Mandy Stinchcomb has loved music since her early days singing in a choral group as a child. Now, she passes that love down to her own children and others across the Chesapeake region as a teacher and new owner at Music Together Chesapeake.
Stinchcomb says the philosophy at Music Together Chesapeake is that all children are born musical and can achieve basic musical confidence. She developed a passion for this work and began pursuing her current role ever since her first class at Music Together Chesapeake with her eldest daughter.
Four years later, in 2008, she became a teacher. Today, she continues to spread the joy of music to young families.
Stinchcomb lives in Glen Burnie with her three children, Hailey (21), Dylan (18) and Willow, (11).
How did you get involved with Music Together Chesapeake?
I started as a parent going to class with my oldest (Hailey). She was a year old when I started going to class as a mom with her, and after a few sessions, the previous director of our center, Jeanne Calderon, asked if I’d be interested in teaching. In 2008, I began teaching for Music Together Chesapeake and had two kids at that time. And I started doing admin for her a few years later, so I taught all those years, and I just took over the center this summer. I’m brand new to owning Music Together Chesapeake, so it’s been a little bit of a journey, but it’s been great because I enjoyed it so much as a parent and the music was satisfying to me.
What’s something you love about your job?
It’s so interesting because every child is going to participate in the actual class time very differently. The Music Together class is 0 to 5 years old… and some children, regardless of the age range, might just sit and quietly observe class and never do anything with us that we’re doing in the room. What’s exciting is watching the children who, maybe for a while, they’re a quiet observer, [and then] suddenly, one class… they suddenly are keeping the beat to our “Hello” song. It’s fun to see things like that, and it’s also exciting when I start hearing a child who maybe has been quiet in class suddenly start vocalizing.
Did your experience teaching provide insights on your own parenting?
One of the huge takeaways for me with these particular classes and how that helped with my children is learning and realizing through participating in so many families’ experiences how different every child is and how they learn differently. And sometimes, seeing somebody else’s experience with their child helps you reflect on what you’ve got going on with your own and gives you a little aha moment of, ‘Oh, maybe I should try that.’
How were you able to juggle parental responsibilities and being a music teacher?
It’s been great because I’ve been able to create my schedule around what works for my family. When I first started teaching, my oldest two, who were about 2 and 4 at that time, my mother would meet me where I was teaching and just sort of play with my kids on the playground or hang out [in] another room while I was teaching my classes. And then as they got older, I was able to alter my timing so that I could get them to school and go teach a few classes, and then maybe get a little bit of chores done at home before I get them. And then my youngest, when she came along, I taught with her. So, the same thing applied for getting my big kids to school and all their after-school activities and everything because I didn’t have a set 9 to 5. I could create my schedule around that, and I would teach with my baby wrapped to me.
Family Favorites
Restaurant: Great Sage
Movie: Christmas movies/“Elf”
Activity: Camping
Meal: Chili and cornbread
