Maria is an in-demand drummer and educator known throughout the Pacific Northwest. She is no stranger to the Seattle jazz scene performing in such venues as The Earshot Jazz Festival, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, The Triple Door, The Seattle Art Museum, and Tula’s.
As a bandleader her groups have been featured at the Portland Jazz Festival, the North Bend Jazz Walk, and Edmonds Jazz Walk. Maria is also an in-demand educator adjudicating jazz festivals and making guest appearances at local colleges in addition to presenting at state and national conferences. Her original compositions have been featured on KPLU’s Jazz Northwest and she can be heard as a guest artist and mentor on KPLU’s School of Jazz Volumes 6, 7, and 10. Formerly, she was director of the Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra and served as instrumental jazz and percussion faculty at Pacific Lutheran University and South Puget Sound Community College.