Mary H.

Mary H. moved to the Tampa area in June 2023. She is currently playing cello with the Tampa Bay Symphony. Before moving to the Tampa area, Mary was the principal cellist for Symphonicity, the symphony orchestra of Virginia Beach, and played with various chamber groups in the Virginia Beach area. Prior to 1996, Mary performed with orchestras and chamber groups in the Central Ohio area. Mary received a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and a Master’s degree in String Pedagogy from The Ohio State University. She served as the adjunct cello professor at Otterbein and Kenyon colleges in Ohio, as well as Tidewater Community College in Virginia. Mary taught orchestra and strings in Virginia Beach City Public Schools VBCPS for 25 years and retired in June 2021. Since retiring, she served as the String Specialist for Norfolk Parks & Recreation’s Lakewood Center for Dance & Music, she was an interim orchestra teacher for Norfolk and Virginia Beach Schools, she started a new orchestra program for Norfolk Christian Schools, and she had a large private lesson studio in Norfolk, Virginia. While at VBCPS, Mary elevated the orchestra program at Princess Anne H.S. and contributed to the growth of string education in VBCPS through curriculum writing and providing professional development for string teachers. She led Music Workshops for the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program, IB Mid-Atlantic, and the Midwest String Teachers Workshop at OSU. She is a National Board Certified Teacher NBCT and has scored assessments for NBCT, worked on revisions to NBCT music assessments, and mentored NBCT candidates. In 2015, Mary was the Virginia ASTA’s Orchestra Director of the Year. Mary believes that young musicians should be exposed to exceptional music experiences and all genres of music. While in Virginia Beach, she created and directed MultiCelli, Strings on Fire, Virginia Beach Fiddlers, and she was a regular faculty member of the VBCPS Summer Strings program. She has guest conducted and served as an adjudicator for orchestra events.