

Maria S.


Teaching Locations:

About Maria S.
Maria S’s love of the arts, innate gifts, and years of training have led her to perform leading and supporting roles in dozens of musicals and operas over the past 20 years. Some of those include: Meet Me In St. Louis, Guys and Dolls, The Last Five Years, Les Misérables, South Pacific, The King and I, The Sound of Music, She Loves Me, The Wizard of Oz, L'Elisir d'amore, and H.M.S. Pinafore. Maria has also performed in NATS master classes and as a soprano soloist in Schubert's Mass in G Major, Rutter’s Requiem, Haydn’s Missa in tempore belli, and The Messiah.
As a pianist, Maria specializes in lecture recitals; her favorites are unknown composers such as John Field, women composers of the Classical and Romantic eras, American Romantic, and Bach. Maria also writes, arranges, and produces music for artists, commercials, television, and film through her music production company, YM Productions. Maria has trained with masterful teachers such as Dr. Tamara Watson Harper, Adriana Zabala, Valerie Walters, Leah Partridge, David Watkins, Dr. Natalie de Rosa, Paul Shaw, Gregory Alan Williams, The Stella Adler School of Acting, and The Upright Citizens Brigade.
Maria’s passion for the arts has bloomed beyond performing to sharing this love with budding musicians. For over fifteen years, she has been teaching private voice, piano, guitar, ukulele, acting, and theory lessons to students of all ages, styles, and levels...even to children as young as three years old! Some of Maria’s students have prepared with her for All-State Chorus, GMEA, Governor Honors, Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music exams (ABRSM), the Royal Conservatory of Music exams (RCM), and college admission auditions.
Maria is often hired as a vocal coach on recording sessions, as well as to consult and train actors or professional singers on film sets for roles. Many of Maria’s students have gone on to study music and acting at San Francisco Conservatory, UCLA, NYU, and Yale, to name a few. Her students have also been cast and featured in Broadway and touring productions such as Hamlet, The Lion King, Waitress, Oklahoma!, and Wicked. Maria’s students have also been cast and featured in television and film productions such as Stranger Things, The Walking Dead, Baby Driver, The Hunger Games, Mindhunter, and the Madea franchise.
In Maria’s own words: “I love teaching because I love being a part of people’s journey of learning music. I love seeing people struggle, grow, learn to think outside the box, reach goals short and long, and find a way to express themselves in ways you can’t with words. Music has a way of making us never feel alone and always understood. There is nothing better -- no award, big bonus, etc -- more valuable than seeing a student start with ‘Old McDonald’ and play it with so much pride, then getting to guide and watch them grow into using music as a form of self-expression.”
When she’s not working, you might find Maria hiking the Amicalola Falls State Park, exploring new cities, or building homes with Habitat with Humanity.
OUR MISSION:
The mission of the Stewart Music Studio is to create well-rounded, educated musicians who will always have a lifelong passion for the art no matter their long-term goals. We strive for our students to be:
- Lifelong learners who develop successful learning habits.
- Creative and critical thinkers who will become effective communicators.
- Responsible and respectful members of society who respect other cultures.
- Able to set short-term and long-term goals and be able to see them through to their success.
OUR TEACHING PHILOSOPHY:
It is of the utmost importance that our students are well-educated in their chosen instrument; they must know and understand music and music-making. Students who can “play” an instrument are a dime a dozen, but students who understand the music they are playing are often hard to find. Our music studio teaches students to know music thoroughly, not just to “play.” We desire our students to comprehend elements of the score, use their bodies effectively to make a good sound, and interpret music creatively and according to historical performance practices across all genres of music. Thus, we give students a purposeful education in technique, quality literature, performance, artistry, music theory, and music history.
Although students differ in ability and development, we maintain high expectations for our students. We expect attention and respect in lessons, faithful and diligent practice, careful adherence to instructions, and an “I’ll-do-my-best” attitude. If students meet these expectations on a regular basis, then they will excel to the best of their abilities. It is our joy to help students master their music, to do the best they can, and to strive for and achieve excellence.
Lastly, we want students to enjoy and appreciate their instrument, music, and music-making. We as teachers know we are very influential in making this happen. Students develop enjoyment of music by understanding, experiencing success, being exposed to good and varied genres, and receiving instruction from a teacher who is enthusiastic and encouraging. It is our goal to provide all of these opportunities for students and as a result their lives will be enriched as they enjoy their instrument.
Reviews
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Mrs. Maria was so kind and patient.
I am excited for my son to continue her classes.
Thank you Mrs. Maria!

