Meet us where rock ‘n’ roll is a family business
For more than 20 years, young rock and rollers have learned to jam with the skilled instructors at the Oak Park School of Rock.
This family business teaches kids (and adults!) how to rock ‘n’ roll in a supportive environment where students learn to play and to perform live.
Learn to play the guitar, bass, keyboard and piano, or drums. Take lessons in singing, songwriting, and performance.
For future rock stars who go through the full “Path to the Stage” curriculum, it starts with the Little Wing program for preschoolers and toddlers to learn foundational music skills, then on to the Rookies classes for six and seven-year-olds to learn chords, rhythm, and song structure. After that, it’s Rock 101 for eight to 13-year-olds to learn classic rock songs.
The hallmark of the Oak Park School of Rock is the Performance Program where students aged 8 to 18 participate in group rehearsals and take customized private lessons. In this program, students are encouraged to join in the opportunities to perform live at local Oak Park music menus.
The Oak Park School of Rock is jamming Monday through Friday from 2pm to 9pm and Saturday from 10am-5pm. (Closed Sunday)
Amy Renzulli was a mom working in corporate America when her 12-year-old daughter, Abigail, attended her first rock-and-roll summer camp at the Chicago School of Rock. Neither mother nor daughter knew how that summer spent learning to play the bass would change their lives.
Noticing how much her daughter grew from the camp experience - both in confidence and in skillset - Amy opened the franchise Oak Park School of Rock in early 2012, working with her husband, Bob, to covert a 50-year-old warehouse building into a school for young rockers.
Amy used her marketing skills and Bob became the “roadie,” driving the equipment van.
For Abigail, those summer camps playing bass worked out. She graduated high school early to tour with Dalton Rapattoni and to form an L.A.-based neo-soul band. Today you can find her managing the studio at the Old Park School of Rock where she returned to help out with the family business of rock ‘n’ roll.
The School of Rock is located at 219 Lake Street in Oak Park. It’s a five-minute walk from the Ridgeland Stop on the CTA Green Line or a 15-minute drive west of downtown Chicago.
