Mary Ann Cummins has taught music in Santa Monica since 1970 and her students have gone on to earn prestigious awards and scholarships in music conservatories and beyond. She founded the Elizabeth Mandell Music Institute (EMMI) at Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences, and the Aube Tzerko Piano Academy at New Roads High School.
Cummins received a bachelor’s degree in music from DePaul University and did her graduate studies at the University of Chicago while playing improvisational piano in the famed Second City comedy troupe. A true believer in the value of arts education for all, Mary Ann Cummins epitomizes the SOL-LA approach to teaching to the whole child and reaching those who don’t have the means to afford arts education.