Oklahoma School of Rock

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- -The Academy of Contemporary Music is preparing students to become the next big name in the music industry.

The ACM is operated through the University of Central Oklahoma, and is modeled after its sister school in London, England.

UCO converted a warehouse, and opened the campus in Bricktown in 2009.

"We call it contemporary music but it's basically what you hear on the radio" says Scott Booker, CEO of the ACM.

Booker says the school currently holds around five hundred students, who come from around the world to study music at the school.

All students must audition, before being accepted into the program.

"You have to make a demo CD of you singing scales" says Chelsey Gonzales, a student at the ACM.

Students study everything from vocal performance, music production, and how to perform on stage in front of an audience.

"We work on scales, we have a song writing class, we have a class to rehearse our performances that we have every month" says ACM student Cameron Henderson.

The ACM hires professors with real life experience in the music industry.  The ACM says when not teaching, several professors are performing at gigs around the metro.

"I basically say we're going learn from the text, and I'm gonna tell you my real world experiences" says Cami Stinson, a professor at the ACM.

Students say they feel lucky to be learning from people who have had experience and success in the music industry.

"Prior to this school, most musicians had to figure it out by the seat of their pants, they had nobody guiding them, they'd be lucky if they found somebody who actually made it and get some advice from them, and that was if they were lucky" says ACM student Ian Roegels.

CEO Scott Booker says the success of the Flaming Lips, is also a large reason why the ACM came to Oklahoma City.

"It really is because of the success they've had on an international level that opened the door for people willing to take a chance on a program like this" says Booker.

Wayne Coyne is the lead singer of the Flaming Lips, and says he's happy to see a program like the ACM arrive in Oklahoma City.

 "I think Oklahoma City is a great environment for people who are serious about doing their music and their art" says Coyne.

Students at the ACM can attend for either two or four years.

Depending on their degree, students must also take general education courses, along with their music courses.
Oklahoma School of Rock

Posted: Friday, November 16 2012, 10:29 PM CST