Marita is a voice and movement specialist, PAVA-recognized Vocologist, and yoga instructor. After a long and varied career on the stage, her teaching brings together a passion for contemporary singing styles, accessible functional voice science, and the mind-body connection that keeps the artist balanced, aware, and receptive. Prior to coming to St. Olaf, Marita was the founding voice teacher for the Contemporary Musicianship and Entrepreneur Development program at Shenandoah Conservatory. She has also held positions at Oklahoma City University and Senzoku Gakuen College of Music in Tokyo, Japan, where she still serves as Visiting Professor. She is the Vocal Director for Texas Arts Project, and has presented papers and workshops at the The Voice Foundation Symposium, NATS, the Pan-American Vocology Association Symposium, Texas Thespian State Festival, and for the Visceral Voice. Her pedagogical research interests include: strategies for combatting music performance anxiety in the voice studio, and the effects of chronic illnesses (such as HSD, hEDS, and POTS) on the singing voice.

As an award-winning performer, credits include the national tour of John Doyle’s Sweeney Todd, where she was a swing for Johanna, the Beggar Woman, and Pirelli (playing cello and flute), and other favorite roles including Cathy in Tokyo's Japanese/English duo-language production of The Last Five Years, Chess (Florence), Crazy for You (Polly), The Who's Tommy (Gypsy/Acid Queen), Evita (Peron’s Mistress), Charlie Brown (Lucy), Oklahoma (Laurey), Oliver (playing Bet to Stephanie J. Block’s Nancy). She has had the pleasure of performing with Music Theatre Wichita, Zach Theatre, Austin Playhouse, Austin Musical Theatre, Zilker Theatre Productions, The State Theatre, The Starlight Orchestra Big Band, OKC Philharmonic Pops Chorale, OKCity Cabaret, and spent many years traveling the world as a Lead Singer on Celebrity and Holland America Cruise Lines. While her performance career has focused on musical theatre and popular music styles, her operatic roles include Mimi in La Boheme and Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow under the direction of New York City Opera's Sharon Halley (dancing the can-can and singing high C's)!

Marita holds degrees from Oklahoma City University (BM and MM), where she studied with the legendary Florence Birdwell, and is a DMA Candidate in Voice Pedagogy (Voice Science Concentration) at Shenandoah University. She is an active member of National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS Intern 2022), Music Theatre Educators Alliance (Executive Committee - Great Lakes Regional Director), Pan-American Vocology Association, The Voice Foundation, and Actors Equity Association. In addition to her collegiate studio, she maintains a small private voice studio with working artists in New York City, Austin, LA, and Tokyo. www.bodymindvoice.studio