JP Ahmad
Founder | Principle Director
Jamsheed Pirzada Ahmad graduated from Boston University in 2000 with a B.A in Music Theory and Composition. After leaving Boston, he returned to his hometown of Cleveland, OH and studied piano with James Tannenbaum at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Maria Pla at Cleveland State University where he earned his professional teaching certificate in music. Mr. Ahmad has been teaching piano privately for 15 years and was employed as a public school elementary music teacher from 2006-2014 serving both the communities of Orlando, FL and Austin, TX.
List of accomplishments since starting the Franklin Music Academy:
- In 2010, J.P. and his wife, Shani, founded the Franklin Music Academy with a handful of students. The Academy quickly grew in size due to both the success of J.P.’s teaching methods and the effectiveness of a completely new K-12 curriculum for both piano and guitar designed and implemented by J.P.
- The Franklin Music Academy ran a pilot program for a summer camp concept in 2015. A curriculum was designed for a one week camp which would give total beginners, ages 7-12 years, a chance to learn some basic skills on three different instruments. The program proved its merit when the campers performed two songs for their parents at the end of the week. The trial was very successful and is an annual summer activity for children.
- In 2017, the Franklin Music Academy caught the attention of the owners, Joe and Claire Bruno, of the Montessori school, Parkside Community School, in south Austin. The challenge was presented to teach a guitar curriculum that was educational yet fun to students ranging from 3rd to 6th grade with minimal to beginner skill level. The transition to create a fun guitar class won praises from the kids, staff, and parents. At the time, JP's guitar program was the longest run guitar program at Parkside. Ultimately, the program ended during the pandemic in 2021.
Parkside Parent Testimonial to Executive Team
Claire,
I wanted to share with you (and Joe, but I don't seem to have his email) how great guitar was for Tino today.
Tino is an enthusiastic kid, and I'm not sure I've seen him so excited before, especially about something new. I found out this afternoon that he wasn't really looking forward to Guitar because he thought it would be too hard and he wouldn't be able to do it.
I picked him up at after school today and he was practicing his songs with a bunch of kids around him singing along with him. He insisted we rush home because he couldn't wait to play some more. He insisted his guitar be right in front of his seat in the car because he wanted to hold it.
He came home and played for probably 45 minutes and couldn't wait for his dad to come home to show him. At dinner, he could not stop talking about how cool guitar is and how great JP was. I can tell he hung on every word JP said and that JP really made a connection. He is so excited to continue guitar. He told me he's mad that he can't go to guitar tomorrow and see JP again. He wishes he could have guitar everyday.
So anyway, THANK YOU for encouraging all the kids to do guitar and for finding JP, who obviously is off to a great start at Parkside!
🙂
Ryan
Shani Montique-Ahmad
Co-founder | Operations Manager
Since 6th grade, Shani has always had a fascination with music and without any coercing from her parents she selected the cello and played in the orchestra until her senior year in high school. Years later in 2008, after she graduated from the School of Business at Texas State University, she met her future husband who initially came to Austin to be a rock star.
Shani Montique-Ahmad and her husband, JP, founded Franklin Music Academy in 2010. We have a small, yet competent staff of music instructors. Great care is taken to find the right instructors. JP is the Music Director and Shani is the glue that holds the whole operation together. As the Operations Manager, Shani handles marketing, HR, web design, PR, customer service, bookkeeping, and other daily operations.
Born in Austin to Jamaican immigrants, Shani developed a respect for hard work and a passion for growth. Since the founding of FMA, she feels that she’s finally doing something special that utilizes her full spectrum of skills and knowledge.
As JP is the Music Director, naturally the poster boy and face of the business, Shani takes on supportive roles. She enjoys doing some of the heavy lifting to keep the business going. Running a family-owned business is a dream come true, so she takes great fulfillment from supporting her husband and their shared dream in this way. Shani believes a person should always aspire to fulfill their passion and mentor others in the process.
The City of Austin's Economic Development Department (EDD) launched a special Business Skills Certification program for entrepreneurs in Austin. Classes covered general topics in Marketing, Artificial Intelligence tools, Business Planning, etc. Shani successfully completed the program in 2023 and was awarded a Certificate of Completion from the EDD's first award ceremony with Mayor Kirk Watson leading the event.
In addition to serving as the Operations Manager at the music school, Shani indulges her passion for writing by maintaining a blog focused on diverse topics related to parenting guides and music on the school's website. Shani has a rich history of blogging, having previously contributed to Austin Moms, the premier digital parenting resource in the Austin area. Beyond her blogging endeavors, she also owns a rental management business in Austin, specializing in hosting primarily contract-based travelers.
Nathan Bales
Piano & Trumpet Instructor, Composer
Nathan Bales is an award winning composer of contemporary classical music, and has been described as a ‘young lion in Atlanta’s contemporary classical music scene’ (WAPS, 2014). With over 50 concerts involving his music within the past two years, he has been performed by groups like the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO), The American Modern Ensemble, Chiaro Trio, The Kennesaw State University Trombone Choir, The Composer’s Concord Chamber Orchestra, Clarinets for Conservation, The Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra (APO), and many independent musicians in the Atlanta area.
Nathan’s catalogue is entirely self-published, and all scores are available for purchase through his email. Rentals and PDFS are available.