Hey there!
My name is Mairéad Leahy, and I am a Boston based performer and educator.
I graduated from Foxborough High School in 2012. While in high school, I played Bb and bass clarinet in the concert band and wind ensemble, alto and baritone saxophone in the jazz ensemble and lab band, sang in the jazz choirs, and performed as an actor, musician, and musical director in school musicals. Throughout high school, I studied saxophone with Ken Reid and clarinet with Mark Miller. I attended summer music activities throughout middle and high school, including the Summer Instrumental Music Collaborative in Foxborough (as a player in middle school and then in high school as a counselor), the Foxborough Jazz Improvisation Workshop, the Summer Music Festival at South Shore Conservatory working with conductors Steve Massey, Malcolm W. Rowell Jr. and Jill Noerenberg, and the George N. Parks Drum Major Academy. I received the John Philip Sousa Band Award in 2012.
I continued my musical journey at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in the saxophone studio where I studied with Lynn Klock and Jonathan Hulting-Cohen. During my time, I was a part of the Wind Ensemble under the direction of James Patrick Miller, the Chapel Jazz Band directed by Tom Giampietro and Felipe Salles, Jazz Ensemble I led by Jeff Holmes, Vocal Jazz Ensemble directed by Catherine Jensen-Hole, saxophone quartets under the direction of Lynn Klock and Jonathan Hulting-Cohen and jazz combos led by Felipe Salles, Tom Giampietro, and Fumi Tomita. I also performed in the pit orchestra of several musical productions by the UMass Theatre Guild. I had the opportunity to play with guest artists such Chico Pinheiro and Sheila Jordan, and I received a Downbeat award in 2017 for the undergraduate college category, latin group with the UMass Vocal Jazz Ensemble.
After my first year at UMass, I joined the 215th Army National Guard Band in Fall River, MA. In the 215th, I played alto saxophone with the concert band, tenor saxophone in the Minuteman Brass Band and Official Party Rock Band, and was a clarinet sub in the Liberty Woodwind Ensemble. I was briefly in the 36th Infantry Division Band in Austin, TX before my partner received orders for us to move to Camp Zama, Japan. While in Japan, I worked as a volunteer for mobilization and deployment with the Army Community Service center. I co-founded the Zama Community Theatre group and acted as Vice President. I was also a substitute teacher at the DODEA school on Camp Zama until I was hired as a civilian working for the command team at U.S. Army Japan. My family moved back to Massachusetts in 2020 and I began working at Boston University.
In 2021, I finally made the decision to pursue music education through a Masters in Music Education at Boston University. While working on my Masters, I delved deeper into my passion for social justice, particularly studying dysconscious racism which led me to write an article on the topic published to MMEA in the Winter 2023 issue. At the same time, my love and appreciation for General Music grew as did a responsibility to find ways for as many students to be involved with music as possible. I was inducted into the Pi Kappa Lambda Honors Society in 2023. In my last semester, I was selected for the Jazzhers 2024 Educators Connect which sponsored my trip to the Mingus High School Jazz Competition and Festival with the Newton South High School Jazz Band, directed by Lisa Linde. I am currently a member of the Commonwealth Wind Symphony with conductors Eric Laprade and Steve Massey.
My music teachers and mentors include Steve Massey, George Murphy, Ted Hagarty, Aaron Bush, Betty Bauman-Field, Lisa Linde, Kelly Bylica, Lynn Klock, Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, Catherine Jensen-Hole, Tom Giampietro, Felipe Salles, Ken Reid, and Mark Miller.
My Philosophy
As a music educator, my philosophy prioritizes creating safe spaces, building community and culture, and balancing tradition and innovation through the lens of critical pedagogy. I believe the purpose of music education is to encourage and enable students to explore their musicality through performing, recording, producing, listening, moving, and beyond. I believe that music education should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances. This means that my teaching approach is grounded in a commitment to cultivating a safe and supportive learning environment that fosters inclusivity, equity, and justice. Through critical pedagogy, I aim to empower my students to become critical thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and socially conscious individuals by challenging and questioning my own experiences and using my curricula as a flexible starting point that adjusts to the needs of the students in front of me.