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School of Rock student Desneige Ketcheson rocks out in Assiniboine Park on Canada Day with the house band.<\/p>\n
The school has been welcoming children as young as four, as well as youthful grown-ups in their 60s, to group and individual classes since opening its doors in 2016.<\/p>\n
Instructor Theo Shalley, 19, has been with the school since 2019 when he joined as a student; he transitioned to his teaching role in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a student here really gave me a sense of identity, but teaching gives a new sense of purpose,\u201d he says. \u201cIf I can direct a younger generation onto a path they might not know how to get started in, or they might not know they are interested in, that\u2019s really fulfilling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shalley teaches multiple instruments, with drums as his primary focus. He runs a number of rehearsal groups where students learn to play together as a band, as well as one-on-one lessons.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe school is a great place for you to find out who you are and if this is your calling. There\u2019s a real sense of community; it\u2019s a really encouraging environment,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t SUPPLIED<\/p>\n Multi-instrumentalist Desneige Ketcheson has been attending the School of Rock since its early days.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a sentiment student Desneige Ketcheson agrees with.<\/p>\n The 16-year-old, who uses they\/them pronouns, has been attending music classes since the school\u2019s early days. They started out playing drums and switched to bass two years later.<\/p>\n Ketcheson credits the school with introducing them to people they may otherwise not have encountered.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tSunday Passages<\/p>\n Sundays<\/p>\n Kevin Rollason\u2019s Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for Sunday Passages<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cI\u2019ve met a bunch of people that have become my closest friends and honestly changed my life. They\u2019ve taken me to a lot of concerts, helped me join the hardcore scene in Winnipeg, and getting to perform with them is genuinely crazy,\u201d the musician says.<\/p>\n The multi-instrumentalist \u2014 Ketcheson also plays piano, saxophone, oboe, trumpet, flute, bassoon and French horn \u2014 joined the school\u2019s house band in 2024 and has performed in most live music venues in the city.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n The School of Rock is marking its tenth anniversary with a concert showcasing the school\u2019s talent.<\/p>\n The teen says the school has connected them with the music genre they most identify with.<\/p>\n \u201cI learned piano when I was younger and I was mostly playing classical music. When I got to the school, I got to learn the songs I actually listen to by some of my favourite bands, like Protest the Hero, the Callous Daoboys, Pierce the Veil and Rev3rent.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/avkitching<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Theo Shalley, a teacher at the School of Rock, says attending the school as a student helped him find himself.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t AV Kitching AV Kitching is an arts and life writer at the Free Press. She has been a journalist for more than two decades and has worked across three continents writing about people, travel, food, and fashion. Read more about AV<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting AV produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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