Jeff McKee, MM
Jeff grew up surrounded by parents and grandparents who were always playing music on the piano, violin, organ, guitar, or radio. After years of begging (and sneaking his dad’s) he got a guitar in eighth grade. Originally a biology major, Jeff turned from dissecting frogs to fugues and earned his Bachelor’s degree in music followed by a Master’s Degree in Guitar Performance from the University of Texas at Austin. He co-owns and operates Allegro School of Music, Southern Arizona’s largest music school. He enjoys teaching guitar, reading, road trips, tennis and spending time with his wife, their two daughters, and their shih tzu, Leo.
Joshua Brown, MM
Josh is a classical guitarist, music teacher and business owner. At the age of 16, Josh was accepted into the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he was a scholarship student of Aaron Shearer, “America’s Dean of the Classical Guitar”. Brown holds a Bachelor of Music in classical guitar performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and a Masters in Music in classical guitar performance from the University of Arizona. He co-owns and operates Allegro School of Music, Southern Arizona’s largest music school. His hobbies include mountain biking, collecting guitars and amps, and hiking. He happily resides in Tucson, AZ with his wife, son, daughter, and dogs.
FAQ with Josh and Jeff
Why and how did you decide to start the school?
The idea was conceived in the fall of 1998. We were both Doctoral Candidates in the Classical Guitar Program at the University of Arizona. We had assessed that Tucson needed a community music school. and in January of 1999, the Allegro Guitar Program was born. After the first year, Allegro was pretty much sold out of lesson times, and the interest in our music lessons just kept growing and growing.
Where do you find your teachers?
Luckily, Tucson has many very talented musicians, so we’ve had no problem finding highly qualified teachers over the years. Our teachers are either University Trained or have professional performance experience, they are friendly, they all have fingerprint clearance cards, and most importantly, they are focused on teaching students the music that they are interested in learning.
What kind of activities has the school been involved with?
- Locally, we were voted “Best of Tucson” by the Tucson Weekly.
- We’ve had several students who’s bands have won the Tucson Battle of the Bands.
- Our students frequently perform at local music and art festivals
- We have students who have won local music competitions like the Tucson Desert Songwriting Competition.
- Nationally, we’ve had students appear on the NPR Classical Music Show, “From the Top”, which features the finest young classical musicians in the country.
- We’ve had students who have won top prizes in International Music Competitions, like the Christopher Parkening Youth Guitar Competition.
- Allegro School of Music was voted the “Music Academy of the Year”, by the members of Music Academy Success, Which is an International Coaching Program for Music Academy Owners.
After over 20 years in business, why do you think it’s been successful?
The best part about teaching music, is when you give your student something that they get excited about and can’t wait to go home and play again. Maybe it’s a melody that they love, maybe it’s a technique or a finger exercise. That’s what we try to do in every lesson at Allegro School of Music. It doesn’t always happen. But, we think we’ve been successful for 20 years because our number one priority has been making sure that our students walk out of their lessons happier, and better at music than they were when they walked in.
