That same year, George met Karen, who soon found herself teaching piano after a simple suggestion from her new husband. “George said, ‘Why don’t you teach piano?’” Karen explained. “And 50 years later, I’m still teaching.” Those original two lesson studios — one for guitar and one for piano — have since grown to nine, proving that lessons have remained at the heart of the family business. “We knew music lessons were going to be a vital part of the business,” George ex- plained. “So, as the years have gone on, and as we’ve moved locations, we’ve built more and more studios that are bigger than the last ones. Today, all the studios have windows so parents can look in on the lessons and watch. It’s good for the students and the teachers to have those windows. Anybody can look in the room if they want to. It’s a security thing, but also helps promote the program because people can see the impact of the students learning.” Today, the family business has come full circle. George and Karen’s sons, Paul and James, grew up at Shiloh, where the store served as their daycare while Karen taught lessons. After a 22-year career in
the Army, Paul returned to the business in 2017. Today, he oversees the store’s day- to-day operations, while James runs the repair department. Together, the brothers have helped bring Shiloh Music Center into its next chapter without losing sight of the family culture it’s built upon. “I like to think that Paul and James helped bring us into the 21st century,” Karen laughed. THAT MUSIC CITY TOUCH As the store has expanded over the decades, so has its lesson program. What began with George’s father teaching guitar and Karen teaching piano has grown into a thriving education center. Shiloh’s lesson program today includes 13 instructors, a mix of full-time and part-time independent contractors, serving roughly 300 students each week. By the fall, Karen expects enrollment to climb back to nearly 400 students after the typical summer slow- down, with room to eventually serve as many as 500 students weekly. She alone teaches 45 piano students Monday through Thursday. Due to its location just outside of Nash- ville, many of Shiloh’s instructors are ac-
tive studio and touring musicians, giving students the opportunity to learn from working professionals. “This is Music City so our teachers are professional musicians, many who go out on tour,” Karen said. “The parents are really cool about it. If a teacher’s gone for a few days, they get it, because they’re on tour.” Still, performance schedules never come before students. “We do have a rule that the students have to come first,” George said. “We make sure that our teachers carefully balance touring commitments with lesson schedules. For example, our guitar instructors regularly cover for one another when needed.” In addition to working musicians, James said a lot of Shiloh Music Center’s students go on to do big things in the music industry. “We’ve had kids start when they’re five or six years old and take off after high school to be touring musicians,” James said. “They always come back, and that’s probably one of the biggest signs we’re doing something right.” Karen added that some of Shiloh’s stu- dents have gone on to perform at the Grand Ole Opry and one even made it onto the TV show American Idol .
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