OUR CO-FOUNDERS
DAN
(he/him)
DAN SABO // CO-FOUNDER
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Education + Master of Music
NEXT MASTERCLASS HE'S TAKING: How to be a bike mechanic
PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO KNOW: He lived in Slovakia for three months
FEELS MOST ALIVE WHEN: Flying down a trail on his mountain bike
NELLA
(she/her)
NELLA SABO // CO-FOUNDER
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Commerce + MBA
NEXT MASTERCLASS SHE'S TAKING: Growing wild and wonderful gardens
FEELS MOST ALIVE WHEN: Going for a long run or cross-country ski
NEXT PLACE SHE'S TRAVELLING: Rio
MEET THE REST OF OUR TEAM
WILL
(he/him)
WILL NGUYEN // DRUMS
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Music combined with Education (in progress)
PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO KNOW: he likes watching WWE!
NEXT PLACE HE'S TRAVELING: Gravity Falls, Oregon
HE FELT MOST ALIVE WHEN: he submitted his midterm 16 seconds before it was due!
ANNA
(she/her)
ANNA JOHNSON // STUDIO COORDINATOR
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Arts (in progress)
NEXT PLACE SHE'S TRAVELLING: Wales
NEXT MASTERCLASS SHE'S TAKING: It's a toss up between creative writing and cooking!
PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO KNOW: Despite being pretty active, she still can't touch her toes!
WILL
(he/him)
WILL SCOTT // BASS, GUITAR, DRUMS
EDUCATION: Diploma in Music, Recording Arts Major
NEXT PLACE HE'S TRAVELLING: South America
DREAM BAND TO JAM WITH: Can
PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO KNOW: He doesn't have a thyroid
FRAN
(he/him)
FRAN RIZZUTO // GUITAR, VOCALS, UKULELE, PIANO, BASS
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Music in Jazz and Contemporary Popular Music
NEXT PLACE HE'S TRAVELLING: New Zealand to see the Shire.
FOOD THAT MAKES HIM GAG: Pickles!
PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO KNOW: He once held the high score on a Pac Man arcade machine.
ELLA
(she/they)
ELLA RAVEN-JACKSON // VOCALS, UKULELE, GUITAR
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Fine Arts (in progress)
NEXT MASTERCLASS SHE'S TAKING: Creative Writing
NEXT PLACE SHE'S TRAVELING: Scotland
FOOD THAT MAKES HER GAG: Blueberries
DAVID
(he/him)
DAVID BRAVO // DRUMS, PIANO
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Music (in progress)
PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO KNOW: He used to be a semi-professional swimmer in Peru and represented his country!
HE FEELS MOST ALIVE: Having lunch or dinner with his family.
FOOD THAT MAKES HIM GAG: Pickles and cucumbers
JD
(he/him)
JD SPEELMAN // BASS, GUITAR, DRUMS, PIANO
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Music, Composition Major
PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO KNOW: He's terrible with technology
NEXT PLACE HE'S TRAVELING: Ireland
FOOD THAT MAKES HIM GAG: Pickles
CLAYTON
(he/him)
CLAYTON AMERO // GUITAR, PIANO, BASS
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Jazz & Contemporary Popular Music, Guitar Major + Diploma in Jazz & Contemporary Popular Music.
PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO KNOW: He used to help run his family's firewood business!
NEXT PLACE HE'S TRAVELING: Yerevan, the capital of Armenia
FOOD THAT MAKES HIM GAG: He loves it all!
WREN
(he/him)
WREN KAUFFMAN // STUDIO COORDINATOR
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Arts, Psychology Major (in progress)
NEXT MASTERCLASS HE'S TAKING: How to knit a sweater.
NEXT PLACE HE'S TRAVELLING: Hmmmm...probably somewhere with a lot of frogs.
HE FEELS MOST ALIVE: When it's Halloween!
JORDON
(he/him)
JORDON GRASCHUK // GUITAR, BASS, DRUMS, PIANO
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Education + Bachelor of Music
NEXT PLACE HE'S TRAVELLING: Straight to a 5-star in Cancun!
NEXT MASTERCLASS HE'S TAKING: Bouldering/climbing
HE FEELS MOST ALIVE WHEN: Writing, tracking or mixing in the studio!
TAYLOR
(she/her)
TAYLOR MCHUGH // STUDIO COORDINATOR
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Arts, Criminology Major (in progress)
FOOD THAT MAKES HER GAG: Bleu cheese
NEXT MASTERCLASS SHE'S TAKING: Mixology
PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO KNOW: Her thumbs bend back at a 90 degree angle!
MARGRET
(she/they)
MARGRET ELEGINO // VOCALS, PIANO, GUITAR
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Music (in progress)
NEXT MASTERCLASS THEY'RE TAKING: Foreign languages. All of them!
