quickly fell in love with the instrument. He found a new passion in singing when he joined School of Rock as a student in the seventh grade. Max continued to develop his vocal skills in his high school's Chamber Choir and then Schola Cantorum at the University of Arkansas. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Music Business with an emphasis in classical voice training in 2022.
Max has performed in prestigious venues in England, Scotland, Serbia, and most recently, Carnegie Hall in NYC. Taking influences from a wide variety of genres, Max believes that it is important to expose yourself to many different types of music in order to become a well-rounded musician. Max plays with his band Pillar Reef and released an EP of original music in 2021.
Jenny Dietzel N.H.D.
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Jenny is a native of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and teaches keys, guitar, bass, and drums, with an emphasis on keys. She was also ranked number one in the state on xylophone in high school.
As a classically trained musician, Jenny has taken her musical abilities to a new level by becoming a singer-songwriter in a solo act in the last few years. Her education includes a doctorate in Natural Health, and she specializes in musician’s and children's health. A love of music combined with a healthy lifestyle, and positive mindset, has a direct impact on getting musicians, young and old, up on stage for a great time.
Let Jenny's passion for teaching music inspire you on your journey.
Blake Doyle
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Vocal Teacher
Blake is a guitar, bass, and vocal teacher at School of Rock Bentonville. He has been playing guitar since he was 9 years old and grew a passion for it early on in his childhood. At the age of 14, he joined School of Rock Bentonville as a student, where he learned both bass and vocals in addition to furthering his guitar journey.
Blake has recorded music at Fraser Sound Studios in New York City with his band Sawyer Hill, which has tens of thousands of followers on TikTok and listeners on Spotify. He also enjoys guitar pedals/effects and uses them frequently to create interesting textures, tones, and sounds on his instrument.
Erin Cassidy
Drum Teacher
After 44 years in California, Erin Cassidy started a new musical journey and headed down to the south for the birth of his daughter and to start his teaching career. Playing drums and performing in different bands has been a passion in Erin’s life since he was 12 years old.
He started playing drums and performing in 1988 and has been jamming and touring around the western and southern states at clubs and festivals ever since. Erin has also shared the stage with countless amazing bands and musicians from around the states including playing and recording with a member of The Grateful Dead, saxophonist Martin Fierro.
Erin’s musical influences cover a wide range of music such as rock, funk, soul, metal, Latin, groove, jazz, reggae, disco, dance, country, bluegrass, and hip-hop just to name a few. His goal is to brighten lives through music and to pass on some of his rhythmic skills and knowledge that he has been taught and discovered throughout the years.
Sarah Hughes
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Keyboard + Piano Teacher, Vocal Teacher
Sarah Hughes has been a working (live) musician in NWA for over 15 years. While she is strongest on guitar and vocals, Sarah is also proficient on bass, piano, harmonica, and drums. She signed on as an instructor at School of Rock in November of 2022 to share the skills learned during her music career with the next generation of musicians.
Sarah was enrolled in private piano lessons from the ages of 6 to 12, where she learned the fundamentals of music theory. She strummed a guitar for the first time in the ninth grade; once her father taught her to play some chords, she never put it down. After graduating from Hendrix College, Sarah migrated to New York City, where she performed weekly in the East Village. Soon, she relocated to Austin, playing legendary locales, including The Continental Club, Saxon Pub, The Cactus Café, Momo’s, and Austin’s annual SXSW music festival. Finally settling in Fayetteville, Sarah quickly gained recognition throughout the region.
After winning a total of five Ozark Music Awards and 11 Northwest Arkansas Music Awards (NAMA), Sarah earned a spot in the NAMA Hall of Fame. So far, Sarah has released four albums of original music. As a music instructor, Sarah is always willing to go the extra mile to make sure her
students are comfortable with the material they are learning, confident in what they have been taught, and most importantly, having fun!
Sarah-Marie Linneman
Keyboard + Piano Teacher, Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Sarah-Marie is a music teacher from Hot Springs who specializes in keys, beginner bass, and beginner guitar. She is a classically trained pianist and began performing music at the age of 5. Her education includes a bachelor's degree in Music from Hendrix College and she has been teaching music for over five years.
Sarah-Marie teaches groups such as Little Wing, Rookies, and Rock 101 at School of Rock Bentonville. Her approach to teaching is to give students a creative outlet for expressing their feelings and emotions while enabling them to explore who they are and develop a sense of self that is unique to them. In her free time, you can find her spending time with her cats and reading novels.