Enchong Dee (left), Joshua Garcia (second from left) and other members of the AOR Philippines team
With the goal of paying it forward for all the good business opportunities that came his way while working in show biz, Enchong Dee has partnered with close friend, Joshua Garcia, among others, to put up a music school called Academy of Rock.
“I was born and raised in the province where I saw that a lot of people wanted to expand their knowledge in music, not just because they have the talent in singing, but also because they know this could open more opportunities for them, may it be as a performer or teacher,” said Enchong, who grew up in Naga, Camarines Sur.
“I want to meet people with the same eagerness and passion. If I’ve managed to achieve what I have now while in show biz, the same opportunities could also be given to them in the future, but of course, with the right training and exposure,” Enchong told Inquirer Entertainment on Friday.
Enchong and Joshua recently inked a partnership deal—to relaunch the Academy of Rock (founded in Singapore) here in the country—along with music producers Jonathan Manalo and Rox Santos; visual artist and missionary Kristine Lim; producer, director and entrepreneur Benedict Mariategue and businessmen Jacinto Lee Gan Jr.
Academy of Rock (AOR) founder Priscila Teo witnessed the event virtually via Zoom, together with her Singaporean team. AOR is registered with the Ministry of Education in Singapore.
‘Unique setup’
AOR Philippines is a music school dedicated to teaching rock and popular music. It offers “a unique teaching setup that goes beyond that of a traditional music school,” Enchong explained. “[This means that] we have structured our school, its lessons and syllabi to provide music education (focused on rock and pop) that is holistic, yet tailored to match the aptitude, capabilities, and needs of each student.”
Meanwhile, Joshua has always been very private about the “few businesses” he has gotten involved in over the years, saying he doesn’t want to talk about them because “I don’t want to brag naman.” For AOR Philippines, however, he eagerly allowed his celebrity status to be used in order to promote it.
“I’m excited for AOR. I’m excited about our journey as business partners. Since I have a few businesses already, working with partners is no longer new to me,” said Joshua. “It’s a music school to better hone the talent of the youth. Filipinos are very talented performers—we’re known for that. Music is very close to my heart, too, especially since I’m from the industry also. I consider this a very good investment.”
Joshua said it was actually Enchong who convinced him to join this new business venture. “I want to thank him for this. He started by telling me stories about AOR. I agreed because I realized that Enchong and I have the same mindset. I also understood his goal for AOR Philippines so saying ‘yes’ to joining the team wasn’t that hard for me.”
Enchong added: “Plus, AOR Philippines will not stop at just being a rock or pop musical school, we will gradually move into being a ‘middle man’ for Filipinos who dream of being in the world of performing arts here and, hopefully, around Asia.”AOR Philippines also gives more opportunities to their students by including a recording studio and talent management as part of its services. It is currently accepting enrollees for online classes. Visit its Instagram account @aorphilippines for inquiries. INQ