Mary Alouette
About
20 years of teaching a thousand students of all ages and genres who win competitions, headline at Madison Square Garden, write songs for BMG, win entrance auditions to the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, and find fun and personal fulfillment in their music. Please see photos section for more testimonials.
Award-winning singer, songwriter, and music producer with 30 years of professional performance experience in electronic, pop, jazz, classical, and musical theater music.
I love working with new students! Music is a beautiful gift and it’s a joy to contribute to my students’ musical lives.
Please see more testimonials in the photos and videos section.
Mary Alouette is an award-winning electronic pop singer, songwriter, music producer, and coach who has been featured in publications including the Washington Post. She is an international opera singer turned Gypsy jazz singer, guitarist, songwriter, and audio engineer turned music producer. She now focuses on singing, writing, and releasing dance pop music under her artist name Alarke.
She has a professional performance background of 30 years and 20 years of teaching experience to over a thousand students. She loves to coach musicians to find their voice and write and perform their original music.
As an artist, Mary's music has gone to NBC’s World of Dance for millions of live television viewers and her songs have been performed at music festivals throughout the world. Alarke has experience both behind the mic and as an audio engineer in New York City for multi-platinum artists and producers.
Her six electronic-pop-world-jazz albums have won the Grand Prize in the Professional Artist Support System Songwriting Competition, New Artist of the Year, and Best Debut Album with the Washington Area Music Association. Her students have won the Making A Star Competition at the Apollo Theater in New York, Young Artist Of The Year with the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, and First Place in the USA Songwriting Competition.
She was granted an Artist-In-Residence position at the Brooklyn Arts Council and Strathmore and has twice served as a panelist granting fellowships to artists with the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. She was also an artist fellow at the Transmute Retreat at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
Mary has headlined at the Rainbow Room at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, and Blues Alley. She’s also collaborated and performed with Cuban hip hop artists at Fábrica de Arte Cubano, competed in the Apollo Theater’s National Tour, sung at Carnegie Hall, sung the national anthem solo and a capella for Major League Baseball and Soccer teams over two dozen times, featured as a lead voiceover in games by EA Games, and resided in Romani caravans as a vocalist, songwriter, and Gypsy jazz guitarist at the Festival de Django Reinhardt in Samois sur Seine, France.
Mary's sound has been deeply influenced by experiences ranging from studying and performing opera and jazz internationally, creating an artist retreat in Havana, Cuba, writing and recording a Cuban jazz album in Havana, writing and recording on a collaborative Cuban hip hop album, and writing music with refugees in Greece as the Music Director the Campfire Project at the Ritsona Refugee Camp.
She’s also studied advanced Ableton programming for live performance and controllerism with Laura Escudé of Electronic Creatives (Kanye West, Jay Z, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, etc.) and DiViNCi, controllerist for Ms. Lauryn Hill.
Mary holds a Bachelor of Music from the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montréal, Canada, where she studied classical voice and digital composition. She has performed throughout the U.S., Canada, Cuba, England, France, Austria, Italy, Greece, and Switzerland, and is based in Mexico City.
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
I love working with new students! Music is a beautiful gift and it’s a joy to contribute to my students’ musical lives. Before we begin with lessons, the new student fills out a welcome packet to get clear on their goals. They’ll submit it prior to working together. From there, I’m able to prepare the first session to best suit the student’s needs.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Please view my full resume here on Dropbox: http://bit.ly/MaryAlouetteTeachingResume
Award-winning teacher, singer, songwriter, and music producer with 28 years of professional performance experience in electronic, pop, jazz, classical, and musical theater music. 15 years of teaching hundreds of students, now with a primary focus on coaching female musicians in pop and electronic music to find their true voice and signature sound and release music at a professional level.
Teaches singing, songwriting, music production on Ableton and Logic, music theory, musicianship, piano, guitar, performance, artist development, and music business with marketing, financial strategy, fundraising, and grant writing. Directs individualized curriculum toward the goals of each artist.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
How did you get started teaching?
I started teaching out of the practice rooms at the music conservatory where I went to school at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University. From there, it blossomed into a full-time teaching and artistry career.
What types of students have you worked with?
In my 15 years of teaching, I’ve worked with students of all ages: 4 - 70 and many genres: pop, electronic, folk, RnB, soul, jazz, classical, and theater.
I especially love working with adults who are committed to their music as hobbyists or as professionals.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
My students’ successes inspire me! Here’s what my student Michelle said about her experience working together:
“Before Mary and I started working together, I was feeling really stuck in my singing and my songwriting. I had a bunch of half-written songs I had been sitting on for a while and a lot of technical issues with my singing. I wasn't sure how to work through it, and I wasn't managing my time efficiently.
One of the first things that we worked on was goal setting and time management. We set a goal for me to complete four songs in three months. I actually ended up with seven, which is more than I would have ever thought possible in my wildest dreams. It really gave me a new confidence in myself that I didn't have before and opened my eyes to what I was capable of with the right tools and the right support system. Each session really catered to what I needed at that time.
We worked on deconstructing a song, writing chord progressions, melodies, and lyrics. We worked on everything that I needed to be successful in songwriting. One thing that really resonated with me was she would say write without attachment and just hearing this was a shift in my mindset and it allowed me to play and not settle on the first idea that came to mind. In almost every instance, I ended up coming up with something better than I had before. It really helped me take my songwriting to the next level.
One of the things that impressed me the most was working with her on my singing. Before I even sang a note, she could tell if I was going to hit it or not. She was able to effectively explain and demonstrate when I was doing something incorrectly, where I was feeling that, how to correct it and where I should be feeling it instead.
I've never worked with a vocal coach before that was able to specifically give me all of that. It truly just changed the whole experience for me. I feel so much more confident in my singing after working with her. So I just want to say, thank you, Mary. Going forward I know I have the tools I need to succeed. Before, it was, “I hope I can complete my album and release it one day.” Now, I know I will release my album and I'm so much more confident than I was before. I truly love working with you and I look forward to working with you again.” - Michelle
Read more testimonials at https://www.setyourlifetomusic.com/coaching
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Work with someone you feel comfortable and inspired with. It’s good to feel challenged, yet safe, relaxed and that you’re having fun.
Look to work with someone who not only has experience doing what you want to do, but has also experience teaching it.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
A student should ask themself, “What do I really want to do with my music? What’s my life dream? How does music fit into it? Does this person have experience doing the music I want to do? Does it feel like a personality fit? Will I feel inspired and motivated working with this person?” Music can be so raw and personal, and for that reason it's important to feel comfortable and inspired.