Oak Creek Ranch School to Rock in 2010 with New Mini Class

This semester, the curriculum at Oak Creek Ranch School (OCRS) is getting into the groove with a new mini class called “The History of Rock and Roll.” The course is being taught by Mr. Noel Marquis, whose love affair with music began more than a half-century ago.

At the tender age of 11, Mr. Marquis gave his heart away to rhythm and blues – a musical style he came to know through his neighbors. But when rock 'n' roll surfaced in the 1950’s, it stole his heart, causing him to become so smitten with music that he resorted to smuggling records into his house to listen to his favorite artists at whim, among them Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly.

Mr. Marquis went off to college in the 1960s. The university environment and laid-back culture of the decade expanded his musical repertoire to include folk and hootenanny, a revival-style gathering of musicians desiring to share their original work. The genre was best described by folk singer Joan Baez in a 1962 interview with Time magazine: “Hootenanny is to folk what jam sessions are to jazz.”

Around the same time that folk and hootenanny reached their greatest heights, The Beatles launched “The British Invasion,” ultimately taking over as the era’s most significant musical force. It was also a force in Mr. Marquis’s life, and the songs of John, Paul, Ringo and George led him back to his rock 'n' roll roots. Once again, he returned to cultivating his impressive collection of albums and attending concerts; in the early 1970s, he launched a “History of Rock and Roll” course at Franklin College.

In 1976, Mr. Marquis’s wife opened a record store in Franklin, Ind., which the family ran for nearly two decades. Over the years, he and his wife got to know popular musicians through meet-and-greets organized by record distributors, the band Foreigner, as well as rocker Eddie Money, whose daughter attended OCRS a few years ago. From 1978 to 1999, Mr. Marquis worked at the Market Arena in Indianapolis where he saw more than 30 concerts. He joined OCRS as a teacher soon after.

For Mr. Marquis, rock ‘n’ roll has always been more than a hobby, it has been a passion – one he excited to share with students this semester. His record collection features more than 5,000 LPs. This means OCRS students will not only learn about rock ‘n’ roll, they’ll get to experience it loud and clear. This course is sure to be one of OCRS’s greatest hits.

For more information about this mini class, the other diverse electives and ADD/ADHD-oriented programming offered at this co-ed Arizona boarding school in 2010, please contact Principal Nadine O’Brien (principal@ocrs.com) or Headmaster David Wick, Jr. (dwick@ocrs.com). Or learn more at www.ocrs.com.