My wife and I have only good things to say about Maria. She’s just fantastic. This is the first teacher we’ve had where I can say it feels like a true investment for our kids.

I truly appreciate everything you do for our family. You are such a blessing and you have been one of the best investments into our children’s education we have made. The world could use more people like you.

Great first lesson!!

My daughter takes guitar from Maria and I didn’t realize how much she’s progressed until we went to a friend’s recital. 8 months with Maria and my child is leaps and bounds ahead of kids who’ve been taking for 2-3 years. It’s really motivating for her to see. Maria has standards which are non-negotiable but she’s patient and truly guides the kids to success. I’m so happy with our choice as her as a teacher.

Maria has been wonderful with our son. Very motivating and goal based. The recitals blow me away year after year. The progress these kids make with her plus the longevity of her students says a lot.

Seriously... best teacher I’ve ever had. Thank you!!!!!!

Our sons go to Ms. Stewart’s group ukulele and piano classes and we’re so happy we found her. The boys love her and are learning so much. If you are looking for a patient and warm teacher who actually knows what they are talking about, contact Ms. Stewart. We went through 3 teachers to get to her. I wish we were referred to her first. Our kids will be moving to private lessons in August.

We moved to Mumbai for my husband’s job and decided to continue to take lessons via Facetime from Ms. Maria. We’ve been with her for 7 years and are truly happy with our children’s progress. Our oldest (12) will be auditioning for international competitions beginning this fall and our youngest (7) has been going through about 2 levels a year with perfect marks on the ABRSM. She’s fun, engaging, and has a great relationship with the students that make her family. We make sure to fly back stateside for at least one of her studio recitals per year and it’s well worth it. Recommend highly.

Amazing! Best coach I have ever had. Maria has coached me for 8 films and has truly made me a better actor. If you want to nail auditions and be ready for filming get her on retainer.

Maria’s has been an amazing with our kids. The work she puts in to the lessons and the recitals is significantly more than what our friends get for their lessons. Highly recommend! She’s worth it.

Thank you for being the best teacher I’ve ever had. The past 7 years have meant so much to me and I know I wouldn’t be where I am now or going to the college I wanted without you.

My daughter is a part of her group piano class for toddlers and it's been absolutely wonderful for her. Will be adding a private lesson on top of the class starting in June.

The best thing to happen to our family. Highly recommend!

Amazing first lesson!

Great lesson! Maria is really insightful and gives very pratical advice. I felt like I learned more in just one session with Maria than I learned in an entire class. I am looking forward to my next lesson.

Best acting coach I've ever used. Helped me land a supporting role in an upcoming movie taping here in Atlanta. I would highly recommend her to anyone.

Great teacher. Much better than my theory teachers at Kennesaw State. If it wasn't for Maria I would have never gotten an A or even passed Music Theory or Aural Skills. I plan to start working with her in the fall to help me test out of Group Piano.

Our child has done so well with Ms. Maria. Lauren has just completed Level 5 of the ABRSM exams this past spring and did fantastic. This is our 5th year with Ms. Maria and we know we made the right choice by switching studios. Lauren is happy and progressing much farther than others in her previous studio. Highly recommend.

If you want a teacher who spoon feeds to you, this is not the teacher for you. If you want to actually learn and get to a place where you can explore on your own, Maria is wonderful. I personally wasted years going to teachers who would teach me exactly how I wanted but I couldn't do anything outside of lessons because I was never taught the foundation. Maria helped catch me up and now our lessons have turned into something I didn't know they could be. I'm learning new techniques and it's fun to apply them to the music I love. She's a positive teacher, but still strict. You will learn a lot.

Wonderful teacher. Helped me train for concerto competitions and is my frequent duet partner. She helped me get into Curtis for my Master degree. Very blessed to be a part of Ms. Maria's studio.

