PLEASE NOTE: Mariah lives and teaches in Trenton, Michigan. She sold her California studio to the Coronado Arts Academy in 2022.
Ms. Mariah (Gillespie), founder of Ms. Mariah’s Music, is a certified Yamaha Music Education teacher, with 15 years of teaching experience in both Australia and the United States. Mariah teaches piano lessons to children and adults of all ages.
Mariah was born and raised in Trenton, Michigan, and studied piano with Grosse Ile’s Doris Richards, B.M., M.M. and harp with Ruth Myers-Brown, M.M. in Dearborn. She graduated from Trenton High School in 2005, having spent her junior year attending the Baltimore School for the Arts. She has a BA in Music from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a MA in Journalism & Communication from UNSW (Sydney). She has performed numerous solo recitals and has extensive an extensive performance portfolio.
In 2015, Mariah left the corporate world, having run numerous social media divisions in Australia and culminating with a career at Qualcomm, and (finally) founded Ms. Mariah’s Music in La Jolla, California (eventually landing in Coronado). Her west coast studio has 120 students and 8 teachers. In addition to serving as the City of Coronado’s Arts Education and Musical Arts Commissioner, Mariah acted as Music Chair for the Coronado Rotary Club and volunteered with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.
In 2022, Mariah moved back to Michigan. She sold the California branch of her company, got married, and welcomed a beautiful baby boy into the world.
In 2023, Mariah opened Ms Mariah’s Music in Michigan. What a journey it’s been, and it’s far from over!
Former City of Coronado Arts Education and Musical Arts Commissioner
BA, Music, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
MA, Journalism & Communications, UNSW (Sydney, Australia)
Member, Metropolitan Detroit Musicians League (MDML)
Member, Trenton Rotary Club
Member, Michigan Music Teachers Association (MMTA)
Member, National Association for Music Educators (NAfME)
The Ms. Mariah's Music Method
Mission statement: to instill a love and appreciation of music in every student through comprehensive music education
Anyone can learn to play the piano; an app or a YouTube tutorial can teach you that. Making music, on the other hand, requires a dedication beyond reading notes from a page. How loud or soft are you playing (dynamics)? Are the notes short or smooth (articulation)? Fast or slow (tempo)? Ms. Mariah’s Music teaches comprehensive music lessons, meaning it’s not just about learning to play the piano. Lessons with Ms. Mariah incorporate 5 core subject areas (TERMS):
1. Technique (the relationship between our body and our instrument)
2. Ear Training (identifying pitches, intervals, melodies, rhythms, etc. solely by ear)
3. Repertoire (songs/pieces that we prepare to perform for others or ourselves)
4. Music Theory (written work)
5. Sight Reading (playing music we’ve never seen before)
Mariah teaching a music class in Missionvale, South Africa
