We were lucky to catch up with Teresa Stewart-meli recently and have shared our conversation below.
Teresa, appreciate you joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
I am able to make a living through music although, the process was down a rocky path. Initially, I saw my career in music in academia so naturally lots of degrees were the answer, right? Not so. the answer was diversification.
When I began my undergrad degree, approximately eighty percent of faculty members on staff at universities were full-time with benefits and twenty percent were adjunct faculty without contracts or benefits. During the course of my graduate and doctoral training, the percentages of full-time and adjunct switched and have maintained this dynamic. Twenty percent of faculty have benefits and contract worth eighty percent as adjunct without contracts and making a pittance. While I did spend about a decade teaching in higher education, eventually diversification and blazing my own trail was my path. Independent research, studio ownership, authoring a book, consulting, and performing are the ways I am able to make a living and never get bored.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am the music studio owner of Musicology: Music for EVERY mind. What is special about my studio is that I use research based methods for typical, neurodiverse, and mature minds. I began my research and study on different methods of teaching music and the mind after a life-altering stroke at age 35. My goal is to instill a lifelong love of music through all the brilliant ways minds learn. My students already come to me knowing an extraordinary amount of information about music. IT is of vital importance to me that they play pieces they adore over the course of the year. Rather than a traditional one to two performances a year, Musicology offers four themed performances, an all-inclusive festival, and two summer camps.
I felt so passionately about connecting and education the diverse student populations that exist that I co-authored “Diversity in Music Education: Honoring the Languages, Literacies, Abilities and Cultures of All” with my friend and colleague Victor Antonie Lozada on shelves April 2025 through Bloomsbury. Hopefully this text will other educators help through methods we have learned over our decades
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Seeing the lightbulb go off in a students’ eye when they hear music that changes them. Perhaps something outside of the genres they previously had previously experienced but,, something that they hear and touches them. It what separates the “creatives” from the “non-creatives”. It’s what lifts us from the mundane minutia of life to the divine..
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My goal is to normalize multiple approaches to playing and teaching music for different minds and bodies without stigma. I believe too often as educators we find a method that is effective for many and stop there. I understand this is a blanket statement and I make it plainly, all of the great musicians thought differently or were neurodivergent. That is how great art is made-approaching from the side.
The Western European Art Music of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven is exquisite, intimidating and so old. It has great value, so does the Hindustani music of Northern India which pre-dates Mozart by a thousand years. All cultures have one thing in common, music; organized sound. Music is almost too massive an entity to try to attempt to teach to another. My goal is to widen the breadth and manner in which we as musicians pass on knowledge to future generations.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.facebook.com/StewartAcademy/
- Instagram: @musicology_denton
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StewartAcademy/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Musicologydenton
- Yelp: @Musicologydenton
Image Credits
Taylor Collins