After teaching at The Fabulous School of Music for a few years, I was in the fortunate position to be asked by one of the owners (Tom) if I was interested in taking over the school. The timing was unfortunate, the pandemic was in full swing, I had gone from having over 30 students to only 5. I assumed the other teachers were in a similar boat and needless to say, the school was on hard times.
Tom, was doing all he could to keep the school from closing, throwing benefit concerts, taking donations, and finally a business loan. Tom and I had spoken before about passing the torch but it was always hypothetical. Now the time had come, Tom was ready to enter his next phase, a well-earned retirement performing Beatles songs with his wife and continuing to teach his favorite students.
It was time for me to step up and do the thing I had always talked about doing.
When I agreed, I knew very little about the rich history of The Fabulous School of Music and I had always wondered about the name. I heard from some older musicians about the long-standing excellent reputation the school had, but that’s about it. During the process of buying the business, I learned the story of Fabulous, which I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard before. I really wanted to share this story, and I think everyone who has ever been a student or a teacher will enjoy it.
Here it is:
The Birth of the Fabulous School of Music
The story begins with the mysterious “other owner” whom I had never met: Tom’s friend and business partner Dave Fabris. Fabris (hint hint). In 1987, when I was 1 year old, Dave was shopping at his local music store, Steve’s Quality Instruments in Danvers. At the time, Steve wanted to offer music lessons as a means to get foot traffic into his store. He offered Dave a job and Dave took to teaching like a fish to water.
By 1991, when Steve was talking about retiring and closing the store, Dave was teaching 40-50 students a week. If you don’t know, 40-50 students is a ton and a sure sign of a great teacher. Not wishing to be out of a job, and not wanting to stop teaching his students, Dave offered to take over the business.
If you didn’t get my hint earlier, Dave’s last name, Fabris, sounds a bit like “fabulous”, hence his nickname, Mr. Fabulous. Although at the time, Tom was running the Guitar Center in Danvers, it was his idea to name the school after Mr. Fabulous himself. Thus The Fabulous School of Music was born.
Moving to Beverly
In 1999 Dave moved the school to our current location on 8 Bow Street, right in the heart of downtown Beverly. However, at first, they only rented the basement and first floor. The second floor was occupied by the Beverly Education Department. In 2001 Tom left Guitar Center to officially join the team as a teacher and co-owner and began to put his energy and vision into the school as well. Together they moved to the 2nd floor and completely built it out to be full of lesson rooms, giving the first floor and basement to a Russian driving school.
To this day, Tom is convinced that the driving school was a front for Russian spies as he never saw a single student enter or exit the building. A few years later, the Russian driving school moved out and Fabulous School of Music scooped up the basement and first floor once again. These were exciting moves for Dave and Tom and their passion and energy went into every change and expansion.
In 2002, Dave moved to New York City, he remained co-owner, but Tom became the captain of the ship. He intended to carry on with Dave’s vision but Tom’s passion for teaching, generosity, and the Beatles took over and guided the next phase of The Fabulous School of Music. When I asked the current teachers if they knew where the Fabulous name came from, they all assumed it came from Toms’s love of the Beatles (The Fab Four) as there are Beatles posters, album covers, books, blankets, tapestries, and even Beatles figurines everywhere you look.
The Fabulous School of Music Philosophy
Tom’s passion for teaching is powerful, and it shaped the school. Tom was very selective about the teachers he hired. He didn’t just want to hire good teachers but he wanted them to be good people as well. Tom says it best:
“A good teacher knows their stuff. A great teacher knows their stuff AND transfers their passion to the student.” -Tom Moore
To Dave the important thing was creating a unique curriculum catered to the individual student.
“I think a lot of teachers try to fit everybody into the same mold. We figure what the goals of each student are and we come up with a game plan around those goals.” -Dave Fabris
These are my sentiments exactly. But they weren’t just about private lessons, they were also interested in getting the students to play together and giving them opportunities to perform.
“It’s more for teenagers, a place for them to go. It’s really, really nice. The great thing about the ensembles is everything they do in their private lessons come to fruition. They can communicate with other musicians and with an audience.” – Dave Fabris
When it comes to playing with a group Tom’s passion comes from a very personal place. He believes strongly in the value of playing in a group for kids and what he calls healthy peer pressure. He thinks the confidence gained from performing makes a difference in all areas of the students life, not just music. When talking about kids in Fabulous School of Music Rock Ensembles:
“A lot of them have problems in school and it’s music that gives them confidence. When they get confidence it changes every aspect of their lives. They’re looking at themselves through eyes they didn’t have before. That’s what music did for me. That’s why these rock ensembles are so important.” – Tom Moore
Perhaps one of the reasons why Tom asked me if I wanted to take over the school is because he felt that my values were aligned with their vision. I believe that playing with other musicians is one of the most rewarding things you can do in music, second only to performing with your friends in front of a receptive crowd. It has always been a priority of mine to get my students playing in groups and performing.
Thanks to the vision of Tom and Dave, Fabulous School of Music has grown to have 8 lesson rooms spread among 3 floors, 13 excellent teachers teaching virtually any instrument you can think of, and a long-standing reputation for quality music education. Big shoes to fill.
The Next Phase
Through the years I’ve been teaching there, I was fulfilling Dave and Tom’s vision without even knowing it. Now that the torch has been passed to me, I only want to follow their lead and provide music education for the city of Beverly and the surrounding towns. I want to add some new features, such as group classes, recording, rehearsal spaces, and some other exciting ideas I’m not ready to share. But all these changes are in the spirit of the original Fabulous School of Music.
Since I started teaching music more than 15 years ago, I’ve always fantasized about owning a music school, and I always had a name in mind. When I became the owner of Fabulous School of Music I struggled with the idea of changing the name of a school with such a rich history and excellent reputation. However, in order to truly carry out Dave and Tom’s vision, I need to put my heart and soul into it. I need to make the school an expression of myself.
The new name for the school is Beverly Music Academy. Same teachers, same facility, same vision, just a new name.
I look forward to many years of providing the North Shore with quality music education, and hopefully one day make Dave and Tom proud.
