Director, Music Together SoHy

My journey as a teacher began in college 30 years ago, while I was still a voice performance student at Oberlin Conservatory.  I was picked by the faculty to tutor ear training and sightreading, and became fascinated with the process of trying to figure out how all my different students actually learn. I was hooked, and soon added voice, piano, and opera appreciation to the mix. I graduated with a B.A. and B.Mus. from Oberlin, and moved to the DC area where I worked as a voice and piano teacher while pursuing my M.Mus. from the University of Maryland. I performed early music, cabaret, opera, operetta, musical theatre and chamber music throughout the Washington area, and can still be heard weekly at the contemporary mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral.

In 2008, my husband Todd and I welcomed the first of our two children, and three months later I began taking him to Music Together classes. Music Together classes were life-changing for me. I had so much fun there! And even though I thought I knew everything I needed to know to teach my child music (hey, I was just looking for other folks with young children who loved music, to build my community), I realized I wanted more. Every moment of that class was flooded with new experiences for me and my child - the variety in the music, the different ways to move or sing, the rich variety of the content. I was so impressed by what I found there that I pursued early childhood music training, and became a Music Together teacher myself. 

I have decades of experience behind me teaching voice and piano lessons (including more than six years teaching for Music Together Montgomery) in neighboring Montgomery County. My high school voice students have gone on to study music and theater at schools such as New England Conservatory Boston Conservatory, University of Southern California, Northwestern University, Harvard University and Yale University, and some have continued to careers in the performing arts.    

But what I dreamed of all that time was to bring my music studio home, to Hyattsville and neighboring communities in Prince George's County. As a parent, I grew increasingly dissatisfied with having to drive my children across the county line to participate in classes in music, dance, and theater. Music Together SoHy was born of my conviction that the families of Hyattsville and the surrounding communities ought to have high-quality programming for our children here, in our own community.  

Over the last few years, I've moved my private teaching studio to Hyattsville, and now opened this Music Together center.  Sharing my experience, expertise and love for music and children in the same town where I live has been one of the most deeply satisfying experiences of my career to date.

Rose McConnell

“Mother says I was a dancer before I could walk

She says I began to sing long before I could talk
And I've often wondered, how did it all start?
Who found out that nothing can capture a heart
Like a melody can?
Well, whoever it was, I'm a fan.

So I say thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing
Who can live without it? I ask in all honesty
What would life be?
Without a song or a dance, what are we?
So I say thank you for the music, for giving it to me.”

~ABBA

That’s right, I just quoted ABBA. The first time my husband and I walked into a Music Together class with my older son, this song immediately came back to me. From the earliest age, we are all musical beings. No other program captures this better. When our younger son came along, there was no doubt that we’d head right back to Music Together. The one lullaby that I remember from childhood was the featured lullaby in class and I took it as a sign that we was in the right place! I probably knew then that I wanted to take the training and teach in program one day. That day came in 2010.

My circuitous route to teaching MT probably started with high school musicals, moved through studying voice, piano, and guitar, performing in professional plays that have music as it happens in real life as part of the story rather than traditional musicals, and starting a band. Music as part of everyday life has been a theme over many years for me.

I’ve loved making music with families in my multi-age classes for the past 14 years with Music Together Montgomery and am looking forward to joining the SoHy family.

I hold a BSN from The Catholic University of America and my ‘dayjob’ is as a Research Nurse at the National Institutes of Health. Growing up outside of NYC, my arts education really started years ago, but formerly continued at The Studio Acting Conservatory in DC. I’m a founding member of the Americana foursome, FlyTheCoop. Through any and all career stages, music has been the constant.

You could say that my path to becoming a Music Together teacher began when I was a toddler in early childhood music classes much like these. I’ve been drawn to music since infancy, and those classes were one of the first steps on my path to a life-long relationship with music. As I got older I joined a youth choir program in my community where I sang from ages 6-18. I loved the musical community that I experienced each week in those classrooms. I also began piano and violin lessons, ultimately choosing to pursue violin as a career path. 

I graduated with my Bachelor’s of Music in violin performance from Oberlin Conservatory, and moved to Maryland to pursue a Master’s degree in violin at the University of Maryland. I have had the opportunity to play with great musicians such as Wynton Marsalis, Yo-Yo Ma, Gregory Alan Isakov, and Jason Mraz, as well as playing for the UN General Assembly at Carnegie Hall. I am active as a professional violinist in the area, including performing with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, playing weddings throughout the region, and teaching violin. 

I began teaching while a student at Oberlin, after receiving fantastic pedagogical instruction. Though focusing on violin, these pedagogy classes discussed musical learning in all ages, and I knew I was interested in working with young children. Teaching two girls ages 6 and 8 solidified that I a) liked teaching, and b) loved working with kids! Each student I have taught since has helped me grow in my confidence as a teacher. 

I love spending time around babies and young children and seeing their reactions to the world around them, musical or non-musical! Though I do not yet have my own children, I plan to in the future, and in the meantime enjoy spending time with my niece and nephew (my nephew attended Music Together for a short time, so my sister was excited that I was becoming a teacher!). I always thought that I’d like to teach early childhood music classes “one day,” but I’m so glad that some coincidences led me to embark on this musical journey alongside the start of my performing and teaching career. It’s great to spend time in this musical atmosphere that contrasts with my practice and performance on violin. I love getting to use my voice, move, have fun, and share it with caregivers and children!

Mari Carlson has been teaching Music Together in the DC area for five years after falling in love with the program as a Music Together parent/caregiver for her son and nieces and nephews twenty years ago. She teaches fiddle/violin, performs with various chamber ensembles, writes book reviews, and is certifying to become a therapeutic musician in hospitals and clinics.