Kelly Riordan, music education entrepreneur and speaker, in a professional portrait for Outside The Bachs.

Kelly Riordan

Co-founder & CEO

Kelly Riordan is a musician, pedagogue, and music business marketer. As the co-founder of Outside the Bachs, she supports musicians in developing their private music studios and delivering the highest quality education to their students. Her passion for music education is present not only in her own studio, but in her support of 5,000+ students in studios around the world.

Her marketing experience began with an internship at the Waukesha County Conservatory of Music, where she was responsible for running outreach programs in the community to build brand awareness and attract new students. Her marketing experience quickly expanded beyond music, and she was actively recruited for organic marketing campaigns by major brands including Cadillac, Red Bull, American Express, and Anheuser-Busch.

Upon relocating after the completion of her graduate program, Riordan used these same principles to grow her private studio to a full-time business of 43 students in less than 3 months. When the majority of lessons moved online in 2020, Kelly stepped up and began helping colleagues learn to teach remotely, refine their business management, and find students through organic marketing.

In addition to creating content and hosting The Outside the Bachs Podcast, Riordan presents regularly at conferences and universities, with recent sessions at The NAMM Show, University of Tennessee, Miami University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

As a performer, she has appeared with the Augusta Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Music Athens, the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, and the Summa Cum Laude Festival in Vienna, Austria. Riordan is also a member of The Athena Trio, an all-female ensemble that aims to foster opportunities for female composers and musicians.

Kelly Riordan holds a Master of Music (MM) in Performance and Literature from the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia and a Bachelor Arts (BA) in Music from the Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her primary teachers include Dr. D Ray McClellan, Todd Levy, and Val Wisnewski. As a Conn-Selmer Artist & Clinician, she exclusively performs on Selmer Paris clarinets.Outside of music, Kelly enjoys baking, water sports, traveling with her husband, and taking their dog, Mahi, for long walks. Kelly Riordan is currently based in Hartland, Wisconsin.

Isak Peterson, co-founder of Outside The Bachs, supporting private music studios.

Isak Peterson

Co-founder & COO

With a background in digital marketing for small businesses, co-founder Isak Peterson runs the operations and marketing for Outside The Bachs. Isak holds an Economics degree from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and completed an entrepreneurship exchange from Jönköping International Business School - Sweden. His previous work includes economic research, customer success, digital marketing and operations mainly for fintech and SaaS organizations.

Isak and Kelly started Outside The Bachs shortly after filling Kelly's teaching studio post graduate school and colleagues were asking for help with recruiting new students. For many music lesson educators, making the jump into entrepreneurship isn't something that is taught in school.

This was the foundation for starting for Outside The Bachs - a growth accelerator for music educators that are building full-time private music studios.

Most music teachers & instructors don't have a way to build a studio with a profitable lesson package, a predictable source of students or a repeatable enrollment process. Outside The Bachs is a growth-focused community that gets results (without paid ads or independently taking a course) for over 300 musicians that are building full time private lesson studios.

Aside from work-life, Isak loves spending time outdoors, competing in sailing races, podcasting, keeping up with world football (soccer?) and Wisconsin based sports teams.

Lyndi Knox, clarinet performer and educator, featured as a team member at Outside The Bachs.

Lyndi Knox

Studio Success Manager

Lyndi Knox is a professional clarinetist and educator based in the Pacific Northwest. Currently, they serve as Adjunct Instructor of Clarinet at Saint Martin’s University and Pierce College Puyallup. With a Master’s degree from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor’s degree from Pacific Lutheran University, Lyndi has performed with several notable orchestras and studied with esteemed musicians.

As a private studio owner and licensed Kindermusik educator, Lyndi specializes in individualized instruction, empowering students to achieve their musical goals through a personalized, creative approach. In their studio, lessons are structured according to each student’s learning style—moving beyond a one-size-fits-all method. Their students have gone on to earn superior ratings at solo/ensemble, join top youth orchestras, perform confidently, and learn to love the process! When not teaching, Lyndi enjoys hiking, practicing yoga, and vegan baking.

Kim Nguyen of Outside The Bachs showcases her dedication to music education.

