Mary Alonso received her Bachelor in Music Performance (Flute) from California State University, Long Beach where she studied with Dr. John Barcelona. After graduating, she earned a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and taught in Downey Unified School District for over 27 years. It was during this time that Mary saw the strong connection between music and language development, inspiring her to become a Language Development and an Orff Schulwerk (Levels I-III) Specialist. Mary spent the last 4 years of her career as an Arts Integration and STEAM Specialist sharing her passion for Arts education with educators all over the state by presenting at the CA STEAM Symposium, CA Science Teachers Conference, and Project Lead the Way State/National conferences. She recently served as a member of the California Dept. of Education’s Visual and Performing Arts Curriculum Framework Committee for the new CA VAPA Standards. Mary continues to perform as a freelance artist.