Case Studies

David Statham - Perth, Australia

David has a corporate background having worked for Coca-Cola in a sales and marketing role. Having his own music school was a long held dream. David started his school in September 2007 just before the global financial crisis.

He quickly built his school to 250 in first year, 360 second year and then 400 plus. Today David oversees an impressive 850+ students at Forte Canning Vale and has taken on the role of WA Business Development Manager.

David has gone on to win Forte School of the Year over 3 successive years which placed him into Forte Hall of Fame. Below David explains what made him start his own Forte School and what keeps him going.

Lionel Reekie - Auckland, New Zealand

Lionel is a world champion piano accordionist and has been working in music education all his life. Lionel heads a large team of teachers and has a musical family with his wife Elena heading up the Forte Teacher Training team. Lionel & Elena’s daughters were brought up on Forte and have gone on to play and love music and have also competed internationally.

Since this video when Lionel and his team have opened a Forte School in Howick, Auckland. In 2018 we celebrated Lionel, wife Elena and business partner Marcel’s 20th year anniversary with Forte.

Lionel shares his story of how we came to work together.

Angel McIntosh - Brisbane, Australia

Angel started by teaching at a Forte School, fell in love with the courses especially Jungle Music and when given the opportunity to take on the Forte school in 2008 she jumped at it!

Over the years Angel has steadily built her school steadily on firm foundations of teaching excellence and student focussed concerts and performance opportunities that she holds dear. In 2016 Angle relocated her school from Windsor to premises double the size in the neighbouring suburb of Stafford.

Kia Leong - Forte Wantirna - Melbourne, Australia

Kia started teaching in a Forte School after she finished her music degree. She loved the teaching and working with children and music so much that she decided one day she would have a music school of her own.

Kia started out very small and built both her school and her skills along the way. Kia has gone on to win Forte School of the Year for 3 successive years and entered the Hall of Fame with her Platinum Record award in 2018.

Hear about Kia’s journey as she started her school as a young 20 something to today where as a young mum of 2, her Forte School in Wantirna Melbourne is now a thriving business of over 600 students with a waiting list to join.

Nunzio Guinta - Perth, Australia

Nunzio’s family had a small business when he was a boy and he went on to forged a high level corporate career. His inner calling to do build something for himself and have his own business was strong.

Whilst deciding which business to pursue Nunzio completed his MBA and has been able to transfer his expertise in coaching, mentoring, fiscal management and planning across into his Forte School business.

Whilst Nunzio loves music and is an avid guitarist, his greatest surprise was just how much he loved teaching (something he didn’t necessarily plan to do) and especially just how much he enjoys the little ones in Jungle Music classes.

David Doherty - Brisbane, Australia

Maybe it was because grew up in a musical family with his mum being orchestral flautist or maybe it was something else because David even in his early 20’s knew that he wanted his own music school.

David plays many instruments and his true passion and university music degree major was guitar. David not only has 2 Forte Schools in Brisbane, he has also found time to write his own beginner guitar book, another one of his long held dreams.