Kim Nguyen

Live Support Strategist

Kim is a classically trained dramatic coloratura soprano and music educator, specializing in classical and contemporary vocal technique. She is a graduate of Chapman University with two Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance and Music Education. She has premiered numerous newly composed solo and chamber works in collaboration with upcoming, diverse composers, and has performed in reputable choral ensembles internationally. In addition to her vocal and piano studies, Kim studies pedal harp and performs at private events throughout Southern California.

Kim's goal as a teacher is to offer personalized, student-oriented lessons that synthesize creative pedagogical practices, technical proficiency, and authentic creative expression. Her goal as an instructor is to provide a safe space to cultivate each student’s unique musical and artistic voice, and is familiar with working with a wide variety of experience levels in piano and vocal studies. Kim recognizes that there is no singular standard curriculum that fits the unique needs, interests, and learning styles of each of her students. Instead, she customizes and adjusts her content to the goals of each individual student.


Chaz Sonoda, driving success for private music studios at Outside The Bachs.

Chaz Sonoda

Live Support Strategist

A Southern California native, Chaz Sonoda began his clarinet studies at the age of 9. He has appeared as a soloist with the United States Army Band and the Hornell Area Wind Ensemble (NY) and has previously performed with the National Repertory Orchestra, Quartz Mountain Music Festival Orchestra, Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, and IN Series Opera Company. In 2022, Chaz was a prizewinner in both the American Virtuoso International Music Competition and the Philharmonic Society of Arlington’s Young Artist Competition (MA).

From 2012 to 2016, Chaz spent a combined total of nearly one year in China studying with clarinetists He Yi of China Conservatory and Rende Zheng of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (retired), while simultaneously studying Chinese language and literature at Fudan University and the Beijing Language and Culture University.

Additionally, he toured China as co-principal clarinetist of Northwestern University's Symphony Orchestra in 2018.

Since 2018, Chaz has been a member of the clarinet section at the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in Washington D.C., and in 2021, he joined the faculty of American University as professor of clarinet. Chaz earned his Bachelor of Music at DePaul University and Master of Music at Northwestern University and is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy. His primary teachers include Emil Khudyev, Steve Cohen, Stephen Williamson, Julie DeRoche, and Deborah Chodacki.

As a teacher, Chaz has been invited to present masterclasses and workshops at a number of schools around the country, including University of Colorado Boulder, California State Universities Long Beach and Northridge, Northeastern Illinois University, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Northwestern University, as well as the International Clarinet Association's ClarinetFest 2023 in Denver. Chaz has been teaching privately since 2016. His students have earned spots in various honor bands and youth orchestras, and many are selected to play first chair in their school band programs. Additionally, a small number have gone on to study music seriously in undergraduate and graduate programs.

Alyssa Martin, expert vocal instructor and life coach, featured on Outside The Bachs.

Alyssa Martin

Live Support Strategist

Alyssa Martin is a Pennsylvania native who is a Vocal Instructor and Certified Life Coach and is passionate about helping her students develop the skill, courage, and self-awareness they need to express their true vocal power. She has been coaching since 2015, and is the recipient of the Bucks County's Best Life Coach award for two consecutive years, 2020 and 2021. Alyssa has been teaching private vocal lessons for 5 years and has conducted lessons for over 100 different students. Her studio opened in 2017.

As a singer herself who has overcome shyness, anxiety and self-criticism, Alyssa teaches techniques she has studied and developed working through her own fears and obstacles. Alyssa received her vocal training from Scarpell Studio of Singing in the 80s and trained alongside recording artist Pink. Her personal style is a blend of power-projecting (Led Zeppelin, Heart, Linda Ronstadt) and a softer, more emotionally-charged delivery (Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Susan Tedeschi).

Alyssa makes it her mission to help her students break out of their self-imposed limitations and realize how unique their particular gifts truly are. Alyssa performs covers and original songs in an acoustic duo with her husband and also in a full rock band "Bucks County Crops" and the upcoming "Shadow of the Mountain."

Alyssa holds additional certifications as a Yoga for Stress/Anxiety Management Instructor, Heal Your Life® Workshop Leader, and Usui Reiki Master Teacher.

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