About Maya
The Woman
Maya is a songwriter, vocalist, teacher, and music therapist who believes deeply in the power that music has to activate healing on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level. Maya’s music is soulful, universal, and timeless. Her mission is to create inspiring musical experiences that uplift and transform others. Maya’s latest project, The Gathering (2019) is her first studio release. The Gathering was funded, in part, by her community of listeners and chronicles her personal healing journey.
Maya holds a dual bachelor’s degree in Film Scoring and Songwriting from Berklee College of Music (2004) and a certificate in Music Therapy form Howard University (2019). In the years in between her schooling, she enjoyed writing, recording, performing, and teaching nationwide as well as internationally. Her songs and voice can be heard on documentaries, television, and feature films.
Alongside her musical work and therapeutic practice, Maya blends her knowledge of arts education, music business, and grant writing to create experiences that serve as containers for deep self-exploration and artistic expression. In 2015, she received the World Muse Grant to create Her.Voice, a musical mentorship for young girls. In addition to teaching privately, she leads clinics and workshops on the Power of the Human Voice, and the Magic of Drumming. Maya was selected to participate in the prestigious vocal improvisation workshop, Mele a Hakuwale, lead by Rhiannon (Bobby McFerrin, WeB3) on Hawaii Island in 2014 and 2016.
The Journey
Her path to music therapy began in winter 2013 when she sustained a traumatic brain injury in a car accident. Music played a significant part in her recovery and helped restore her mind, body, and spirit to a state well beyond her expectations.
During this time, Maya began accepting a small amount of private students again. What started out as an assignment from her occupational therapist became a whole studio of music students.
“Almost out of the blue I began receiving requests to teach children and teens who had challenges such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and other emotional and neurological issues. Life was bringing me the amazing souls that would show me that Music had a deeper, more intentional role to play in my life and in my purpose.”
In 2016, Maya began to study music therapy at Howard University while continuing to write, teach, and perform. The following year, she was given the honor of Formation Scholar by Beyonce Knowles Carter for excellence in her studies and extracurricular accomplishments. This scholarship accelerated her completion of the program and brought well-deserved attention to the profession of music therapy.
The Muse
Maya’s inspiration has always stemmed from her reverence for Music itself. Maya creates Music for the joy, the ecstasy, to feel the power of frequency and the connection to the Divine—that magical feeling that there is much more to life than we could ever know, and lately, she would add, to remind us all of who we truly are.
It’s no surprise that when met with another life challenge (ovarian cancer), Maya turned to Music. This time through process of writing songs, she found deep healing, resilience, and a renewed sense of purpose—to keep sharing her musical gifts with the world. This body of work became The Gathering EP. She and her now husband recorded the Gathering together, and it was released on Maya’s birthday, October 2nd, 2019.
“I felt like I wasn’t honoring a part of myself because I hadn’t written in such a long time, so the process of writing these songs was extremely healing for me. Then, recording the album in the studio was deeply healing for the both of us. Ultimately, receiving support to finish the album from our community was deeply healing or us all. That’s the beauty of the healing power of music”
The Future
Maya is hopeful for the the next chapter of music making and traveling with her family. It’s her greatest joy to create uplifting music and share it with the world.
Maya currently resides in Eastern Connecticut with her husband (composer and bassist) and son. In addition to writing her next body of work, she serves as Development Director for Rhythm Arts Alliance, a Los Angeles-based healing arts non-profit, a role that combines all of her talents and life experience to build communities on the foundation of healing, music and dance.