Local music school is former L.A. producer's new passion project

GRAND LEDGE - Brian Roth's music is the backdrop to hundreds of television episodes. He's created the music that plays during Grey's Anatomy, American Idol and Agents of Shield.

He worked as a sound producer on four of Ken Burns' documentaries, including "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" and "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History."

He's produced the sound for over 10,000 commercials for national juggernauts like McDonald's, Ikea and AT&T.

The Muskegon native lived and worked in Los Angeles for two decades, spending his days in sound booths recording the voices of Ben Kingsley, Tom Hanks and John Lithgow.

But that was before his family's move to Grand Ledge in 2014.

These days most of Roth's T.V. music scores are created in a basement studio at his Grand Ledge home. He spends his days there and in the evenings you'll find him at The Roth Academy of Music.

The 2,200-square-foot building on Saginaw Highway, with its giant fireplace in the entry way and hardwood floors throughout, is Roth's side venture.

At the music school students of any age and experience level can learn the cello, piano, violin, guitar and a host of other instruments. Most of the instructors are graduate students at Michigan State University, who utilize four lesson rooms for one-on-one classes.

Roth opened the music school last November. It maintains an enrollment of just 22 students but the business is less a money-making endeavor than a passionate hobby realized.

And Roth's way of connecting with Grand Ledge.

"I didn't want to just be this hermit in my basement working with people in L.A. and New York every day," he said. "I realized, there's a staff for a school here and I wanted to give back."

20 years in L.A.

Raising two kids in L.A. can be challenging.

The sprawling city is worlds away from where Roth grew up on Lake Michigan in Muskegon. He studied guitar and bass as a youngster and, after graduating from Hope College, went straight to the west coast.

In his 20s it was the perfect place to make his mark.

"I felt like I hit the roof in Michigan and I needed to go out there," Roth said. "People believe they can do things out there. They believe there's no ceiling."

Roth adopted the same attitude. He started working at a record store but soon made the jump to an advertising agency and then a studio. By the time he left for another studio, Sound Advice, he was a chief audio engineer involved in the production of countless commercials and documentaries.

He spent seven years at Sound Advice, producing radio and TV promotions for shows and film. Meanwhile he freelanced, creating music for network shows and commercials.

"I was good at it," Roth said. "I was fast. I got to work on different things every day and meet different people."

L.A. producer and editor Stephan Robley, who worked with Roth at Sound Advice, said Roth is one of the best producers he's ever worked with.

"Lots of people can edit but very few people understand where musical and emotional ties to a product should come from," he said. "He's one of the few people who can translate that."

But Roth and his wife Renee` missed their family in Michigan.

Their children, daughter Jordan, 10, and son Miles, 5, were getting older and missing the opportunity to spend time with grandparents, aunts and uncles.

Back to Michigan

When they decided to come home, to relocate to Grand Ledge, opening a music academy wasn't even a notion.

But Roth loved music.

"It's always been everything to me," he said. "It's just a piece of everything I do."

He realized that a local music school would offer him another opportunity to be around more of it.

"If you take a kid and put him in his garage and he plays guitar, he thinks he wants to be a rock star," said Roth. "What he doesn't know is that there's a million different things in between...How's he supposed to aim for anything if all he knows is rock star?"

At Roth Academy students meet with their teachers for 30-minute lessons as often as they want.

Instruments are available for rent to own and parents can watch the lessons from the lobby. Every room is equipped with a camera and those images are broadcast on a TV screen where they wait.

Jorryn Platte, 11, has been taking drum lessons there for two months.

"It's fun," he said. "I have a drum set in my room now and I practice every day. It doesn't feel like work because you're doing it at your own will."

That sentiment is one MSU student and academy teacher Leah Brzyski loves to promote. She'll graduate with a degree in vocal performance and music education later this year. But even after she starts student teaching she plans to continue serving as a Roth Academy instructor.

"It's exactly what I want to do," she said. "I don't think there's anything more rewarding than being able to open someone up to music and watch them learn."

Roth agreed.

"Music is my heart," he said.

Contact Rachel Greco at (517) 528-2075 or rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.

Learn more

Roth Academy of Music is located at 625 E. Saginaw Hwy. in Grand Ledge. Lessons, 30-minutes each, are offered for several different instruments at flat rates. Call 626-1168 or visit the website at www.rothacademy.com . For more about owner Brian Roth visit www.brianrothmusic.com .