NEXT PLACE THEY'RE TRAVELING: Japan
PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO KNOW: they grew up and lived in Saudi Arabia for 10 years!
JAKE
(he/him)
JAKE PEAKE // DRUMS, GUITAR
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Music in Jazz & Contemporary Pop, Composition Major (in progress)
NEXT MASTERCLASS HE'S TAKING: Drawing or painting
NEXT PLACE HE'S TRAVELING: Seoul, Korea
PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO KNOW: He played water polo!
JESSE
(they/them)
JESSE TOLLESTRUP // PIANO, VOCALS, GUITAR
EDUCATION: Diploma in Applied Music
NEXT MASTERCLASS THEIR TAKING: Hide tanning! They like to hunt deer.
THEY FEEL MOST ALIVE DURING: A morning sunbeam coffee. A piano scale played leisurely. Standing in the branches of a tree.
FOOD THAT MAKES THEM GAG: The sauce on the donair pizza from Dominoes.
ANNA
(she/they)
ANNA APPLETON // PIANO, GUITAR, VOCALS, DRUMS
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Music (in progress)
FOOD THAT MAKES HER GAG: Room temperature protein-shakes
NEXT MASTERCLASS SHE'S TAKING: Lead climbing
PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO KNOW: She was on the wrestling team in high school!
LOGAN
(he/him)
LOGAN CALDER // BASS, GUITAR, UKULELE
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Music
NEXT MASTERCLASS HE'S TAKING: Carpentry or woodworking
ONE FOOD THAT MAKES HIM GAG: Mushrooms. They may be the worst thing to ever grow on earth!
PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO KNOW: He almost became a forensic scientist!
IZZY
(she/her)
IZZY ANDERSON // PIANO, UKULELE, GUITAR
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Social Work (in progress) + RCM
NEXT PLACE SHE'S TRAVELLING: A tour of Canada!
ONE FOOD THAT MAKES HER GAG: Almost all fruit. She's more a veggie gal.
SHE FEELS MOST ALIVE WHEN: It's 10am and she's been up since 7am!
JACK
(he/him)
JACK MCDONALD-COCKRALL // PIANO, VOCALS
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Arts (in progress)
NEXT PLACE HE'S TRAVELLING: Barcelona to watch a soccer match!
NEXT MASTERCLASS HE'S TAKING: Cooking class with Gordon Ramsay
HE FEELS MOST ALIVE WHEN: He's playing music live or playing soccer live!
TESSA
(she/her)
TESSA ROBINSON // STUDIO COORDINATOR
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Education (in progress), Diploma of Speech-Language Pathology Assistance
NEXT MASTERCLASS SHE'S TAKING: Photography
NEXT PLACE SHE'S TRAVELING: Somewhere with a good beach!
SHE FEELS MOST ALIVE WHEN: It's summertime and she's on a paddleboard at sunset.
RYAN
(he/they)
RYAN KORBUTT // DRUMS, GUITAR, BASS
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Music in Jazz and Contemporary Popular Music (in progress)
NEXT MASTERCLASS THEY'RE TAKING: How to hold back the blinding flood of tears that shows up when cutting an onion.
NEXT PLACE THEY'RE TRAVELING: Turkey
IF THEY COULD JAM WITH ANY BAND: Tom Waits!
KEANNA
(she/they)
KEANNA REID // PIANO, GUITAR, UKULELE, VOCALS
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Education (in progress)
ONE THING THAT MAKES HER GAG: Smoothies. Texture is just not her vibe!
PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO KNOW: she has a pretty big interest in fishkeeping! She keeps bettas and hopes to have a community tank someday.
NEXT PLACE SHE'S TRAVELING: Ireland or Italy!
OUR STORY
Dan was a junior high band teacher who ran an after-school rock program. Nella was working in the world of post-secondary and had a deepset curiosity about people and business. They both believed in the potential and capacity of youth with all their hearts.
Fast forward a few years, Dan decided to take a break from teaching to pursue his Master of Music. This is when the conversations started. This is when the dreams started. They started to dream about creating something different. About introducing kids to a whole new way of learning music. They imagined community, creativity, belonging. And fun! Having a crazy amount of fun.
In 2012, Dan and Nella decided to take the leap and Backbeat was founded on Whyte Ave in Edmonton. They started with about 25 students, one rock band and a life-size cardboard cut-out of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory. Today, Backbeat has taught hundreds of kids and formed dozens of kid rock bands. Backbeat students have played on stages at major festivals, community events, and in back alley rock shows.
We're changing the way kids learn music. We're giving them a fun place to connect and try new things so they can grow in confidence and be proud of who they are. As for Sheldon? He's still here, but...well...let's just say he's not exactly aging gracefully.
WANT TO JOIN THE FUN?
Use the button below to see if we're hiring and learn more about what we look for in a new team member.