New Hatboro studio draws budding songwriters of all ages

Anthony Viscounte taught his first music lesson, on the drums, during his junior year at Hatboro-Horsham High School. The student was a third-grader about the same age Viscounte himself was when he first began playing percussion.

The Warminster resident would go on to teach himself piano, guitar and electric bass while also immersing himself in songwriting. He ultimately received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he majored in the craft. But while he has accomplished much in his relatively young career as a musician — from touring the world with Philadelphia Sinfonia and Strauss Symphony of America to recording and producing two albums of original songs — Viscounte has found his true passion in coming full circle.

In March, he opened his own private studio to teach music and songwriting in Hatboro.

For two years, he ran the Viscounte Academy of Music from a corner of the Horsham farmhouse that was home to the Scatter Joy Center for the Arts. But now that he’s hung out his shingle in his own spacious office suite at 55 North York Road, he’s growing both his reputation and his roster.

“My goal is to help enrich the arts in this great town,” he says, noting the warm welcome he’s received from other area businesses. “I always admired Hatboro’s history and quaintness, and it is truly a central location for most of my families. It also doesn’t hurt to be able to take a 30-second walk to Wawa, the dry cleaners and the barber shop.”

Viscounte offers, among other lessons, instructions in voice, guitar, piano, bass, songwriting, music theory and artist development.

Many of his more than 50 students come to him with a desire to write their own songs.

“I remember the first song I ever wrote, and the feeling of creating something new out of thin air is miraculous,” he says. “Once kids realize that they can do that — it opens up their whole musical world. The feeling is infectious.”

Two of his students, Rose Elizabeth and Trey DuBose, both 14, were recently selected among the winners in a nationwide Young Songwriters competition sponsored by the Philadelphia Songwriters Project. (They’ll perform their original compositions on May 21 in the finals showcase featuring winners of all ages at Ardmore Music Hall, 23 E. Lancaster Ave, Ardmore.)

“They’re both such special talents,” says Viscounte. “Our songwriting sessions truly rival professional co-writing sessions I’ve done in Nashville and L.A.”

Having penned songs for other artists, as well as his own, he has always considered himself a songwriter first.

“To write songs, you have to wear your heart on your sleeve and be vulnerable,” says Viscounte, who’s been writing for 15 years. “It’s a wonderful feeling to know that my students feel comfortable enough with me as their mentor to open up about their lives. Songwriting is therapeutic and to know that I have any small part in helping them express their emotions is a gift.”

Ultimately, he’d like to make the Viscounte Academy of Music the premier songwriting academy in the greater Philadelphia area.

But there will always be a place for playing covers of hit songs, which he believes have as much value to aspiring troubadours as learning to craft their own lyrics.

“The songs we write are a product of every song we’ve ever listened to. All of those songs are stored somewhere in the deep crevices of our minds, and when we create, we are subconsciously taking little bits and pieces of those songs and grouping them together in new and unique ways to make them our own,” says Viscounte.

He also believes students are more inclined to develop an affinity for their instrument if lessons are shaped around the music they love, whether it’s pop, country, opera, folk, jazz or anything in between.

“My goal, above all else, is to give them a chance once a week to escape all the stress of life, create and learn music they love — and most importantly to have fun,” says Viscounte.