Meet Dr. Teresa Stewart-meli | Music Studio Owner and Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Teresa Stewart-meli and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Teresa, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
This studio is a deliberate and research driven haven of musical expression for all people. Teaching piano and music in general has been taught in generally the same manner for a few hundred years, but researchers know much more about the manner in which different brains work. Many of the greatest geniuses in history were on the Austism Spectrum, had ADHD, or another type of neurodiversity. The current paradigm of studio teaching doesn’t widely make this population comfortable. My studio aims to do just that.
About half of my studio thinks “differently” which means we teach differently. Engagement is tailored to be quick paced, colorful, sensory appropriate, etc… there is much to consider and it’s a case by case basis.
What is consistent is that students pick their pieces so they feel vested in their musical journey. As a result, I spend hours of my life arranging music to be the right level for each student. When I see a student who was initially non- responsive in lessons get up on a stage and play “Thunderstruck”, ever second was worth it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I studied piano, ethnomusicology, and instrumental conducting in Texas, Arizona and Nevada. In between and around my studies, I had the exceptional opportunity to teach on the Navajo Nation for three years which was my first introduction to true poverty, neurodiversity as a norm, and musical genius. Then I got sick. Had to leave the Rez because they cannot treat non-Native at Indian Health services.

Off to Vegas to get a masters at UNLV and study with Maestro Takayoshi “Tad” Suzuki and Tom Leslie. I did the higher ed thing teaching at UNLV, bought a flower shop called Enchanted Florist in the middle of it all, then promptly had a stroke.

I found myself disabled for two years, shattered, unable to read music with a doctorate in Instrumental Conducting and a newborn baby. It was a dark time. I was told I would be unable to ever work again or care for my darling daughter. So I started climbing my way back, actually at first, I crawled.

That dark time made me a better teacher and able to relate to students with emotional, neurological, and physical differences because I had weathered them myself. Ten years later I found myself rehabilitated, with a music studio. I noticed I had many students with ADHD. This made me sense to me because my entire family is neurodiverse. What started to make me really angry during my initial assessment of students was something I heard again and again, “the last piano teacher said they were unteachable”. The damage those words did to each precious child infuriated me. With a nudge from my friend Andrea, I a co-authored book with my colleague Dr. Victor Antonio Lozada, “Diversity in Music Education: Honoring the Languages, Literacies, Abilities, and Cultures of All”. It will be available April 2025.

Hopefully this text will equip general music educator, band directors, choir directors, and private studio teachers to work with diverse student populations in a positive manner. It discusses effective music education strategies with the neurodiverse, physically and/or mentally disabled and the twice exception population. The work will be part of the National Association of Music Educators (NAfME) series and published by Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.

Teaching music is my life’s purpose and it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do since I saw Liberace on the Muppet Show. Musicology has more performance opportunities than other studios because it helps to focus students. There is always have a festive performance coming up: Halloween Bash, Tidings & Tinsel Tunes, Classical Concert, and Movie Music & Pops Recital. The students love it. My company mission statement is : Lessons to promote a lifelong love of music through all the brilliant ways minds learn. Research based methods for typical, neurodiverse, and mature minds.

My next goal is to begin a community instrumental ensemble for individuals who are physically different. DFW has the highest concentration of community musical ensembles in the US. With 15% of the population qualifying for “disabled” based upon the 1990 IDEA qualification, I ask “where is the representation? So starting a Texas ALL Winds is my next project for 2025.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Barley & Board, Thai Square or Hannah’s for dinner. I absolutely love downtown in Denton because the options are endless for amazing cuisine.
Jupiter House for a coffee after or maybe a cocktail or two at Paschals speakeasy. I am a huge advocate for live music (obviously) and Dans Silverleaf does a phenomenal job of booking eclectic talent. Like you can’t see a bad show. So that would be a good stop.
Eventually, we will end up at Recycled Books in the Square, in the sheet music section, on the floor, surrounded with every possible kind of tattered and yellowed copy of literature from the past 300 years. The University of North Texas has the largest music school in the world and the trickle down to the community is fantastic at so many levels.
I love Denton. It’s quirky, brilliant and perfect.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family who always believed I should be a musician. Even when it didn’t pay the bills, they believed. Even when it did make sense, they believed. Even when I couldn’t read music after my stroke, they believed. Every member of my family encouraged me and at times sacrificed acutely so that I could pursue my music. I am here because of them.

My Sensei, Takayoshi “Tad” Suzuki who taught me vision in music. Allowed me to tag along with him in Japan and live the most exhilarating moments on the podium under his tutelage.

Website: https://www.musicologydenton.com

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