About AMP
Play with a band. Grow with a band.
The Academy of Musical Performance is a contemporary music education program whose goal is to enrich the lives of young musicians living in the Coachella Valley by fostering productivity and social responsibility through creativity, communication and collaboration in the development and enhancement of musical performance and concert production skills through participation in a "rock band" style educational setting.
AMP offers multiple forward-thinking music programs to students between ages 8—18 to engage young people in music making. AMP's Rock Band programs teach youth how to play in a band and facilitates performances throughout the community, keeping kids engaged in positive community-based activities. AMP's Private Lesson program offers affordable and accessible lessons for beginners-to-advanced musicians. preAMP offers group lessons on ukulele to children, and our Instrument Loan program allows anyone to affordably explore an instrument.
AMP is known for its outstanding summer program, AMP Summer Camp, featuring the Valley's top musicians teaching, in small rock band format, Coachella Valley's young musicians in their performance and concert production skills through rehearsals, workshops, individual instruction, and live performances. AMP quickly expanded our programming to offer AMP Fall and Spring, continuing the rock band education and experience throughout the school year, along with building other programs such as preAMP and AMP’s Instrument Zoo.
AMP Summer, Spring, and Fall is open to students between ages 11—18 from the desert communities of Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Bermuda Dunes, Indio, Coachella, and Thermal.
Why & how was AMP created?
In 2015, AMP was an idea by Coachella Valley Community Trust (CVCT) board member, Roman Whittaker, who noticed our schools were lacking music instruction. He pitched it to Goldenvoice who had been supporting the youth of the valley with CVCT. Goldenvoice committed to three years of seed funding to launch the program.
After the inaugural AMP Summer Camp in 2015, opportunities to expand AMP’s educational programming began pouring in with community support and family demand. Since 2015, AMP has created eight unique programs and curriculums to offer new opportunities for local children and families and helped to foster a respectful and responsible community of musical youth in the Coachella Valley. The effects of AMP’s visionary programming are coming to fruition as AMP students have been accepted with full and partial scholarships to the nation’s top music universities, while others have kept their talents in the community, creating open and accepting music scenes for their extended networks.
AMP accepts:
Vocalists
Guitarists
Bass Guitarists
Keyboardists
Drummers
Percussion Players
Electronic Music Producers
Orchestral Instruments (on a case-by-case basis)
AMP's Mission Statement
The Academy of Musical Performance is a contemporary music education program whose goal is to enrich the lives of young musicians living in the Coachella Valley by fostering productivity and social responsibility through creativity, communication and collaboration in the development and enhancement of musical performance and concert production skills through participation in a "rock band" style educational setting.
Staff & Instructors
Abie Perkins
Program Lead/Band Coach/Instructor
Abie Perkins has been in the entertainment world for over 40 years, performing all over the world either as a smooth vocalist, pianist, or hypnotic saxophonist! With an Entertainment Philosophy degree from Ball State University, his love and passion for the arts always rings true when he performs!nships and developed viable high-quality solutions,” stated Penn.
Juan Espino
Band Coach/Instructor
Juan is a guitarist and keyboardist who regularly gigs with different bands in different styles, is active as a session musician for recordings and won Best Guitarist for the CV Weekly Music Awards.
Talia Lowell
UKULELE Instructor
Talia Lowell has a passion for music that is undeniable. She started singing at a young age and participated in an all-girls choir for many years. The choir was accompanied by ukulele, and this inspired her to start playing the instrument for herself. So, at age 9 she joined the Ukulele Band at King Kamehameha III Elementary School in Lahaina, Hawaii. In the years that followed she continued to broaden her understanding through personal study and classical guitar lessons and eventually chose the Baritone Ukulele to be her main instrument.
Talia has performed in multiple school performances, many community events, local jam sessions, and even at the famous Aloha Theater on the big island of Hawaii. She has studied voice, ukulele, music theory, song writing, and dance from private instructors and continues to take private music lessons to this day. She has experience teaching private ukulele lessons and is currently involved with ensemble ukulele lessons as an assistant to the world-famous Jeanie Cunningham. Talia looks forward to sharing her love of music, teaching and learning from her students, expanding her musical understanding, and bringing joy to those around her through the beautiful language of music.