OUR OWNERS

MARIA LYNN STEWART

Maria Lynn Stewart’s love of the arts, innate gifts, and years of training have led her to perform leading and supporting roles in dozens of musicals and operas over the past 20 years.  Some of those include: Meet Me In St. Louis, Guys and Dolls, The Last Five Years, Les Misérables, South Pacific, The King and I, The Sound of Music, She Loves Me, The Wizard of Oz, L'Elisir d'amore, and H.M.S. Pinafore. Maria has also performed in NATS master classes and as a soprano soloist in Schubert's Mass in G Major, Rutter’s Requiem, Haydn’s Missa in tempore belli, and The Messiah. 

As a pianist, Maria specializes in lecture recitals; her favorites are unknown composers such as John Field, women composers of the Classical and Romantic eras, American Romantic, and Bach. Maria also writes, arranges, and produces music for artists, commercials, television, and film through her music production company, YM Productions. Maria has trained with masterful teachers such as Dr. Tamara Watson Harper, Adriana Zabala, Valerie Walters, Leah Partridge, David Watkins, Dr. Natalie de Rosa, Paul Shaw, Gregory Alan Williams, The Stella Adler School of Acting, and The Upright Citizens Brigade.

Maria’s passion for the arts has bloomed beyond performing to sharing this love with budding musicians. For over fifteen years, she has been teaching private voice, piano, guitar, ukulele, acting, and theory lessons to students of all ages, styles, and levels...even to children as young as three years old! Some of Maria’s students have prepared with her for All-State Chorus, GMEA, Governor Honors, Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music exams (ABRSM), the Royal Conservatory of Music exams (RCM), and college admission auditions. 

Maria is often hired as a vocal coach on recording sessions, as well as to consult and train actors or professional singers on film sets for roles. Many of Maria’s students have gone on to study music and acting at San Francisco Conservatory, UCLA, NYU, and Yale, to name a few. Her students have been cast and featured in Broadway and touring productions such as Hamlet, The Lion King, Waitress, Oklahoma!, and Wicked. Maria’s students have also been cast and featured in television and film productions such as Stranger Things, The Walking Dead, Baby Driver, The Hunger Games, Mindhunter, and the Madea franchise.

In Maria’s own words: “I love teaching because I love being a part of people’s journey of learning music. I love seeing people struggle, grow, learn to think outside the box, reach goals short and long, and find a way to express themselves in ways you can’t with words.  Music has a way of making us never feel alone and always understood. There is nothing better -- no award, big bonus, etc -- more valuable than seeing a student start with ‘Old McDonald’ and play it with so much pride, then getting to guide and watch them grow into using music as a form of self-expression.”

When she’s not working, you might find Maria reading from “To Be Read” pile at Sullivan’s Beach, exploring new cities, or building homes with Habitat with Humanity.

C. GEROME STEWART

C. Gerome Stewart, Concertmaster of the North Charleston POPS!, began playing the violin at the age of ten. At seventeen, Mr. Stewart was a part of the Walt Disney World Millennium Celebration Orchestra that performed during the Super Bowl XXXIV Halftime Show in Atlanta, GA. In 2000 he attended Columbus State University, studying with Patricio Cobos and earning a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance. After graduating, Mr. Stewart attended the University of Louisville, earning a Master’s degree in Violin Performance while studying with J. Patrick Rafferty. Throughout his college career, Mr. Stewart had the opportunity to perform in master classes with artists such as Cecylia Arzewski, Robert McDuffie, Midori, György Kurtág, Eroica Trio, Diaz Trio, Turtle Island String Quartet, Miami String Quartet, and Takács Quartet.

Mr. Stewart has performed with many orchestras throughout the Southeast including the Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, Columbus, Savannah, and Valdosta symphonies and is currently an active member of the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra. He has toured professionally as a violinist with the Carl Rosa Opera Company, New Sigmund Romberg Orchestra, Hollywood Concert Orchestra, and The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players. In addition to his orchestral career, Mr. Stewart has had the pleasure of performing with such artists as Evanescence, Lindsey Stirling, Wayne Newton, Sarah McLachlan, Michael Bolton, Mannheim Steamroller, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, as well as performing for touring Broadway shows, including Phantom of the Opera.

In his spare time, Mr. Stewart enjoys baking, watching KevOnStage content, and staying active with his Peloton bike.