Faculty Member Brings the Cool and the Cred to Students at School of Rock Chatham

Wilhelmus “Will” Sapanaro, a 27 year-old teacher of bass, upright bass, classical piano, guitar, vocals, strings, songwriting, and composition at the School of Rock after school music program in Chatham, doesn’t just provide his students with excellent instruction on their chosen instrument. He also lives what he teaches as a member of some of the hippest emerging bands on the New York area music scene.

“If you’re looking to learn music from someone whose teaching and professional experience is a side hobby, Will is definitely not the guy for you,” says Jamie Lima, General Manager of School of Rock Chatham. “Whether they’re learning the basics or tackling deep music theory, Will’s students are getting their guidance from a guy whose knowledge, authenticity, and ‘chops’ are massive and inarguable.”

A native of Edgewater, Sapanaro has been a faculty member at School of Rock Chatham since 2012. When he’s not teaching at the School – which has been “inspiring kids to rock on stage and in life” for the past eight years - he’s a member of the bands Sweet Fix (which has shared stages with Sebastian Bach, The Tubes, Space Hog, Men Without Hats, and The Dirty Pearls), Blue Food (which has performed with Snarky Puppy, Consider the Source, and Turtle Soup), and the jazz fusion trio The WilHelmus.! Trio At Large. Sapanaro is also the principal upright bassist in the New Jersey City University orchestra. He has endorsement deals with In Tune Guitar Picks, Big Bends Nut Sauce, and guitar equipment company Godlyke Distributing.

Along with his one-on-one lessons with students at School of Rock Chatham, Sapanaro is also the show director of the School’s upcoming tribute concert to Frank Zappa – which is a complex undertaking that only a skilled artisan could successfully teach to young musicians.

“I try to explain things to my students in a multitude of ways, from lots of different places, in order to build not simply memorization, but understanding,” says Sapanaro. “If one can understand why and how things work, it’s easier for him or her to understand and utilize that knowledge and relate it to everything else in their web of experience.”

Summit resident Sam Fishbein, a 15 year-old sophomore at Newark Academy High School in Livingston, studies electric bass, upright bass, flute, keyboard, and composition with Sapanaro at School of Rock Chatham and is also a member of the School’s Frank Zappa seasonal performance program group. Sam believes that much of his progress as a musician is attributable to the education and guidance that he receives at School of Rock from teachers like Sapanaro.

“I can come to Will for anything music or performance-related, and he gives me endless help and advice,” says Fishbein. “A great thing about Will and all the teachers at School of Rock is that they have real experience playing on stage professionally, recording in the studio, and touring, and are very passionate about sharing everything they’ve learned to help students improve as performers and in our own projects. Since I’ve been working with Will, I’ve excelled tremendously on multiple instruments and I’ve also gotten great recording tips that I use with my own band. It’s so impressive and awesome that the teachers at School of Rock live what they teach!”

School of Rock Chatham’s performance of the Sapanaro-directed tribute to the music of Frank Zappa will be presented on Saturday, January 24 at Roxy and Duke’s in Dunellen and Sunday, January 25 at The Crossroads in Garwood.