School of Rock - Silver Spring, MD
Location & Contact Info
Our Silver Spring school is located in downtown Silver Spring near the corner of Colesville Rd. and Georgia Ave, across from the American Film Institute (AFI).
DC/Silver Spring SOR
8634 Colesville Road
Silver Spring, MD 20910
For enrollment information or general information please call our DC-area hotline:
| DC-Area Hotline | 703.850.2100 |
| DC/Silver Spring School: | 301.589.7625 |
| Fax: | 703.232.1048 |
| Email: | nova@schoolofrock.com |
Faculty & Staff
Colin Behram
Colin Behram is the Music Director in our Silver Spring school and specializes in teaching drums. Colin has worked as a drummer, composer, recording engineer and producer in the DC area for the last several years and is a product of the best musical influences to come out of Washington DC. Due to his father being a musician and fixture on the DC Music scene (he played guitar in the seminal Washington DC band Razz, Artful Dodger and Johnny Bombay and the Reactions) Colin's early years were spent in recording studios and at various gigs learning his craft in real-life settings and at the feet of name musicians such as Ju Ju House (Drummer with EU, Arrested Development, Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan), and Kent Wood (Keyboardist for EU, Rare Essence, Chuck Brown and session player for acts such as Britney Spears, Eva Cassidy and Roberta Flack).
Thru these early experiences Colin has "graduated" from his own "School of Rock" to become a world class drummer in his own right and musician's musician. Recently, when The Howling Mad (ex-Razz) needed a drummer to fill in for gig at the 8X10 in Baltimore, Colin was the first and only choice for some very choosy musicians. He turned in a remarkable performance which earned the praise of his peers, including producer Frank Marchand of Waterford Digital studios. Frank has worked with artists such as Good Charlotte, Bob Mould, The Shins, The Decemberists and Brendan Canty among others. Frank gave Colin the gift of a destroyed drum microphone - a casualty of Colin's fiery and intense performance.
Colin enjoys the admiration of the Washington DC musical community of which he is an integral part. He has a well-deserved reputation for being a superb drummer, musician and teacher. Colin continues to perform and record with his band, Natural Remedy, who are expecting a new album release in mid 2009. cbehram@schoolofrock.com
Manuel Contreras
Manuel Contreras is a guitar player, music teacher and composer with over 15 years of experience. Manuel is a native of Italy. He started taking guitar lessons at the age of 14 in his hometown Gaeta (LT), focusing on the styles of his musical heroes: The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, S.R. Vaughan and Kurt Cobain. In 2001 he moved to Rome to study at the "Guitar C.A.P. s.t." with Gianfranco "Nick" Diletti (one of the first Italian graduates from the Musician Institute in L.A.), and after three years was awarded the Professional Certificate in Contemporary Music.
In the summer of 2009 Manuel left his country for the US where he continued attending either private lessons or workshops, regarding all the musical styles. He had the honor to study and play side by side with the best Italian and International musicians: Mark Stanley, Frank Gambale, Massimo Varini, Mimmo Langella, Guthrie Govan, Simone Sello, Alessandro Benvenuti, Lorenzo Feliciati, Umberto Fiorentino, Alberto Lombardi and Stefano Micarelli. In addition to guitar studies, Manuel also earned the Professional Diploma in Journalism and Music Criticism from the "Accademia della Critica" (Rome) in 2005.
Since the 1994, Manuel has always been involved in numerous rock bands as well as in recording projects, playing throughout Italy in the best clubs and working as a sideman or a composer for short film music. As a journalist he collaborated with "Chitarre", the best Italian magazine for guitarists, reviewing books, writing long specials articles and working on guitar instruction columns with Gianfranco “Nick” Diletti. He has always loved to teach music and help his students achieve their "rock and roll dream". For almost 10 years he's been a very patient and friendly teacher, with an unmistakable laid-back style. He proudly joined the Silver Spring School of Rock in November 2009 and is now working mostly on his own instrumental project: a psychedelic mix of funk, blues and rock and roll.
Trish Ferrett
Trish Ferrett comes to us with over 35 years of musical training... starting with piano lessons from the wee age of 5 years old (after her parents quickly tired of her playing TV commercials by ear on the family piano). Despite the classical training, it quickly became apparent to her family that she wouldn't be happy with the standard repertoire... and the only way to get her to practice was to give her Rock sheet music. With Elton John's Greatest Hits as her first "real" music book, she quickly morphed into a singer/pianist performing in local talent competitions, musicals, high school revues, and the occasional restaurant gig (because she was a much better player than a waitress). Trish went on to study voice and piano at James Madison University, and fell in love with concert promotion and production while working with the University's Program Board--working with artists such as Public Enemy, The Fixx, The Temptations, Echo and The Bunnymen, 10,000 Maniacs, Gwar, Bruce Hornsby, The Smithereens, EU, Little Feat, The Moody Blues, Randy Travis, Reba McEntyre and Alabama. Combining her love of the music business with her own musical talent, she graduated from JMU with a Bachelor of Music Degree, concentrating in Music Industry. Trish went on to earn her MBA from the University of Mary Washington. Trish works by day in Human Resources for the American Red Cross National Headquarters, but also plays (with her awesome drummer husband, Brooks) over 50 shows a year with Prime Time, one of the area's leading wedding/mitzvah/corporate party/you name it, we'll play it cover bands. She's also a member of the Alexandria Singers, reminding everyone that choral music is not only very cool... it works like a charm in learning how to pick up harmonies when singing in a band. If she's not there, you can find her at a concert somewhere...
Ava Jackson
Ava Jackson is the Studio Coordinator at the DC/Silver Spring School of Rock, where she keeps the kids in line, the parents informed and the music teachers on-time. Ava Jackson is a graduate of Brooklyn College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre. For the last two years she lived in Berkeley, California where she was a freelance teacher, director, and choreographer. With the California Shakespeare Theater she coordinated Shakespeare camps, classes, and student matinees for kids of all ages. In her free time she performed in shows all around the Bay Area. As a child of rock & roll parents she spent most of her early years dancing around on stage and hanging out backstage at nightclubs, which is why she feels right at home here at The School of Rock.
Patty Reese
Winner of six 2009 WAMMIES including Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Roots Rock Vocalist, Patty Reese performs more that 250 dates annually. With an undying passion for creating and delivering soulful music, Patty Reese performs solo and duo acoustic and with her own band... The Patty Reese Band. From singing for more than 10 years almost nightly in bars and coffee houses to shaking the rafters of main stages on the east and west coast, Patty Reese has sustained a career doing what she does best... writing and performing the music she loves. Her style has been compared to Bonnie Raitt, Melissa Etheridge and Janis Joplin. Influenced early on by Etta James and Aretha Franklin, Reese has developed a style all her own including pop, blues, folk and rock.
Zvi Sharibi
Hailing from Israel, Zvi Sharabi has been teaching and performing on the guitar for over 10 years. His experience as the lead guitarist of The Syndicate awarded him national attention, as their songs were aired on the hottest radio stations all over Israel. With more than 20 years of training under his belt, Zvi Sharabi has worked with world-renowned guitarists, including Erez Netz, of Infected Mushroom, and Israeli guitarist Guy Be’er of Hayehoodim. He has taught at several Israeli music schools, both on an individual basis, and in producing youth bands.
