Today we’d like to introduce you to Andy Allen.
Andy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My wife, Pam, and I opened Coastal Music Studios (www.coastalmusicstudios.com) 9 years ago with 1 student. Today we have a thriving music teaching studio with 14 people on our team and over 300 students taking lessons each week. We teach Piano, Singing/Voice, Drums, Guitar, Bass & Ukulele here in our Oceanside studio and online.
We’re also in our 10th year of offering the North County Children’s Choir, a free choir for 2nd-8th grade students here in the community. In 2017 we started the Coastal Music & Arts Foundation (www.coastalmusicandartsfoundation.org) to formalize our charitable work in serving the community around us. This Fall/Holiday session is our first choir back from the pandemic and we are incredibly excited about our 9th Annual Christmas 4 Kidz charity concert coming up on Sunday, Dec. 19th. (www.christmas4kidz.com) All proceeds from this concert are given to charities that serve children in need. The heartbeat of our work is to show kids they can use their talents to change the world!
I was a touring indie artist for over 20 years and my wife is a classically trained pianist and educator. Our combined passion for music and wanting to share it with others was the dream that became Coastal Music Studios. We have 5 grown children and love living here in Oceanside.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As with almost any new dream and business, there were plenty of challenges along the way. We opened our doors on Sept. 1st, 2012 with 1 student. The growth was slow but steady for the first 3-4 years. I would often joke that being an entrepreneur is knowingly being on the edge of success and failure in every moment.
Our first major hurdle came 3 months after we first opened our doors. The building we were renting in sold and we were given 6 months to find a new home. We looked all over North County and it seemed like every door was closing. With less than a month remaining before we had to move, we found this incredible open space on Coast Highway just South of Downtown Oceanside and the landlord decided to take a chance on us. It was a larger space than we had planned on leasing, but we also felt that the risk was worth it….and little did we know just how fun the journey was about to get. We built teaching rooms a couple at a time and continued adding rooms as we had more students and teachers join the studio. It’s been awesome!
The pandemic lockdowns were another incredible challenge for us. Finding out on a Friday that we all needed to go home…and having to immediately shift to online virtual lessons was a huge adjustment for our team…and for our community of students. It’s been incredible to see how this community of people have stuck with us and really supported our work and given us the opportunity to continue sharing music with our amazing students. With so many families and opinions about the pandemic around us, the biggest challenge continues to be navigating the restrictions governmental agencies throw our way. But as we maintain a spirit of transparency and consistency with our students and families, we continue to be humbled by their support.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
One thing that really sets us apart is that we hire teachers who are not only professional musicians, they are incredible educators. There are many fantastic and talented musicians who just simply aren’t meant to be educators. My job is to find the unicorn…the pro player who is also a rockstar educator! Our team of teachers here at Coastal Music Studios is incredible and they love their students as much as they love music.
We’ve also placed a high priority on performing and that’s why we built a performance venue here at our studio. Stage, lights, pro audio…the works! Our students have many opportunities to perform each year and that really helps them develop their craft and artistry.
Contact Info:
- Email: lessons@coastalmusicstudios.com
- Website: www.coastalmusicstudios.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/coastalmusicstudios
- Facebook: Facebook.com/coastalmusicstudios
- Twitter: @coastalmusicsd
- Youtube: YouTube.com/coastalmusicstudios
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/coastal-music-studios-oceanside-2?osq=coastal+music
