Owner’s Story

Enrollment is on-going! It is never too late to join our music or dance lessons and classes. Call us to find a class time!

We are Simone Bley & Keith Johns, owners of the Myriad Music School & Dance Academy.

We’d like to tell you how our journey began…Simone grew up in Ontario, Canada, where all 4 children in her family started piano with Mom as their teacher, then progressed to private teachers in the area (there weren’t any fun Piano Teams or Superstar classes back then!). Simone knew as a 6 year old that she would be a music teacher, and has never looked back! She was accompanying her elementary school at holiday sing-alongs from the 1st grade on, was involved in school musi- cals both in singing roles, and as the pianist elementary through high school years. During high school and college years Simone was teaching piano lessons to local neighborhood children and worked many years as a ballet school accompanist. Her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Western Ontario was in Theory & Composition, with an emphasis in Piano Performance, followed by a second Music Education Degree and Teaching Credential, with an emphasis in Choral Conducting. Simone’s love of jazz piano took her to Chicago, to complete a Masters in Jazz Piano Pedagogy from Northwestern University. Teaching piano, working in dance classes, and developing curriculum has been a common thread during these formative years, and she hasn’t stopped. In the Bay Area, Simone has conducted multiple children’s choruses, enjoys accompanying classical and jazz chamber music, and played keyboards for 12 years in a local African funk/jazz band. Attending Northwestern in Chicago also introduced Simone to Keith, and their musical worlds collided in more ways than one.

Here’s Keith’s story….Keith, a local boy raised in Burlingame, was fortunate to be introduced to music in 4th grade at public school. He was a band geek/hard rocker in high school and pursued music at UCSB and ultimately Northwestern University studying trumpet performance and chamber brass music. This is where he met Simone. Upon completing their Master’s Degrees and a year teaching private piano & trumpet lessons in Chicago, they returned to the Bay Area, teaching music together in San Mateo. During this time, Keith continued to freelance and play brass chamber music in his own group, the Amici Brass, while starting to work toward a second career as a flight instructor, which he completed in 2009. He is lucky to now enjoy teaching both trumpet and flight instruction at JATO Aviation in San Carlos, while still going to his son’s jazz band concerts and daughter’s dance recitals.

And the story doesn’t end there. From the moment we drew our first logo design on a napkin at a restaurant, we have been busy creating the music and dance school of our dreams! Our children have been an integral part of our creation, as we built the best possible curriculum with them in mind. We want classes and options that instill a love of music & dance, while fostering a high level of skills ~ with the child’s confidence and joy as the center focus. This is truly a family business – our daughter has already stated she will be the future director of our school. In addition to all of the wonderful families that we meet, we are in the fortunate position of being able to hire and work with like-minded teachers who also enjoy honing their craft and sharing the joy of music & dance with students of all ages. We love our team!