Aaron Lott (‘12 music) has masterfully performed on stages around the world. But he doesn’t believe everyone needs an audience to be a musician. Rather, he wants people to find the music that’s meant for them.
When Lott opened an Ames music studio in 2021, he offered voice and piano lessons as the sole teacher. He had one classroom and a 100-year-old family piano donated by his parents. Now, five years later, Lott Music Studio employs 18 teachers offering professional lessons in piano, voice, strings, guitar, percussion, brass – even the ukelele.
“It’s funny because I used to say, ‘Wednesdays are our busiest days,’” Lott said. “And it’s graduated to ‘Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are our busiest days.’ I’m like, wait, that’s most of the days of the week.”
Falling in love with music
Lott grew up in Ames, Iowa, in a musical family. His parents Janet (’81 music) and John (’79 architecture, ’95 M.S.) met their freshmen year in the brass section of Iowa State’s marching band. Lott and his sister Elizabeth grew up learning trombone and euphonium, and the family used to play low brass quartets. Even Lott’s extended family is full of accomplished musicians.
“It was just always around,” he said. “It was easy to fall in love with because it was always part of what we did.”
At Iowa State, Lott studied piano and vocal performance. He cited professors such as Donald Simonson, Jonathan Sturm, Mary Creswell, and Jodi Goble for helping him grow in his artistry and knowledge. His favorite Iowa State music memory was a Halloween concert at Stephens Auditorium with ISU Opera Studio.
“We did a Star Wars theme,” he said. “So, we were all singing the operatic theme with lightsabers.”
A professional pivot
After Iowa State, Lott earned his master’s degree in piano accompaniment performance from the Royal College of Music in London, traveled widely, and performed across Europe. When Lott eventually moved to Spain to marry his husband Urtzi Pascual, he made a professional move, too.
“I started teaching English when I was first there, and let me tell you, I am not qualified to teach English,” Lott said. “Only music. It was a very telling experience because I realized I needed to be in music.”
Lott sought out a music school and found a perfect match with Escuela de Musica Arteta, a school in northern Spain. He began studying Spanish, and the studio recruited students who fit his musical expertise.
“That started to percolate the idea of ‘Could I run my own studio?’” he said. “The format that they had for the studio focused on a good experience for the teachers and the students. Teachers show up and they teach their classes. The students come and they learn.”
A space for exploration
When Lott and Pascual moved to Ames, they decided to follow a similar model as they created and built up their own music business, hiring operations staff to handle daily tasks so teachers could simply teach.
“My husband was the business brain as it were,” Lott said. “I couldn’t have done it without him in so many ways.”
But before the doors opened for music lessons, the studio on Clark and Main was home to another kind of creative community.
“My dad had his architecture firm on this level,” Lott said.
Lott and Pascual had entrepreneurial footsteps to follow. Lott’s parents Janet and John shared support, guidance, and insight from running their firm Benjamin Design Collaborative. John, who passed away in 2023, also offered ideas to reinvent the space. A folding wall was added to make room for a small performance stage. In another room, a floor-to-ceiling whiteboard once used for John’s architecture meetings now helps students learn music theory.
“I got to work with him in the early days on how to maximize the use of the space,” Lott said. “It’s a nice way to remember my dad.”
When students and families arrive for lessons, they can relax, recharge, and even sip tea while surrounded by local artwork, lush green plants, and vivid orchids. While waiting, kids get to color creations that are laminated and proudly displayed on the studio’s art wall.
“I want it to be a space that people want to come to,” Lott said.
On a typical weekday afternoon, lessons start and end every half hour. Students can range from an accomplished pianist in her 80s studying jazz collaboration to a high school vocalist in a coaching session for college auditions. Sometimes retirees take lessons earlier in the day, or adult students come over lunch breaks.
“It’s a warm, inviting, community-driven space meant to connect all of us together,” Lott said. “And I like to call this a space of exploration and experimentation. Find what music drives you. We’re not trying to make everyone a classical concert musician.”
For younger students, Lott said studying music helps build skills in math and physics, group collaboration, and the ability to follow both instruction and instinct.
“We like to teach, ‘Okay, this is what this book says. What would make it most interesting?’” Lott said. “We encourage that creativity. Because we don’t want to box the kids in.
“Music just brings joy.”
Finding balance
The studio’s free trial lesson helps students explore an instrument and see if a teacher is the right match. The teachers explore, too. Lott once even taught a heavy metal lesson for an interested student.
“I’ve been learning, too,” he said. “I’ve learned more about jazz in the last five years than I did in the previous 25.”
That spirit of organic experimentation also applies to their group sessions and summer programming. The staff pitches new ideas, like a jam class for aspiring bands. Last year, a musical puppetry scene at summer camp was a breakout hit, so now it’s a full program.
“The kids had the most fun, and it was most hilarious. And the audience – the parents – loved it. Because of what we saw happen last year, we thought, ‘What if we just did a full camp of just the puppets?’” Lott said.
Best job ever
In 2025, Lott was honored with the Art Educator Award from the Ames Community Arts Council. He said it’s been rewarding to see how students and teachers alike have found a home at the studio.
“I’ve had multiple teachers who were a little skeptical at first, and they’re like, ‘Okay, I’ll teach one a day a week‘ and now they teach almost every day of the week and they’re like, ‘This is the best job I’ve ever had.’ That just means a lot to me.”
“It’s a warm, inviting, community-driven space meant to connect all of us together. And I like to call this a space of exploration and experimentation. Find what music drives you.”
Those teachers include some Iowa State students and alumni. Lott established a student teacher program to help music students gain paid experience under the mentorship of established teachers. Din Terzic (’28 music) is a piano performance major who offers beginner to intermediate lessons. He said he loves connecting with younger students at an important time in their lives.
“The most rewarding thing is seeing improvement, especially in a single lesson because it shows growth and gratifies not only me as a teacher, but the student, too, because they feel good about what they just did,” Terzic said.
A wonderful pillar
Lott plans to keep experimenting with new ideas. New ventures include a music lending library, group lessons for chamber music and combos, and accessible classroom space on the ground floor. Some teachers have even asked Lott about someday expanding to another community.
That might take time. But a lot can happen with a little time – in 30 minutes, you can even form a connection that changes a life.
“I’ve had multiple parents come up to me to say, ‘Your studio’s been a wonderful pillar for us. We found you at a very low or dark time and that helped my kid find themselves again and they’re happy,’” Lott said. “It almost makes me cry. It’s amazing to see how big of an impact we can make in just 30 minutes a week when we meet with someone and help them explore what they want to explore.”