Maria Dowell-Hill

Curriculum and Methods in Teaching Music

e-mail: mariaelena.dowell@csulb.edu

Maria Dowell-Hill is an Adjunct Professor in Music Education for the Single Subject Credential Program, teaching EDSS 450N: Curriculum and Methods in Teaching Music. She loves working with new educators as they find their teaching confidence and authenticity in the classroom. She is excited to be teaching at her alma mater where she earned her Bachelor of Music in Music Education (2010), Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies (2010), Multiple Subject Teaching Credential (2013), Single Subject Teaching Credential (2014), and Master of Music in Choral Conducting (2020).

Maria is the Director of Vocal Music at Renaissance High School for the Arts in Long Beach, CA, where she has taught choir, vocal jazz, AP Music Theory, and Performing Arts Studio since 2015. Her primary goal as an educator is to create a classroom community that feels welcoming and safe for all students. She strives daily to provide an inclusive and culturally relevant curriculum that prioritizes giving a voice to marginalized communities. As a queer woman of color, she advocates as much as possible for her students within the broken system of public education.

In addition to her role as Director of Vocal Music, Maria is the school’s Arts Coordinator, overseeing the collective arts programs at Renaissance, and a co-lead for the Performing Arts Pathway. She is also the sponsor for the Performing Arts Club and has served as the club sponsor for the Gender and Sexualities Alliance at the school.