Carissa Gibson
Music Specialist
Carissa was born and raised in Palmdale, California, and is thrilled to have returned to her home state! Having always been a lover of music, Carissa played many instruments growing up but excelled with the violin, which eventually led to her working as a freelance violinist in the greater Los Angeles area.
Carissa moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 2016 to pursue her doctorate in musical arts and take on the role of director of music at Springmont School (Atlanta's first Montessori school) for children ranging in age from 6-15. At Springmont, Carissa taught music classes to all elementary and middle school students, led a before-school strings program and an open studio program, organized two musicals a year as well as two recitals and various performances at school events. Carissa loves working with children, showing them the musical potential that each person embodies, and exposing them to all types of musical genres from jazz to classical and everything in between!
Carissa holds a Bachelor's degree in music from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at Cal State Long Beach, along with a Masters Degree and a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in violin performance from the Claremont Colleges. Outside of teaching and playing music, Carissa enjoys the beach, hot yoga, running, and brewing her own kombucha.
