Project Description
MARIAH M
At 10 years old, a budding interest in picking up the violin would set Mariah on the path to a full-blown career as both a professional musician and devoted teacher. While she did learn the joy of playing with others in her middle-school orchestra, it would be her private violin teacher, Jocelyn Rowland Khalaf, who was truly responsible for nurturing Mariah’s talents – shaping those talents into a practiced technical finesse, and launching her into playing on a professional level. Jocelyn connected Mariah with gigs all around their hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, playing for weddings, state banquets, private parties, and much more. Along the way, both women connected with a non-profit dance organization called Oklahoma Performing Arts and helped grow a strings program there from scratch, which continues to exist and is still growing today.
As a 16-year-old, Mariah became a violin teacher with Oklahoma Performing Arts and worked with children as young as 3 years old up to those just starting their learning journey in their 60s. During this time, she reached the leading role of principal chair, otherwise known as the concertmaster, of her high school orchestra and held this role for three years. She was co-principal violinist of the Tulsa Honors Orchestra and Tulsa Youth Orchestra from 2007 to 2010. She trained under Gabe Kitayama-Bolkosky at the Suzuki Institute in 2008 and received top marks in the 2008, 2009, and 2010 All-State competitions she entered. The skills she developed were imparted to every group who learned the violin under her tutelage at Oklahoma Performing Arts, where students learned the foundational elements of music, growing their fine motor skills whilst having fun doing so!
In 2013, Mariah graduated from Brown Mackie College with an associate’s degree in Occupational Therapy Assisting, moved to Colorado, and began working in home healthcare for patients of all ages. This grew into another career as a public servant for the state of Colorado in 2020 where Mariah worked for the Colorado Department of Human Services. Both careers allowed Mariah to develop her communication, problem-solving, and compassionate caretaking skills, aiding her in becoming the competent, knowledgeable, and dedicated professional that she is today. However, that passion for music never dimmed, bringing her back to her musical roots, and inspiring her into teaching both private and group lessons once more. With a total of seven years’ teaching experience, Mariah is every bit and more the formidable musician and engaging teacher as before!