About Us
Rock Dojo is proud to be named the “Best Guitar Educator in Portland” for 2024 by Distinguished Teaching. This honor reflects our commitment to providing exceptional music education and inspiring young musicians throughout the community.
Our History
Rock Dojo is a Black-owned, family-owned business based in Portland, Oregon. We founded Rock Dojo in 2015 after a year of research and development with the help of The Microenterprise Services of Oregon (MESO). This initiative stemmed from Brian’s childhood passions for rock, guitar, and martial arts, combined with a desire to address public schools’ lack of access to arts education. As music educators, we recognized the potential of merging guitar instruction with a martial arts belt system curriculum.
Over the last decade, we meticulously developed the Rock Dojo after-school program, impacting thousands of students across the Portland Metro area, thanks to the collaborative efforts of organizations such as MESO, SBDC, SBLC, RACC, Portland Parks and Recreation, Bienestar de La Familia, IFCC, NAYA, Oregon Arts Commission, Multnomah County Cultural Council, The Black Chamber of Commerce, and The Dirt.
As music teachers, we faced two primary challenges: inspiring children with busy schedules to practice and creating engaging, relevant content for today’s kids. To address these challenges, we implemented a hybrid model whereby students attend weekly in-person classes and receive online practice support to help them internalize the material and concepts covered during in-person classes.
But our work doesn’t stop in the classroom! You can find us out in the community performing live rock concerts for kids at schools, libraries, and public parks, or you can see our award-winning, original metal musical for kids and families, “Elijah & the Sacred Song.”
Why do we do it? Well, we love sharing the positive power of rock with children, enabling them to enjoy the numerous benefits of music education, including developing social skills, building project-based self-confidence, and fostering a lifelong love of music.
At Rock Dojo, we believe in the power of music and storytelling to provide new, challenging, and positive artistic experiences for children. As educators, we prioritize our responsibility to communicate, engage, and support children in their musical journeys. That’s why we’ve created a structured learning path while remaining attentive to each student’s needs and learning styles so that Rock Dojo remains an inclusive, innovative program.
As we like to say:
“We’re making the world a better place, one riff, one chord, and one guitar lesson at a time.”
Meet Brian Parham – Founder and Lead Instructor for Rock Dojo
Brian Parham is a multidisciplinary artist, composer, and educator based in Portland, Oregon. He is the founder of Rock Dojo, an award-winning youth music education program that transforms rock guitar into a vehicle for empowerment, creativity, and community building. With over a decade of experience and more than 1,500 students taught, Brian combines storytelling, original composition, and gamified learning to inspire confidence and grit in the next generation.
Brian’s major works include:
The Nullsong Chronicles – A genre-blending comic-meets-curriculum set in a dystopian world where music is outlawed. It follows a young runaway who joins an underground resistance to master the Sacred Song and fight back against silence.
Elijah & the Sacred Song – A heavy metal musical for youth about two siblings who uncover a magical guitar method book and must battle a wicked god of metal to save their world. Imagine Mad Max meets Iron Maiden.
Award: 2023 Best New Musical Theatre, Live & In ColorSix-String Showdown – A high-octane stage prequel to Elijah & the Sacred Song, where Destiny and Elijah are summoned from slavery to face Ahriman in a guitar duel that could decide the fate of their village.
Award: 2024 Fertile Ground Grow GrantEscape from Survivor Land – An epic fantasy adventure in which three friends, trapped in the land of the dead, embark on a journey to restore their memories and return to the living. Think Skottie Young’s I Hate Fairyland meets Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book—with lots of hard rock and metal.
As both an educator and storyteller, Brian fuses contemporary rock culture with immersive narratives to engage students not just as learners, but as heroes in their own journey. His work centers youth voice, builds community, and offers a replicable model of culturally relevant, high-impact arts education.
He was named Portland’s Best Guitar Educator by Distinguished Teaching, earned the Steve Vai Award for Outstanding Guitarist at Berklee College of Music, and was recognized as The Rising Star of Oregon by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Meet Sophie Parham – Co-Founder for Rock Dojo
Sophie Parham, the co-founder of Rock Dojo, is a passionate guitar instructor with a background in violin and piano. A Berklee College of Music graduate, Sophie’s’ empathic and positive teaching style focuses on developing complete musicianship and fostering a love for music.
Our Community Partners
Here are some of our fabulous community partners we’ve been working with over the past decade:
