Mary Gallant is a music educator and violist based in NH and MA. She holds a Master of Music Education from Illinois State University, where she completed an assistantship leading their String Project, and she holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of New Hampshire, where she worked with their Youth Symphony Orchestras. She is the founder and instructor of the Holistic Music Education Institute in Beverly, MA, where she teaches classical strings and piano to students of all ages and abilities. Her students have gone on to perform in iconic venues such as Carnegie Hall in NYC and Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Mary also founded and conducts the Beverly Study Orchestra, an orchestra for beginning and intermediate adult string learners.
As an orchestral Violist, Mary holds a seat with the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra. She has played principal viola with the Salem Philharmonic, the New Hampshire Philharmonic, and Velvet Pastures. She has also played with the North Shore Philharmonic, Maine State Ballet, Ideas Not Theories, New England Ballet Ensemble, and other orchestras and pits throughout New England. She is also the founder and violist of Expansion String Quartet, an ensemble that plays music by women and gender-diverse composers.
Along with teaching and performing, Mary is interested in research. She currently holds a seat on the American String Teachers Journal Editoral Board. Her piece "Radical Empathy in the Private Studio" was published in the American String Teachers Journal in 2023. Her thesis, "Philosophy of Music Education," explores some of her main interests: educational philosophy, string pedagogy, and emotional literacy. Her research interests include repertoire by underrepresented composers, tensionless playing, sustainable practice, and lifelong learning. Mary also holds a seat on the ASTA National Representation, Inclusion, & Accessibility Committee.
