Member
Contact Information
paula.maust@gmail.comLocation
College Park, Maryland
Early Music Skills & Interests
Harpsichord, OrganEarly Music Affiliations
Editor, Educator, Music/Artistic Director, Musicologist, Opera Director, Performer, Writer
Biography
Praised as “…a refined and elegant performer” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), Dr. Paula Maust enjoys a diverse musical career that combines her distinct interests in performance, pedagogy, and scholarship. As a harpsichordist and organist, she performs extensively as a soloist and collaborative keyboardist. Dedicated to edgy concert programming that connects historical people and events to contemporary social issues, she is a co-director of Burning River Baroque and Musica Spira. Other collaborations include performances with the Washington Bach Consort, Tempesta di Mare, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Baroque Band, and numerous chamber ensembles. She has also been an accompanist at the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute and the Amherst Early Music Festival. Recent solo appearances have been on the Baltimore Bach Marathon, the Lycoming College Series, and the UMBC professional series.
Since 2016, she has been a faculty member at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she teaches courses in music theory, music history, keyboard skills, and applied keyboard lessons. Additionally, she teaches theory courses at the Johns Hopkins University and the Peabody Institute. Equally committed to scholarship and performance, her primary research focus is on expanding the canon and telling the stories of the first early modern women to take the stage as professional musicians. Her DMA thesis focused on the reception history of women singing Restoration-era mad songs, and her upcoming project "The Ugly Virtuosa" explores the myriad ways women on the early modern stage were vilified for their physical appearances, gender non-conformity, and purported sexual immorality. Her work to expand the music theory canon can be seen on www.expandingthemusictheorycanon.com.
Paula completed her DMA in 2019 at the Peabody Institute, where she was the recipient of the prestigious Dean's Fellowship. She has MM degrees in harpsichord and organ from Peabody and the Cleveland Institute of Music, respectively. While at CIM, she also completed the Early Music Certificate through the joint program at Case Western Reserve University. Paula is a 2009 graduate of Valparaiso University, where she graduated summa cum laude with the BM degree in Church Music and was an associate scholar in Christ College, the interdisciplinary honors college. Her teachers have included Adam Pearl, Webb Wiggins, Todd Wilson, and Lorraine Brugh. Further information can be found at her website: www.paulamaust.com.
