Small Business Spotlight: Fresno Music Academy

Tell Debi Ruud she can't do something and she'll not only prove you wrong, she'll turn it into motivation.

"Singing is vulnerable and if you're young and you're nervous, you might have a bad singing moment," she said.

It was during her senior year of high school that Debi turned an audition rejection into a career.

"It transformed my life, it gave me purpose and I knew that I wanted to be a professional musician," she said.

That drive launched what's now known as the Fresno Music Academy.

We caught up with Debi in the Freddy Mercury Room of the North campus.

The school started in 1998 after she graduated Fresno State, with private voice lessons that would eventually evolve into much more.

Students have a month-to-month subscription where they can learn and fine-tune their craft once a week in themed rooms, including the Led Zeppelin room.

"Music in combination with academics, it opens up part of the brain that aren't normally open in little kids," Ruud said. "They get confidence. They get learning skills."

The Fresno Music Academy has been at the Cedar and Nees location for the last two and a half years and 15 years at the Tower District location, where you can see student showcases and community events..

"I have people singing in my choir who are in their 80's," Ruud said. "You are never too old."

The Hearts on Fire Rock n' Roll Choir has performances all over the Valley, showcasing the talent that is harnessed at the academy.

"The arts and music really brings people together, and that's my goal," Ruud said.

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