Walk into School of Rock in Bend on any given weekday, and you’ll hear bands jamming to “Creep” by Radiohead, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana or “Zombie” by The Cranberries.
The band members range from “still losing baby teeth” to “taking the SATs,” but they have one thing in common: They love to rock.
Zander MacQueen, 9, began drumming much like many of his instructors did: as a rhythm-obsessed toddler, using whatever makeshift drumsticks he could find to tap out beats before he could even talk.
“Zander was always made to drum!” said his mom, Cassie MacQueen. “I knew there was something special when we were on a camping trip and he picked up another ‘stick’ because what he was drumming with didn’t sound right.”
Zander and many other young musicians have found a home at School of Rock, which offers weekly small-group classes for children as young as four, private lessons and group rehearsals starting around age eight and programs for adults, too. (One of the school’s favorite guitarists is in her 80s!) For school breaks, the studio hosts one-day camps, along with weeklong day camps during the summer.
For kids who dream of performing onstage, rock music lessons offer an exciting extracurricular activity. Music education has many benefits, but not every child is drawn to the traditional classical approach. By building lessons around a genre kids already love—rock ’n’ roll—School of Rock helps students develop musical skills while keeping them motivated to learn.
“As one parent put it, there’s a cool factor that’s wildly motivating: Kids get to play rock shows with songs they hear on the radio, taught by instructors they see playing gigs around town,” said Niki Reading, owner of School of Rock. “As parents, it’s also really fun seeing our own kids ‘discover’ the soundtrack to our youth and channel their emotions through their art. Better to have them rage against the machine in rehearsal than at recess.”
Since opening in October 2025, the school has celebrated its first anniversary with student performances around town. Check its Instagram account for upcoming show dates and mark your calendar for the end-of-season winter shows on Saturday, Jan. 30 and Sunday, Jan. 31 at the Domino Room/Midtown Ballroom.
School of Rock offers performance-based music education for kids and adults. Its youngest students learn rhythm, ear training and music theory in fun, small-group classes featuring real instruments and familiar rock songs. Children typically begin focusing on a specific instrument around age eight, entering the Rock 101 program. They receive a weekly private lesson and participate in a weekly group rehearsal where they practice playing with their bandmates.
Once students reach basic proficiency on their instruments, they graduate from Rock 101 to the Performance Program. The format remains similar, with weekly lessons and rehearsals, but each band focuses on a different genre or musical theme. This fall, about a dozen groups are exploring everything from ’90s rock and Motown to glam rock and the best music of the 2010s.
School of Rock’s instructors are working musicians who may be familiar faces in Bend’s local music scene. Music Director Beverly Anderson is a singer-songwriter, while Operations Director and drum instructor Kiki Castro plays drums for Bend’s bubble-grunge band Not Your Ex Lover. Vocal and bass instructor Bella Cooper is the powerhouse voice of Chiggi Momo, where she’s backed on drums by instructor Logan Anderson. The newest vocal and guitar instructor, Bella Emry, was recently a top-30 finalist on “American Idol.”
The instructors combine their real-world performance experience with specialized training in School of Rock’s song-first teaching method, which gets students playing real rock songs from their first week. The team is also receiving advanced training in brain development and music psychology from Allison Wilkinson, founder and CEO of Making Musicians and an expert in applied music psychology.
“Music lives in the same place in our brains as our emotions—and anyone who has been onstage knows that performing music requires a lot of vulnerability,” Anderson said. “That all brings up some big emotions for our students, and a chance to practice emotional regulation. The training has really helped us better understand how to help our students recognize and regulate their emotional state, which in turn helps them learn music much faster. It’s amazing to see how quickly students progress.”
Singer and guitarist Sage Sedivec, 14, couldn’t agree more.
“I’ve grown so much as a musician since joining School of Rock,” Sedivec said. “The best part is the people. I’ve found a place where I feel supported, appreciated and like I can totally be myself. I’ve never felt this kind of community and belonging anywhere else.”
You might recognize Sage from her weekly performances at the Northwest Crossing Farmers Market this summer. She also performed in the school’s end-of-summer show as part of the “White Stripes vs. Black Keys” group. This fall, she joined the school’s House Band, an advanced music and leadership program for its top musicians. Now she performs with the group almost weekly, singing fan favorites such as “Jolene” by Dolly Parton and “I Hate Myself for Loving You” by Joan Jett.
The 4,000-square-foot school, tucked next to Blockbuster, was purpose-built by Heylen Thienes of Bend’s Tricorn Black to create a musical haven for kids and adults alike. Rehearsal rooms feature murals by local artist Vivi Designs, while artwork by Bend tattoo artist Mac the Fruitbat adds character to the walls, merchandise area and even one of Bend’s coolest bathrooms.
Thienes’ 11-year-old daughter can often be found reading graphic novels in the student lounge between vocal lessons and rehearsals.
“I love that my daughter gets to learn music in such an immersive space, surrounded by the work of local artists. She gets to see how music inspires visual art and culture, and how those things inspire music in return. It opens up her idea of what being creative can look like,” Thienes said.
Do you have an aspiring musician at home who dreams of writing pop songs or shredding electric guitar riffs onstage? Instead of buying yet another material gift this holiday season, consider investing in an experience—such as music lessons that let your child rock out.
School of Rock Bend: 211 NE Revere Ave., Bend
541-645-7625
This article appears in Bend Nest Winter 2026.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
