Meet Dave Gary and Charge Michael of Desert Ridge Music Academy in North Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Gary and Charge Michael.

Dave and Charge taught drum lessons at a local music for a number of years before deciding to go out on their own and open a brand new music lessons facility. But it had to be better. The ownership at most local music stores won’t sacrifice retail space to make room for a stage. Dave and Charge believed that their students should be provided with the opportunity for live performance. So, they left that store and opened Desert Ridge Music Academy. The first thing they did was build a stage in the back of their new location and immediately held jam sessions, recitals and clinics to get their students performing. They started with about 100 students back in 2008, and nearly 10 years later they are approaching 500 students and just opened a new 2000 square foot Performance Venue with a larger stage, better lighting and sound equipment, and the capacity to hold an audience of 85 people. This building also hosts Group Lessons in a variety of styles and instruments.

Desert Ridge Music Academy has been growing steadily since opening its doors mostly due to their excellent customer service. They treat every client like family, always going above and beyond to satisfy the scheduling needs of all of the families that walk through the door. They host over 20 recitals every year, and each one is free to attend. They even professionally record each individual performance and provide all of that content for free as well. Thanks to their efforts, some DRMA students have been placed in many prestigious Music Colleges around the country including ASU, Penn State, Perdue and Berklee College of Music. With over 25 excellent music teachers on staff, they provide lessons for nearly every musical instrument in both private and group settings. The Academy is also proud partners with the North Valley Symphony Orchestra and the Musical Instrument Museum where their staff performs multiple times per year.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s been mostly smooth. However, we opened our doors on the cusp of the collapsing economy. It was a little tough going through the experience of watching families drop lessons because of the financial problems that it caused for so many. But, we kept pushing forward and kept growing.

Please tell us about Desert Ridge Music Academy.
We provide private and group music lessons for all ages on nearly every instrument. We also have a small retail space for general music supply needs. We’re proud of our excellent staff of instructors and the many wonderful things our students have gone on to achieve musically. Our customer service and our in-house performance venue set us apart from nearly all competition.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Nothing at all! It’s been a fun ride so far.

Contact Info:

• Address: 21043 N Cave Creek Road
• Website: desertridgemusicacademy.com
• Phone: 602-404-5475
• Email: desertridgema@gmail.com
• Facebook: /desertridgemusic

Image Credit:
Mojo Lens Photography

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