Instructors
Owner/DirectorJohn King
He/Him – fully vaccinated
John has enjoyed being a professional musician and teacher for many years. He began teaching young children in a private English school and day care in Japan. During his 5 years in Japan he worked with and taught kids as young as 6 months old. John is proud to say that he can change diapers in more than one language.
As manager of this school, John had the opportunity to not only teach Japanese children, but to become a part of their lives by working with their parents and caregivers to develop a child centered approach to music education.
In studying Education at the graduate level, John has learned theory behind child development and education and puts his own spin on these ideas while teaching young kids to develop an appreciation for music.
Since returning from Japan, John has accumulated years of experience teaching music to young people ranging in age from 5 years old to as young as 5 weeks old! He has developed a style all his own in an effort to appeal to both the children and their caregivers with the goal of making and sharing music together.
Assistant Director/InstructorKieran Howes
He/Him – fully vaccinated
You’ve heard “the hardest working man in show business”? Well Kieran is the hardest working man in Monkey Business. At least when it comes to Children’s Music in Ottawa. Kieran works 8 days a week at Monkey Rock Music doing classes, live shows, and is booked solid for day cares, private events, and of course Monkey Rock Music birthday parties.
Kieran has been surrounded by little monkeys his whole life, as he grew up in an in-home daycare that his mother ran as a small business owner. He has a passion for music and picked up his first guitar when he was 10 years old and hasn’t put it down since. Kieran writes and record his own non-Monkey Rock Music for grown ups too! You can often find him in open mics around Ottawa.
Kieran graduated from Carleton University with a Bachelor degree in Political Science and History. Eventually he plans to obtain a graduate degree in Political Economy, but for now he has graduated maxima cum laude in Monkey Rockery! His larger than life personality blended with his unstoppable energy and warm and friendly personality make him Monkey Rock Music’s most popular instructor.
InstructorTaylor Hirsch
He/Him – fully vaccinated
Taylor is our most musically eclectic and rockiest Monkey Rocker. Our newest, most tattoo’d and longest hair’d instructor has always been fascinated with all types of music and both plays and teaches everything from Classical, Jazz, Rock, Pop, Fusion, Funk, and is even in a Death Metal band called DIABHOLICO! He’s also very excited to announce he is planning to create a jazz-rock fusion trio called Tricerabear!
He recently joined Monkey Rock Music, has been playing the guitar for over 7 years and like most Monkey Rockers is about to complete his Bachelor of Music with honours. Taylor is also interested in different facets of music, and plans to get a second minor in Psychology before moving onto a graduate degree in Music Cognition specializing in research on musical development in children. This is not his first time teaching young children in music, he spent years at a musical summer camp and now does private classes.
Not only interested in music. Taylor is passionate about Science (Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Astronomy, Medicine) and Languages as well. He is fluently bilingual in English and French and has even studied and speaks ASL, Latin and German (his family’s native tongue). One of Monkey Rock Music’s newest and biggest advocates, Taylor often raves to everyone her meets that the absolute ‘best way in the world’ to get your day started is clowning around, educating and learning from the kids in his Monkey Rock classes!
InstructorRory Hanchard
He/Him – fully vaccinated
One day Rory will get around to writing his bio.
Instructor Jennifer Tomlinson
She/Her – fully vaccinated
When the opportunity to be a Monkey Rocker came up, it was the perfect chance for Jen to continue her
career in education while allowing music to take a leading role. She has spent over two decades working
with children from birth to age twelve, and almost four decades involved in various aspects of the music
world.
Jen has a variety of unique experiences in both fields – as a professional singer, tutor, nanny, soloist, home daycare owner and operator, lead in several amateur music theatre productions, Early Childhood Educator with the OCDSB, UCDSB and multiple daycares, voice coach, Karate instructor, and last but not least, kindergarten music assistant at the Washington International School in Washington, D.C. Although some of her time in education has not specifically been in the music field, she has always made it her mission to find creative ways to incorporate music into her teaching.
In university, Jen studied English Literature and Psychology, with a special focus on child studies. After a few years of study, she took a long break to raise a family and care for other people’s children. In her
mid-thirties, Jen decided to complement years of experience in shaping young minds by going back to
school, and graduated at the top of her class with a diploma in Early Childhood Education.
Fostering a love of learning, while sharing a love of music with tiny humans, has always been something
that Jen has felt was a privilege. Because of her enormous amount of patience, and gentle, responsive
nature, parents have often called Jen ‘the child whisperer’ – a title she wears with pride. When she’s not
monkeying around, Jen can be found spending quality time with her four teenagers or jamming with her husband (who is also a musician). “For many years, l told everyone that my dream job was to be a Wiggle. This is soooo much better!”