Music educator Marissa DeVoe honored by Buffalo State University | Community

Lockport native Marissa DeVoe, a general music and choir teacher at Harris Hill Elementary School in the Clarence School District, has been named General Music Educator of the Year by Buffalo State University.

DeVoe has been an elementary general music and voice teacher for nine years, during which time she has created general music programs for entire school districts, created choirs and musicals for the first time, coordinated performances at the school-wide and created lessons for his fellow music teachers, including at the Erie County Music Educators Association’s Classroom Music Showcase.

Before joining the Harris Hill faculty, DeVoe taught in the Iroquois Central School District. She began her career in Arizona, where she served on the board of directors of the Arizona Society for General Music and coordinated statewide conferences, workshops, and student composition festivals.

According to her grandmother, Grace Scirto, DeVoe developed her love of music and singing while she was an elementary school student, learning from Constance Allison, a Lockport district music teacher, and being encouraged by her mother to participate in theatrical productions.

At Harris Hill Elementary School, DeVoe started and directs the school’s annual musical as part of the school’s Arts Night. This year’s show, 101 Dalmations, featured a cast and crew of more than 70 students. The musical of 2023 was Annie. DeVoe taught the students how to “sign” for some of the songs they sing and also how to play the ukulele.

DeVoe earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education at Buffalo State, where she studied voice under Carolyn Jolley and Joseph Spann.