Maria AlleyMaria Alley, B. Mus. (Dalhousie University), has enjoyed many years of teaching children, including those with developmental issues and special needs, resulting in a unique rapport with children through music. She has also been an active participant in the Halifax musical community.

Maria was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She attended the Halifax School for the Blind where her musical training began at the age of 6 years. Throughout these years she had the opportunity to study classical piano, giving biannual performances along with her fellow students.

The next ten years were dedicated to raising two boys, attending Dalhousie University’s music program where she obtained her B. Mus. with a Maria Alley early childhood music educatormajor in guitar, and working as a music instructor at The Atlantic Provinces Resource Center for the Visually Impaired. During her time at this school, she taught guitar, bass and vocals, forming small folk groups whose performances included school recitals, variety shows and talent competitions. She found this work both enlightening and rewarding as she traveled through the intricacies of teaching students with special needs.

Maria teaching preschool musicAfter graduating from Dalhousie in 1991, Maria began a music program for young children called DO RE ME AND MARIA which she offered to local daycares and preschools in the Halifax/Dartmouth area. She developed and compiled the material for this music education program throughout the 1990’s as she worked with the preschool children, discovering their favourite activities and utilizing this knowledge of their play to teach them some of the basic musical concepts necessary for good musicianship.

“The children loved the classes so much,” says Maria, “that I decided to gather all of the material I had used with the children and package it up in the form of a curriculum guide and 6 CD set so that every person interested in the musical education of their children would have the tools to run my program. All of the lesson plans found in the book are facilitated by this CD package.”

Maria is currently teaching this music program at Grace Note Preschool, Play to Learn Daycare and Preschool and Purdy's Wharf Children's Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She welcomes your inquiries about
DO RE ME AND MARIA.