Marissa is currently pursing her PhD in music education at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. Marissa is also currently the Director of Programming for Music at ArtsQuest in Bethlehem, PA where she enjoys working with artists of all genres from around the globe to bring them to her community. She was previously the orchestra director at Pennridge High School in Perkasie, PA. Her other previous positions include being the orchestra director for the Palisades School District in Kintnersville, PA teaching grades 3-12 and a director at The Woodlands High School and McCullough Junior High School in the Woodlands, TX. She holds degrees from Penn State University (BME, 2016) and The Eastman School of Music (MA, 2019) in music education. In addition to her studies and public school teaching, she is also a violinist in various orchestras and runs a private violin and viola studio.

During her final semester at Penn State, Marissa completed her honors thesis research on composer and performer Hans Gál, a Viennese émigré musician whose music was largely lost during World War II. She received four grants to complete this research. Her work on this topic was awarded the PMEA Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship. Her most current research is focused on the intersection of music industry administration education in K-12 music education programs and the inclusion of creative activities in secondary ensemble classrooms. She enjoys collaborating with other teacher-researchers around the country to continue research efforts. Her masters field project was titled “Student Perceptions of Composition in Secondary Ensembles” and is available by request or you can read the synopsis of it via the F-flat Books magazine/ blog posts. You can view her CV HERE to see currently ongoing research.

She has co-authored “Hustle to the Start” (2021) and “The Creative String Orchestra” (2020) and has also written a number of articles, blog posts, and peer-reviewed articles for various publications. She co-hosts the F-flat Books podcast “Musicast” where she greatly enjoys speaking to musicians and music educators from around the world! You can find her presenting work and research at various conferences for music teacher education and research as well as working with young musicians around the country.