Maria Mucaria Cortland NY, 13045
Instruments:Flute, Other, Piccolo, Recorder
Styles:Classical, Folk – Country – Bluegrass
Levels:Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Experience:20+ years
Rate:$35 / hr
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Personal Statement
I am a professional performer as well as a teacher of flutes and piccolos. I teach any age at any level of performing ability. I have a unique approach to working with students and find that many excel in their goals. I teach to the individual and work with their enhanced skills and abilities to advance their remedial talents. I can work with special learners of any kind.
I use an emphasis on rhythmic understanding as the keystone to excelling in the basic structure. I teach basic music knowledge in key signatures using major and minor scales and arpeggios to enhance a performer’s technique expanding into alternate scales and modes. I will also teach historical importance of composers, time periods (Ex. Classical, Romantic, etc.), and musicianship to give the the student a way to internalize their music performing experience.
I also can teach folk and other period music styles using special instruments like the tin whistle and recorders.
Education / Training
Maria R. Mucaria, Piccolo and Flute earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education with a Special Education concentration at the Crane School of Music of the State University of New Yorks Potsdam College. She completed her Master of Arts at Long Island Universitys C. W. Post Campus in Music History and Literature with an emphasis in Piccolo and Flute Performance.
Ms. Mucaria started playing the flute in fourth grade and five years later took up the piccolo. As a Piccolo Player, she placed in the C. W. Post Concerto Competition, was invited as a Co-Principal Piccolo in the Small College Intercollegiate National Honors Band, and received the Honor Musician Award at the New England Music Camp in Maine. She was a featured soloist with the West Islip Symphony Orchestra (on piccolo), Farmingdale Village Pops Band (on piccolo and fife), Cortland Old Timers Band (on pennywhistle), and Cortland College-Community Orchestra (on flute). She performed in numerous ensembles as the Principal Piccolo player on Long Island in New York, such as the North Shore Symphony Orchestra, West Islip Symphony Orchestra, and the Farmingdale Village Pops Band. She taught music in New York and in the Shetland Islands of Scotland in the United Kingdom. As a clinician, she directs workshops and masterclasses for flute, piccolo, and flute ensembles and also conducts flute and woodwind sectionals. She performed on the renowned stages of Sara M. Snell, Helen M. Hosmer, Tilles Center, and Carnegie Hall. She performed in a variety ensembles throughout the United States, Italy, and the United Kingdom (England and Scotland).
At present, Ms. Mucaria performs with the Cortland Trillium Trio (a chamber music ensemble of flute, violin and piano) and as soloist, Woodwind Section Leader, Principal Flute, and Principal Piccolo player with the Cortland College-Community Orchestra and the Cortland Old Timers Band. She also plays piccolo and flute with The Arts at Grace CNY Orchestra and occasionally with the Northern Tier Symphony Orchestra. She is also the Founder and Director of both the Cortland Area Flute Ensemble and the Cortland Area Junior Flute Ensemble. She is an active, freelance musician who enjoys each opportunity to perform, playing in a wide variety of styles including: Celtic, Renaissance, Classical, and more. She organizes recitals and other types of performances for both herself as a soloist and the chamber ensembles she is in. She teaches private lessons where she applies her talents as a musician and music educator to work with students of all ages and abilities. She also enjoys performing on pennywhistles, recorders, percussion, and singing with Seven Leaf Clover, a duo with guitar.
Ms. Mucarias primary piccolo/flute teachers have included: Mary Ellen Wassberg-Schwartz, Lee Humphreys, Rebekah McClure, Kenneth Andrews, Susan Deaver, and Karla Moe.
Ms. Mucaria is affiliated with the National Flute Association, The New York Flute Club, and Sigma Alpha Iota (ΣAI) International Music Fraternity. Locally, Ms. Mucaria received the SUNY Cortland Leadership in Civic Engagement Community Award in 2010 for her efforts with CAFE and ΣAI.