As a professional cellist, school music teacher, musician’s advocate, founder, artistic director, and conductor of numerous youth orchestras and strings programs in Florida and beyond, Ms. May brings to every musical endeavor thirty years of education and experience.
She has developed all of her programs with a lifetime of acquiring knowledge in the area of music education and music performance, and she worked closely with Mr. Jonathan May to develop a unique and inclusive teaching philosophy to which she continues to adhere.
In Colorado, after graduating from Colorado State University with a degree in cello performance, Ms. May started the Canyon Youth Orchestra with Mr. May and learned the immeasurable value of garnering genuine community support for music programs. Ms. May then started the Cumberland String Project in Tennessee, which introduced strings and music education to an area that otherwise had no music education in the schools or community.
Upon arrival in Florida, Ms. May served as the orchestra director at Maitland Middle School and Winter Park High School, started the strings program at Park Maitland School, taught music at Millennium Middle School in Sanford, and currently teaches strings at Trinity Preparatory School, where she helped grow the comprehensive program.
The foundation of each program has always been community support and enthusiasm for musical education. Ms. May has been instrumental in continuing the legacy of Mr. Jonathan May helped found The Jonathan May Foundation in 2012, to provide further opportunities to music students in Central Florida.
It is through the MAYS and The Jonathan May Foundation that Ms. May seeks to further the musical ideals of Mr. May, as well as inspire countless students to find the beauty and joy of orchestral music.