Staff & Music Teachers at Bach to Rock Rocklin

Melissa Solano-Rojas - Melissa Solano-Rojas, Site Director, grew up in Costa Rica in a small valley close to the Caribbean Sea. She has B.S. in Business Administration from California State University, and more than five years of experience leading teams. Melissa was awarded the Manager of the Quarter 2010 by Starbucks NorCal region. She also worked as a Bilingual Instructor with students from K-12th in San Juan Unified School District. She is the mother of two girls, Hannah and Izzy, who are students of Bach to Rock. Hannah plays in two Bands, and Izzy is member of the Glee Club. Melissa enjoys Spanish Rock. Some of her favorite artist are Soda Stereo, Enanitos Verdes, Green Day and Fabulosos Cadillacs, Celia Cruz and Julieta Venegas.

Melisa Roden - Melisa R.'s greatest joys in life are being an involved mom to six kids and “Mimi” to four grandkids, and the proud wife of a Sierra College English professor. She has Bachelor’s degrees in Journalism and International Peace Studies, plus a Master’s in Business Administration. Professionally, she is an entrepreneur at heart and loves thinking up different business ideas and developing the best ways to brand and market them. Musically, Melisa is more of an appreciator than a participant. Listening to various genres of music and attending concerts with her husband and/or kids is a great passion of hers. The three best live performances she has seen are Twenty-One Pilots, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, and Elliott Smith. For Melisa, working at Bach to Rock is the perfect place to be surrounded by amazing musicians regularly, and use her marketing skills to promote the business and bands to the community.

Cohen R - Cohen enjoys a plethora of music genres, but most commonly listens to game/film soundtracks. He is an aspiring video game composer who has been creating his own music since April of 2020. He dabbles on the piano, but otherwise, he doesn't play any instruments. His compositions are crafted digitally using Cubase 10 (Music Production Software). Cohen's favorite modern composers include: Austin Wintory, Darren Korb, Nobou Uematsu, Joe Hisaishi, Koji Kondo, Clint Mansell, John Williams, and Hans Zimmer. His favorite musical artists/bands include: Weird Al Yankovic, Danger, Lana Del Ray, Regina Spektor, Tenacious D, Starbomb, NSP, Death Cab for Cutie, and Johnny Cash. Cohen used to create content on the internet under the name "James C. Drone" - feel free to check it out!

Josh B - Josh studied music at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. He has been giving music lessons since he was in high school, and now teaches Bass, Brass, Drums, Guitar, Piano and Voice!

Marshall J - Marshall started piano lessons at age 4 and drums at age 9 when the family began managing Bach To Rock, Rocklin. In addition to 8 years of drumming experience and 6 years of bass, Marshall was also the center snare and the percussion captain for Roseville's award-winning West Park High School's marching band program. They enjoy listening to every musical genre except for polka, and they really love the band, Greta Van Fleet.

Scott G - Scott has been teaching guitar privately for over 15 years. From classic rock to classical guitar, he has grown a vast musical knowledge. Playing and recording in bands around California has helped to hone his ability to perform and convey a multitude of musical topics. Scott has taught musicians of all ages and skill levels while aiming to make the process fun and rewarding. He is also a volunteer instructor with Guitars for Vets providing music therapy for those in need.

Alyssa A - Alyssa started playing piano and guitar in elementary school, and saxophone in middle school. She is currently continuing her music studies at Sacramento State University. Alyssa performs with multiple groups around the greater Sacramento area – the Roland Tonies and the Swingmasters – and wants to continue performing. She enjoys all genres of music and is not afraid to jam with anyone.

Atlee G - Atlee's musical journey began in the vibrant local music scene of Auburn, California. He stated out playing the trumpet in a 2nd grade concert band and, in 6th grade, discovered his love of the guitar. He's played the guitar ever since, honing his skills with music lessons and frequent practice. Atlee took music lessons for 10 years at the Encord Music Center, and worked closely with Eric Chun and his company Creative Music Services. Atlee feels that his background with music provides him with a well-rounded teaching style, and strives to make learning music fun for everyone!

Babak S - Babak S. has more than 25 years of experience teaching music. He began playing Violin at age 11. He learned western classical and Persian traditional music lessons at multiple classes such as the classes taught by Maestro Asadollah Malek and Maestro Shoja’eddin Lashkarloo. He has earned his Associate’s degree in music in Iran at the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education. Babak was also trained at the violin masterclass delivered by Prof. Bijan Khadem-Missagh in Vienna, Austria. Babak teaches both classical and Iranian traditional styles, solfege, piano and music theory. He has led many orchestras made up of his students and musicians. Also, he has collaborated with multiple ensemble orchestras and composed music. Babak’s style of playing violin is a fusion of old, classical Persian style and western technique with individual talent and creativity.

Blake G - When he was growing up, Blake's dad introduced him to classic rock in the car on the radio. He started playing the Electric Guitar at 9 years old and has been playing ever since. He has also been playing the Mandolin for the past 3 years and the Piano for 1 year. Blake was a former student at Bach To Rock and has been in several bands. Music runs through his family; his sister plays drums and is also in a band! On top of his musical interests, Blake loves to read and is quite the history buff. His favorite author is Hemmingway and he is a big Lord of the Rings fan. His musical tastes range. He enjoys all genres, but some of his favorite artists are Prince, Led Zeppelin, and Sade.

Bridget P - Bridget was singing as soon as she could talk. She started piano lessons at 5 years old and began voice lessons at 12. She participated in choir and musical theater as much as she could throughout middle and high school while earning several certificates of merit. Bridget received her bachelor’s degree in music education with a Choral Emphasis from San Jose State University, where she predominantly sang Baroque and Classical music. Her favorite artists are Beabadoobee and Bruno Mars.

Drew J - Drew first became interested in playing music in middle school band. He played Trombone, but actually learned how to play all brass instruments because the band instructor needed him to be versatile. He ended up taking lessons for about a year on the Mandolin, his absolute favorite instrument. The high school he attends offers a lot of music options, and currently he is in a percussion ensemble, a wind ensemble, a symphonic band, and a jazz band. Drew enjoys listening to Jazz, funk Jazz, the Ezra Collective, and he also enjoys grunge music.

Julia J - Julia teaches voice, piano, flute, and early childhood classes. She has been playing the flute since the 4th grade, when she became a part of her school's concert band. Julia has participated in both concert and marching bands ever since! Throughout high school and college, she was also a part of two choirs. In college, she added a third vocal ensemble – a cappella group! Julia went on to get her BA in Music Education from Chapman University. Her favorite artists (at the moment) are Taylor Swift, Ke$ha, and Tame Impala! Julia loves to change things up musically, always looking for new music to listen to and jam to.

Noah C - Noah's journey with music began when he was inspired to learn guitar because of the game Rock Band. His father worked on guitars and gifted him his first electric guitar, a Les Paul that he helped his dad to repair. Although he took some guitar lessons in junior high, he is mostly a self-taught musician, playing guitar, bass, piano and drums. He learned how to read music in a school choir. Noah's first job was at Dimple Records and he frequented Guitar Center to practice his drumming skills. Having been in a number of bands, he currently plays the keys in a band that tours around Sacramento, the Bay Area, and Reno. In college, Noah learned Audio Engineering and worked in the field for 8 years. In addition to building his own recording studio at home, he enjoys drawing and creating art. Noah's favorite music ranges from the Beach Boys to Steely Dan, Paul McCartney, and jazz artists like Joe Pass. He has a fondness for the 60's and late 70's, including the decorative furniture of those periods.