A new music school has opened in Duluth with an approach built around getting students out of the practice room and onto a stage.

Bach to Rock celebrated the opening of its newest Georgia location on Saturday, Aug. 1, at 3455 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. The school serves students from Duluth as well as Suwanee, Johns Creek, Sugar Hill, Norcross and Peachtree Corners.

The concept offers familiar music lessons in piano, voice, guitar, drums and other instruments, but its central idea is more social. Students can join rock bands and glee clubs, record in an on-site studio and perform at local venues rather than learning entirely through individual instruction. Programs are available for toddlers, school-age children, teenagers and adults.

The Duluth school is owned by husband-and-wife team Kelly Willyard and Steve Gasper. Willyard is a singer, songwriter, actor and music educator, while Gasper brings more than 25 years of experience in sales, marketing, operations and business strategy.

Their school enters a part of Gwinnett County filled with families but relatively few places designed specifically for young musicians to form groups and perform together. That distinction could make the new location useful for students who enjoy music but lose interest in the more solitary rhythm of traditional weekly lessons.

Bach to Rock also brings less conventional programs into the mix. Its Beat Refinery program teaches DJ skills, while younger children can begin through early-childhood classes. Camps and music-themed birthday parties are offered alongside regular instruction.

The opening comes just as families are settling into a new school year and choosing after-school activities. For parents comparing sports, tutoring, dance and music programs, Bach to Rock is positioning itself as both an instructional school and a place where students can find a creative peer group.

That emphasis on collaboration is important. A child taking guitar lessons may eventually be matched with a drummer, bassist and singer. A voice student may move into a glee club. The goal is not only to improve technique but to give students a reason to keep practicing because someone else is counting on them.

The Duluth location is open noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, with Sunday appointments available.

For Northern Gwinnett, the new school adds another family-oriented use to the Peachtree Industrial Boulevard corridor while widening the area’s options for arts education beyond school-based programs and private home instruction.