Maria Sangiolo - Biography

Maria Sangiolo has been writing and performing for children and their families for the past ten years. A two-time Parents’ Choice award-winning artist, recipient of a grant from the CT Commission on Culture and Tourism and one from the Iguana Fund from Club Passim in Cambridge, MA, Maria paints with her pen and her voice. Whether it’s under the moon singing a lullaby, in the garden building houses for fairies, by the sea watching dolphins diving or down on the farm growing and eating veggies, Sangiolo challenges us to be our very best and be stewards of the planet at the same time.

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Maria Sangiolo has been singing since she first heard the “angel of music,” as a little girl riding in the back seat of her parents’ blue Chevy wagon. Maria began songwriting while still in college. Her musical career has spanned two decades, enriching her fans lives with her original and interpreted music. Maria’s songs are honest, joyful, and earth-centered – all sung from her young-at-heart muse that engages her audience.

“Children need to feel loved and connected to live and learn. Parents stop what they’re doing when they hear a song that brings meaning to their family. My hope is that when a family spends time with my music, they have a joyful dance in their living room and hop off to bed like happy little penguins that have had a full day of fun,” says Maria. A two-time Parents’ Choice Award winner, Maria’s recordings have also garnered numerous other national awards including NAPPA (National Association of Parenting Publication Awards) and the Children’s Music Web Awards.

Formal training on the violin during elementary and middle school led to Maria’s discovery that she had a voice with unusual potential. During high school she immersed herself in private guitar lessons and voice lessons at the New England Conservatory of Music. Maria performed jazz, popular music, and classical art songs through those years and during the time spent earning a degree at Boston’s Simmons College. Following college, Maria discovered the Christmas Revels of Cambridge, Massachusetts, a performing group that celebrates the winter and spring solstices in mass form on stage, using both professional and volunteer actors and singers. Under the direction of noted children’s music educator and performer, the late John Langstaff, Maria participated in the volunteer chorus for two years, and, during that time, she began appearing at Boston area coffeehouses. Writing and performing her own songs to considerable acclaim, she found herself embarking upon what was destined to be a highly successful career as a touring and recording acoustic folk musician.

Beginning in 1989, Sangiolo graced the stages of coffeehouses and folk venues as a singer/songwriter all around the United States and Canada for ten years. She released two recordings on the prestigious Signature Sounds indie label, Follow Your Own Road and Blue Earth. The birth of her first child led her to seriously explore the idea of creating music for children, and four children’s CDs, have, thus far, resulted: ‘Hello Moon’ (2000), ‘Fairy Moon: Songs of the Ring’ (2004), and BI (2007). BI received a NAPPA Gold Award, Parents’ Choice Honors Award, and Children’s Music Web Award. ‘Under the Mystic Sea’ was also honored with a 2007 NAPPA Award and 2007 Parents’ Choice Award. ‘Maria and Friends – Planting Seeds’ will be released in March 2011 and features Maria Sangiolo and some of her favorite singer-songwriters on the renowned indie label Signature Sounds and other special guests including Alastair Moock, SteveSongs and Lui Collins.

“Maria Sangiolo has one of the prettiest voices in contemporary children’s music: rich, articulate and warm.” – Babble.com

“The Scrooge in me is melted by Fairy Moon and yes, I hear pure vocals, songs that touch the heart and solid production values. Before the door closes, I believe! I believe!” - John Wood, NAPPA reviewer