I give this a 3 because they are great with the kids, but struggle with the adults. The teachers their are awesome but the management of the adults leaves something to be desired at times. Maybe not so with the kids and parents but with adults, it has been frustrating.
When I started there they let other members go to other bands and made us wait for our new members. We waited for other members and as we grew, they encouraged us to form a band, helped us make a page, and then agreed in a meeting with the band they would move us forward and after one last semester we would move on. Not all members would go on, but some of us. 2 days later, with no discussion, we received an email telling us we are not allowed to be a band, that they will support us, but if we want to stay with SOR we had to do it their way (it was polite but read like they were fine if we no longer were there.) It was shocking as it was 180 degrees from what we all agreed to. I honestly had no issues if we needed to pivot, but it was handled poorly.
Over my time there I received a few emails from the manager stating things in a manner that made many of us feel like we were not as important as other paying customers. One in particular even alluded to us staying away from a group practicing for the All Stars as we were “strangers.” It was insulting. Many of us are parents and some grandparents…
Additionally, we had a show planned and 45 minutes before the first band went on stage they “discovered” we were not playing there as we were double booked. Turns out they never followed up in advance nor checked the venue’s website (which did not have us listed), so we had to tell all the people we invited to the show (over 50 for our band alone) the show was somewhere else. (30 minutes away.) It turned out to be someone’s yard. I appreciate them scrambling, but it was a big mistake. We all made the best of it and had a great show. It was nice, but many of the people we invited did not show as they just could not devote the time.
At the end of the day, I’d say as an adult who wants to gig, stay away. They are used to dealing with children and tend to treat their adult customers the same way. I honestly would encourage them to rethink the adult program and it’s existence as they vacillate a lot and and have issues honoring their commitments. It’s very confusing for the customer. Many of us have left as a result. Hope it gets better.
