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 adjunct faculty at Cuyahoga Community College where she teaches Applied Trumpet and World Music.

Theresa enjoys community engagement and is an advocate for racial and gender equality in the music world. She is co-founder of the Chromatic Brass Collective and is a member of the International Society for Black Musicians (ISBM), an organization dedicated to the advocacy of Black musicians and their work in the scholarship of music. Theresa is a 2022 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 in and around the city of Cleveland, Ohio and performs regularly with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and international touring band, Mourning [A] BLKstar. She also performs in the trumpet and french horn duo, Black Rosies, which features her original music. Theresa has performed in the Colour of Music Festival, was a featured guest solo artist at the 2022 International Women’s Brass Conference and has also been featured in the International Trumpet Guild Journal. Additionally, Theresa toured nationally with the Broadway Sinfonietta performing the film score for “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (2023).