Member Profile

Maya Stone is a faith-filled, Black female classical musician, creator, performer, educator and health coach. Her creative output is filtered through that personal and professional lens.

For the 2023-2024 orchestral season, Maya Stone is excited to join the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in Florida as Second Bassoon for a one-year, full-time contract. She is the tenured 2nd bassoonist of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra in AL and a bassoonist with the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra. She regularly gives recitals and/or leads masterclasses around the U.S. each year.

Maya Stone is frequently engaged as a freelance musician all over the country. She enjoys performing in several capacities. In addition to playing with several orchestras, she loves serving as a member of Nashville alternative classical ensemble, chatterbird. She has also been fortunate to perform with the new music groups Bang On A Can and Alarm Will Sound for some engagements. And, 2023 is her second year serving as faculty at the Bang On A Can Summer Festival at Mass Moca in North Adams, MA.

Dr. Stone received her D.M.A. in bassoon performance from the University of Texas at Austin in 2010 (Kristin Wolfe Jensen), an M.M. in bassoon performance and woodwind specialty from Michigan State University in 2003 (Barrick Stees), and a B.M. in music education (minor in Africana Studies) from SUNY Potsdam in 2001 (Frank Wangler). She has held multiple teaching positions, including visiting professorships at the University of Missouri in Columbia and Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Dr. Stone was the Assistant Professor of Bassoon at Middle Tennessee State University for 7 years, and in 2004, she held a visiting professorship in Double Reeds at Austin Peay State University. She currently maintains an active teaching schedule, where she focuses on developing the musicianship and life skills of young people.

As a musical entrepreneur, she founded the Negus (nēɡəs) Bassoon Ensemble, an ensemble of all-Black bassoonists dedicated to presenting Classical works by Black composers from the present and 100+ years back. She also performs with the Rushes Ensemble, a group of seven bassoonists which premiered, recorded, and tours, composer Michael Gordon’s hour- long work "Rushes."

Other creative and entrepreneurial collaborations include working with spoken word artist, Stephanie Pruitt-Gaines. Together, they created a set of pieces titled "Peace Like a River." A previous project, Solo Bassoon in Black Gospel Music, features the bassoon as gospel soloist with piano. She engaged composers Raymond Wise, Mark Lomax II and William Menefield, and premiered 3 works in 2012 at the International Double Reed Conference. Stone has commissioned and/or premiered several works by living composers throughout the years.

Dr. Stone is a public speaker and educator. Her voice projects from a personal connection of mental, spiritual and physical healing and health. These three focal points are all connected, and benefit from alignment. Her discourse is filled with experience, persistence, hopefulness and a desire for growth. Through her development over the years, Maya has cultivated a flexible perspective. This perspective continues to challenge and be challenged by the world we live in. This informs her approach to speaking and pedagogy. As a Health Coach, Maya helps Black Women in Classical Music struggling with IBS symptoms and anxiety to soothe their gut and overcome feelings of anxiousness. She is passionate about this work and supporting Black Women who share similar experiences in her field. 

Active behind the scenes with several musical organizations, Maya previously served on the Regional Orchestra Players Association (ROPA) Executive Board as a Member At Large from 2015 to 2019. She also served as the ROPA Delegate, Alternate Delegate and Orchestra Committee Chair, for the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra Players Association.

Maya enjoys exploring matters of health and wellness. Her work in health and wellness has recently expanded to include a license as a ZUMBA Instructor and CIRCL Mobility Instructor! She loves walking other peoples dogs and dancing out loud.