Martha has taught music since 1998 and served as a church musician since 1992. She currently teaches piano, violin, viola, cello, guitar, and composition and serves as the pianist of Peachtree Corners Presbyterian Church. She has taught students as young as three. She is a member of the many groups, such as the Music Teachers National Association, Georgia Music Teachers Association, Cherokee Music Teachers Association, North Fulton Music Teachers Association, and Atlanta Music Club, and the American College of Musicians. Her students have received highest marks at local Solo Festivals, Federation of Music Clubs auditions, Royal Conservatory of Music Exams, and National Piano Guild auditions. She has published several compositions, including piano arrangements, choral anthems, and vocal solos, which she performs primarily for worship services. Her compositions have been performed at the Bonclarken Music Conference in Flat Rock, NC and the Cumming Area Choir Festival in Cumming, GA.

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Martha was born in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. She began playing by ear at the age of 4 before she could read music. She loved picking out well-known tunes so much that her parents asked their pastor, a piano teacher, to give her lessons. After moving to Georgia, Martha also took up the violin at the age of eleven, playing in her middle school and high school orchestras. She played in the Georgia All-State Orchestra and Gwinnet Honors Orchestra for four years, as well as the Gwinnet Chamber Orchestra in its premier year. She won a scholarship from the Atlanta Music Club, received numerous Superiors for both piano and violin auditions, and was accepted into the prestigious Governors Honors Program, where she played violin in the orchestra and several quartets.

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Martha earned a Bachelor of Music in Composition with Honors in Piano Performance at Syracuse University in New York. Having been enrolled in the Honors Program, she graduated summa cum laude and shortly began teaching piano in Georgia while also performing in the DeKalb Symphony and Orchestra Atlanta. She has most recently performed with the Georgia Philharmonic, including its premier year playing at Dragon Con and Anime Weekend Atlanta, as well as the Alpharetta Symphony. She currently plays violin in the Symphony Orchestra of North Georgia.

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Besides performing and composing, Martha has also spent most of her musical career as a church musician. She has served as full-time pianist since 1992 at various churches in New York and Georgia, as well as performing violin, cello, organ, guitar, and harp. She has also sung in various choirs and ensembles and served as Director of Music or worship leader when needed. Although she has composed some secular music, most of her compositions are instrumental and choral arrangements or new melodies set to the lyrics of old hymns. She also arranges level-appropriate music for students who request specific songs.

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During her teaching career, Martha has added cello and harp to her repertoire. She has played the guitar since her father taught her as a child. She loves learning different instruments and is always looking for an opportunity to try something new. She recently joined the Georgia Flute Circle in Atlanta where she enjoys improvising and performing with others, both on her wooden Mexican flute and her other instruments.

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Martha began homeschooling her two children in 2010, including how to play the piano. Since then, they have both sung in the church choir and occasionally play during worship service, as well as received Superior ratings for Piano Solo, Piano Duet, and Vocal (Musical Theater) for the National Federation of Music Clubs Auditions and National Piano Guild Auditions. Martha’s son has dabbled with guitar, violin, cello, clarinet, and percussion, but he finds the most joy composing and improvising on the piano. Her daughter, primarily an artist, loves singing and writing her own songs.

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Martha loves sharing her passion for music with both children and adults. Believing that a thorough understanding of music is necessary for a well-rounded musical education, Martha includes theory, sight-reading, ear-training, improvisation, and history in her private lessons. She believes that joy can be found in all types of music, from jazz to classical to hymns to video game soundtracks. She encourages students of all ages to learn a basic understanding of music theory and technique so that they gain the lifelong ability to express their own passion for music.

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When she is not teaching, performing, composing, or homeschooling, Martha serves as author, editor, and artist for the Imagine Role-Playing System. She is also the author of the fantasy novel Diamond Lake and its sequels. She is a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do, enjoys rockhounding with the Georgia Mineral Society, and loves cooking foods of all cultures, especially Indian and Japanese. She lives in Canton, GA with her family, along with their two orange cats and a conglomeration of fish, crabs, snails, and shrimp.