I have grown so much as a singer and performer with Maria. She's attentive, fun, engaging, and knowledgeable. I originally met her as the accompanist for the Lion King and she's been my go to coach every since. 😊

Wonderful. Great teacher. Great accompanist. Highly recommend.

Maria was really nice and friendly.
The lessons were fine, but I expected her to play better piano.
I still learned a lot about singing.

Maria is wonderful. We couldn't have found a better teacher if we tried. :-)

Maria has taught my son for the past 5 years; 4 years in person, 1 year (so far) on Skype. We found her through a referral and it was the perfect fit. She was very attentive to his learning abilities and ambitions. He loves guitar but didn't want to play professionally however she never backed off on him. He has learned many styles and has gone through all levels of the Mel Bay Guitar series. James could easily have gone on to college and he plays better than some in the music program at his school, but instead he just keeps up with it for fun. Maria hooked him up with the guitar teacher at his college so he plays in the guitar ensemble, jazz band, and a worship band while taking FaceTime lessons with her once a week. He's studying to become a pediatrician but I'm so thankful Maria has really helped make music a lifelong outlet for him. James choose a very stressful path but I truly believe the guitar has helped keep everything balanced.

I am so thankful for Maria. Coming out of college I didn't quite know what to do. I began taking lessons with Maria based on a referral but honestly wasn't expecting much. I will always feel horrible about that because she is the best thing that could have happened to me. I've grown more in the past two years than I did for the 5 years in undergrad. I've been offered a full ride to University of Houston next year but I will continue to sing her praises and work with her whenever I am back in town. I'm dreading that our last lesson is approaching because I couldn't have gotten where I am without her.

Maria has coached me for every audition and part I have gotten for the past 5 years. She was referred to me by another one of her students. She is worth every penny. I'm moving to LA as I've just been cast as a series regular on a new ABC comedy but will be coaching with Maria online. I will be forever her student. She's a complete genius.

Maria is patient with me as a beginner. She works with me on my level to play things that interest me.

I really enjoyed my first lesson with Maria. She was able to quickly assess my skill level and listen to my goals to create a custom plan that works best for me!

Great instructor.

Maira has been a blessing. She is very patient and is willing to work with students of every level. She is awesome!

Maria has been an absolute blessing for our family. Piano is something both my wife and I wanted for our children to learn, but having 4 boys where their interests are only video games and football, it can be difficult. Also since my wife and I are from from musical, we had absolutely no clue what to expect. We had gone through 3 other teachers where our kids didn't advance at all. Maria was our last try and we are so thankful for the referral.
Maria really connects with the boys and they absolutely love her. To top it off, she's very motivating, organized, and for the first time with any teacher, she had an action plan. We knew where are kids were with progress regularly. We also we informed how to keep them motivated at home and how to get them to practice. My oldest son (14) has gone through 3 levels in 1.5 years and has actually been asking about joining the jazz band at his school. My 3 other sons (6,8,9) have been steadily going through the levels and most importantly are able to apply what they are learning to music Maria doesn't teach them. My 8 year old was actually describing what a chord progression was the other day to his grandfather and used the word cadence. I had to google what that meant on my phone!
Her location is also perfect. As long as they have something to do, Maria doesn't mind them sitting in the living room while she teaches a lesson so it enables me to run to the grocery store or bank which are less than 2 miles from her home while the kids are in lessons.
We are extremely pleased with Maria and I would recommend her to anyone. She is worth every single penny. Our family will be moving to John's Creek this October and we will be making the drive once a week through Atlanta traffic happily.
Photos & Videos
2 Photos & VideosExperience
Songwriter/Producer
Apr 2008 - PresentYM Productions
Private Music Teacher
Jan 2005 - PresentStewart Music Studio
Pianist/Soprano
Jan 2005 - PresentFreelance Classical Musician
Languages
English
Fluent / Native Proficiency
French
Fluent / Native Proficiency
German
Limited Proficiency
Italian
Fluent / Native Proficiency
Certifications
Suzuki Piano
Jul 2010Suzuki Association of America
Affiliations
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
Apr 2013Alexander Technique International
Jun 2009National Association of Teachers of Singing
Aug 2008Actors' Equity Association
Sep 2004Music Teachers National Association
Aug 2004Let Our Student Counselors Help You
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