Theresa J. May (she/her) is a native of Shaker Heights, Ohio. She holds a Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Dayton. Theresa is an adjunct professor at Cuyahoga Community College, where she teaches Applied Trumpet and Survey of World Music.
Theresa enjoys community engagement and advocates for racial and gender equality in music. She is co-founder of the Chromatic Brass Collective, an organization that supports women and gender non-conforming folks in the brass world. Theresa is a recipient of SPACES’ Urgent Art Fund award, which led to her multidisciplinary Afrofuturism project, and a recipient of Karamu House’s Room in the House fellowship award, which helped her produce and self-release her first album “Renewed” under the moniker Di·zy·got·ic Energy.
As an active performer and educator, Theresa maintains several private studios and performs nationally and abroad with various ensembles. She has performed in the Colour of Music Festival, was a guest solo artist at the International Women’s Brass Conference, and has also been featured in the International Trumpet Guild Journal. Additionally, Theresa toured nationally with the Sinfonietta, an all-women and majority women of color orchestra, performing the film score for “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”.