The Musical Red House 

A year ago, the Soltani Music School at Thatcher and Boulevard was not on Ali and Andrea’s radar. After years of performing professionally and giving private music lessons in their detached garage, however, the space had reached capacity. It was time to expand, but few businesses wanted to share real estate with such noisy neighbors. 

“Last Christmas, I was driving our baby around in the middle of the night so he would fall asleep,” Ali said. “I drove by a house on the market. When I took Andrea to see it, she immediately said, ‘That’s it! That’s our music school.’” 

The house captivated the Soltanis because it was so similar to their own historic home, an early 1900s Craftsman-style house. “It had the inviting family atmosphere we wanted to carry on in our new location,” Ali said. 

A Colorful History 

Historically, Craftsman homes had bright, bold colors, and Andrea felt strongly about returning the house to its American roots. Several houses in the area were already painted blue, so after scouring the Colonial Williamsburg paint collection, they narrowed it down to red. 

“It reminded me of schoolhouse red, barn red, and the red color of our new logo,” Andrea said. “The further along we got, every decision started to become historically significant.” 

As Andrea began the interior decorating process, she envisioned each teaching room in the house as a place to immerse students in important musical time periods. The end result spans three centuries of musicians, with rooms dedicated to Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, and The Beatles. 

In selecting wall colors, light fixtures, and décor, Andrea studied each composer and the aesthetics of the homes, churches, and conservatories where they lived and worked. The Beethoven Room, for example, includes an imitation of Beethoven’s famous composing desk, with an ink well and quill, a teacup, and crumpled-up staff paper. The Mozart Room has a harpsichord and a dress-up opportunity, complete with a white wig and a red coat. 

“It’s not completely period accurate, but each room gives an impression of the time period, like a living history museum. I wanted to bring history to life for kids,” Andrea said. “Now, our students have a strong impression of what each time period is about.” 

A Musical Home 

When the Soltanis officially opened the music school in June, they had 150 students, aged three to 93 — but that quickly increased to 300. Ali, Andrea, and 16 hired instructors teach piano, guitar, ukulele, cello, violin, viola, and voice lessons. 

“We hire good people who make the students feel comfortable, whether they are a beginner, a hobbyist, or an advanced player,” Ali said. “Every day, I see people come out of their lessons with smiles and hugs for their teachers.” 

“We want students to have positive encounters with music so that it transforms their lives,” Andrea added. “Ultimately, everything we’ve built is for the students and families of the Edmond community, who’ve become part of our family. The house isn’t just our house anymore, it’s a public space.” 

“Ultimately, we knew that history and music nerds would understand Andrea’s concept of creating a historic atmosphere for the school, but it’s been humbling to experience such a positive reaction at large,” Ali said. “I still feel like we are teaching from our home, but it’s not our living room rug anymore, it’s the Mozart Room rug.” 

Visit SoltaniMusic.com to learn more.