David Brandt is a musical director and owner of RockShow Academy in St. Louis, Missouri. He has 20 years of experience as a music teacher and 13 years owning and operating RockShow Academy. He provides music instruction to 25 private students and runs various musical productions. Brandt holds a B.A. in music performance, an M.A. in educational administration, and state certification to teach vocal music K-12. He is seeking a teaching position where he can apply his experience in music education and small business ownership.

1. Email: ​RockShow Academy@gmail.com website: RockShowAcademy.com Phone: (314) 601‐5339
David Brandt
Objective
To Continue a Tradition of Excellence in Teaching by maintaining a relatable, relaxed and professional relationship
with Students and being a Leader and co‐worker who is Innovative, Reliable and Personable with co‐workers and
Management.
Experience & Accomplishments
Owner/Musical Director, ​RockShow Academy, St. Louis, Missouri (2011 ‐ )
● Brainstorms New Programs, Classes and Productions
● Manages Invoicing and Accounting
● Leads Advertising/Marketing/Social Media Campaigns
● Interacts with Students and Parents Daily
● Musical Director of Shows ‐ Example ‐2016 Spring
Shows ‐ ​Mulan, High School Musical and Cinderella
● Privately Instructs 25 students in Voice, Keyboard,
Guitar, Drums, Recorder, Ukulele and More
Music Teacher​, ​Fox Elementary School, ​Arnold, Missouri (2000‐2010)
● Taught K‐6 General Music
● Wrote Curriculum
● Helped at School Events
● Ran Audio at School Events
● Attended Seminars
● Developed and Received Grant for "Fine Arts Day, in which students
interacted with Artists, Musicians and Actors and soaked up Culture from
places like Ukraine
● Recipient of an Award from the Fox C6 District in 2008 and 2009 for
Excellent Execution of "Fine Arts Day" and Dedication to Students.
● Attended MTI Broadway Educators conference, New York City
● Was Invited Speaker at other Schools in the Fox C6 District on subjects like
“Owning Your Own Business” and “Why Song Lyrics Matter”
Band Leader, ​PartyRock, ​St. Louis, Missouri (2008‐2015)
Customer Relations/Contracts, Song Direction, Management, Keyboards and Lead Singer of Top Festival/Wedding Band
Skills
Strong Creative Writing, Presentation and Communication Skills Computer and Audio Savvy Innovator
Works with Diverse Groups Self‐Prioritizes Tasks Adapts to Environments Understands Client Needs
Team Player with a Positive Attitude Interfaces with all levels of Management Relates well to Young People
Education & Certification
M.A, Educational Administration, ​Lindenwood University, St. Louis, Missouri (2008)
Career CPC in Vocal Music K‐12​, State of Missouri (2000)
B.A, Music Performance​, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (1994)
References Available upon Request

2. What I’ve Learned from Running a Business
After 13 years of being a classroom teacher my wife and I decided to pursue our lifelong dream of owning a Theater
and Music School.
When informed Lisa Sell, the Principal of Fox Elementary where I worked as well as Arnold Stricker, the Assistant
Superintendent, I was kindly offered a yearlong Sabbatical; a time of discovery to see if I was sure I would leave the
school district. However, the excitement of being able to create a Program from the ground up led me to move on
and open up RockShow Academy in September of 2001 and it is still open at the present time.
The experience of running a business has grown me as a person, an educator and an administrator. As I prepared to
launch RockShow Academy, created a Business Plan and educated myself about starting a business, I did not truly
grasp that it was the actual day‐to‐day, month‐to‐month and year‐to‐year give and take between creativity and
brass‐tacks good business sense that it takes for a business to succeed. A few costly mistakes can overshadow many
smaller successes. For example, although our we have a continually growing roster of very satisfied students who sing
our praises, we greatly overspent in the first 3 years of the business especially in the area of advertising. It has been
difficult to get our Balance Sheet to rise above these earlier missteps and has given me a new perspective and identity
as a person who no longer sees things from a mostly Creative and Short‐Term point of view to one who is always
looking at things from several perspectives of Budget and Student Wants/Needs. It is the dilemma of combining these
two things successfully that has brought RockShow to the place where we are seeing Profits for the first time.
I have developed a broader and deeper perspective as an educator and an administrator as well. Although I have been
teaching group lessons and private lessons for years before RockShow Academy opened, it was an eye‐opening
experience to develop curriculum and then teach it in an atmosphere in which I had total control. I learned that the
"Market" will decide quickly which ideas are interesting to the public and which may not be as interesting. It was
always a challenge when we had to decide whether to eliminate a certain class that had low enrollment or take a
chance and run it the following semester to see if it might fare better after some positive word of mouth or more
effective advertising. The knowledge and skills I gained while pursuing my MA in Educational Administration certainly
helped me wade through all of these situations and more.
My career is at a point now where the business is doing well enough, and I am settled into the routine enough that I
have extra time during the day and some evenings to take on more work. I would love the opportunity to get back
into a classroom, with students who are there for the specific purpose of studying Music and I know that my specific
set of skills and experiences as well as my unique and down to earth teaching style would be a benefit to them.