Mary ONeil (Miss Mary)
Mary has a rich background in early childhood and a life-long love of music and young children in her 30 years of teaching Kindermusik. With a BA from McGill University, Mary has studied music education for many years, including Orff and Kodaly certification, and is a certified Montessori teacher. She taught elementary and preschool music at Hermosa Montessori K-6th grade for 13 years. Mary was selected to be Kindermusik Maestro (top 5% of educators world-wide) and served for many years on the faculty of Kindermusik International to train new educators. Mary is also the happy mother of four children, two of whom are Kindermusik graduates! She loves to see children blossom through the joys of music.
Makenna Jones has been involved in music her whole life! Makenna plays the violin, piano and sings in choirs, with a variety of choral and solo performances.Makenna works as the vocal director for Spotlight Youth Productions where she teaches musical theatre. She is also pursuing her degree in music ed at the University of Arizona, with an emphasis in voice and early childhood.
Makenna brings passion, knowledge and years of experience to her working with children. As eldest of four children, Makenna was taught from a young age how to engage with young children from her mother, an early childhood specialist. As Makenna says, my mom taught me everything she knows! A captivating storyteller with a beautiful singing voice, Makenna has been delighting the children in her Kindermusik classes this spring. Makenna is delighted to teach Kindermusik at Musical Steps.
Zinah Buke (Miss Zinah)
Zinah Burke is a mother of two with a long history of music! She has been singing since she was just 3 years old and has participated in choirs throughout her life. A talented musician, she plays flute and piano and performs in various groups. Zinah currently sings and solos for the Arizona Repertory Singers and directs her church choir. She has a BS in Marriage and Family Studies, with coursework in Child Development and Parenting. She also has a background in working with children, as a reading and math interventionist for K-3rd grade. Teaching music to children is a dream come true!