Adam, 6, learns the acoustic guitar(©AAH/Alan Wright)
The DeRosa Music Academy opened in Park Street, Horsham, last November. AAH met franchise owner Emma Gordon to find out more about the Academy…
What is DeRosa Music Academy? The business was founded in 2015 by John Bliss, with the first Academy opening in Bishop’s Stortford. The idea was to create musical hubs for adults and children in a town centre location. By offering tuition for various instruments under one roof, John created a different environment to a school classroom or that offered by private tutors. The idea was that people would enjoy the experience of learning an instrument.
What’s the format? In Horsham, we have five rooms available for tuition, and these are available to self-employed tutors throughout the week. Rather than teaching privately, tutors can benefit from the marketing and online booking system of a well-established Academy. It’s these administrative elements that musicians tend to find most tedious! Also, tutors and students can come together to create a vibrant environment where they can share ideas and talk about music.
What instruments can people learn? In Horsham, we offer tuition for drums, piano, flute, electric and acoustic guitar, ukulele and bass. We also have a singing coach, and offer music theory and music production tuition. In the holidays, we run a range of summer schools and workshops, with occasional showcases that give people the chance to show off their skills to family and friends.
Emma Gordon, Franchise Owner (©AAH/Alan Wright)
How many tutors do you work with? We have seven teachers, but as we only have five rooms, they balance tuition around other commitments. The team includes Assistant Director Kim (who teaches guitar, drums and bass), Nicole (singing), Paul (guitar, bass and drums), Ann (piano and flute), Monica (piano), Olly (drums), Joshua (guitar, bass and ukulele) and Bobbie (singing and musical theatre). We also have an apprentice, Mikey, who is passionate about music and hopes to follow in Kim’s footsteps by achieving a Level 3 Apprenticeship and becoming a tutor in the future. Other Academies may also teach instruments such as cello, violin, clarinet and saxophone. So far, demand in Horsham has been for guitar, drums and piano. However, if that was to change, we could work with more tutors in future.
You also have a shop area? Most DeRosa Academies have a shop and they vary from one town to the next. In Horsham, it was important to offer instruments for beginners, so we have a range of affordable electric and acoustic guitars, as well as ukuleles. We already stock Brunswick guitars and hope to soon introduce Tanglewood guitars too. We also sell accessories such as guitar straps, strings and picks. As it has been a while since Horsham had a music shop, people have been supportive, as they would rather buy locally than online.
Ann Harper teaches the piano (©AAH/Alan Wright)
How many DeRosa Academies are there? The 10th Academy will be opening soon. Most are in the south east, but we are the only one in Sussex. The founder is an old friend of mine and asked if I would consider running a franchise. I must confess that I’m not a musician and have little previous experience in business or retail, having worked as an educational support worker for 30 years. So, running an Academy was out of my comfort zone. But the opportunity sounded exciting and my father and my partner – who both have extensive business experience – were supportive from the outset.
Why choose Horsham? Although I live in Burgess Hill, I’ve spent years working at a secondary school in Horsham. John was looking to expand his business and told me that the format worked best in market towns. So, I thought Horsham was the ideal location. There’s nothing else quite like it in the District, so we knew there was a good opportunity. We hit the ground running and having opened in November 2025, now have 125 students and are starting to establish a wonderful community within the Academy.
Further information: To find out more about the range of tuition available at DeRosa Horsham, visit: www.derosamusichorsham.co.uk
Article first published on 1st July 2026. Photos: Alan Wright Photography; Words: Ben Morris