Our Teachers

IGBM Music Together® teachers are uniquely experienced professionals that are united in a common passion: sharing the joy of music with children and families in the Baltimore area of Maryland.  We create a fun, informal social setting that spurs engagement and supports each child's musical development. 

photo Bettina

Bettina began teaching Music Together® while living in San Francisco. Inspired by the program’s meaningful impact on children’s development and musical growth, she became a registered Music Together teacher and has been joyfully sharing music with families since 2004.

Music has always been at the heart of Bettina’s life. As a child, she wrote playful songs for her puppet shows and later played violin with the Los Angeles Junior Philharmonic Orchestra of Southern California. She also attended the Los Angeles Conservatory for the Gifted and Talented.

Bettina earned a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Loyola Marymount University, where she studied music under renowned choral conductor Paul Salamunovich. Her musical background also includes singing with professional and collegiate choirs and studying a variety of dance styles, including jazz, modern, Hawaiian, and belly dance.

As a mother of four, Bettina combines her personal parenting experience with an extensive background in early childhood and special education. She brings warmth, energy, and a deep understanding of child development to every class. Bettina also enjoys performing in local musical productions and sharing her love of children and music at birthday celebrations.

     
photo JoAnna

JoAnna is joining It's Groovy Baby after years of attending class with her own two children. She and her children began attending Music Together class in 2014 when her oldest child was 3 months old. The classes reignited a passion for music and community, something she had nott experienced since performing as a child and young adult. She was so amazed at the development and joy she was seeing in her own children during class that she could not resist completing the Music Together Training in 2016 so that she could assist in bringing the amazing curriculum to more families. JoAnna has a background in Musical Theatre and Classical Voice and studied Secondary Education at The University of Maryland College Park. Her most memorable venues to perform at have been The Kennedy Center, Adventure Theatre Glen Echo Park, and The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. When she is not teaching you can find JoAnna singing and dancing at home with her family or binging on Netflix after a (hopefully) early bedtime for her babies. She can not wait to make Music Together with you!

     
photo Megan

Megan Dimmock is a lyric soprano who has sung throughout the country in musical theatre, opera, solo recitals and many private engagements. She received her B.M. from the University of Maryland and her M.M. from the University of Missouri-Columbia, both in vocal performance. Presently Megan teaches early childhood music classes, is the performing arts coordinator for the Community Colleges of Baltimore County Continuing Education program, and is completing her Culinary Arts Degree. Recently, Megan was the soprano soloist in Mozart's Requiem with the Harford Choral Society and is a regularly soloist with the Bach Cantata Series in Baltimore City.

     
photo Debbie

Debbie has always had a great love of singing, dancing, and children. She has worked with children in various capacities from being a nanny to teaching and tutoring children with special needs. She holds a B.S. in Psychology, a Masters in Early Childhood and Elementary in Waldorf Education and has certifications in Yoga Dance. She has performed singing in acoustic groups over the years as well. She is very excited to teach “Music Together” that brings together her great passion for children with her joy of music.

     
photo It's Groovy, Baby! Birthday Parties

Musical Birthday Parties are so much fun for both children and adults. The session lasts about 45 minutes. First we sing hello to all the children by name. Next we go through a set of songs, some familiar, some new, some requests, but all simple and easy to follow along with. Some songs will have movements that go with them; other songs will be sung while playing egg shakers or sticks. We will dance with ribbons to fun, upbeat songs. The highlight is the jam session toward the end of the program where everyone at the party finds an instrument to play from the assortment and we all jam together. We finish with the goodbye song and a grand finale of "Happy Birthday" to the birthday child. Our music specialist brings all the instruments, props and music. All you need to provide is a space for the party. $200 (birthday child will receive a $25 It's Groovy Baby class gift certificate and each child attending will receive a $10 gift certificate for a future It's Groovy Baby class (for Pikesville, Towson, Owings Mills, Mt. Washington and Westminster locations only). It's a blast for everyone at the party.

     
photo Emília

Emília is a rising sophomore at the University of Maryland, College Park, studying Choral and General Music Education. She discovered her love of teaching music through helping with her high school choir and believes music fosters an amazing sense of community while encouraging social, physical, and musical growth.

She is an alumna of the Peabody Preparatory and the Peabody Children’s Chorus, where she also served as an intern for the younger choir. Currently, she is a member of the University of Maryland Chamber Singers and has performed at ACDA Eastern and the Kennedy Center. During the school year, she is an assistant with the Hatchings Community Music Program, where parents and young children engage in music together.

When she is not singing or practicing her instruments, Emília loves to paint and bake.

Emília looks forward to making Music Together® with you!