If Joni Mitchell and Florence + The Machine had a 21st century hippie daughter, it would be Marta Palombo. Hailing from Florence, Italy, she found her home in Nashville, Tennessee where she spends her time writing, recording, teaching, performing, and curating a cabinet full of local teas. Marta effortlessly weaves diverse influences, styles, and techniques into her teaching of songwriting, classical voice, and commercial voice.

Marta dove into teaching at an early age, co-founding and co-directing her high school’s a cappella group. She took charge of picking the music, teaching it, making practice tracks, and running after school rehearsals and auditions. Her senior year she became the teacher’s assistant, running sectionals (and occasionally jumping in to teach whole lessons) for three choir classes of all levels. She attended Belmont University, where she graduated with a Bachelors in Music and focused on vocal training, composition, songwriting, artist branding, and vocal pedagogy. During her four years of college, she taught rock music summer camps in her hometown and took on private students in her free time, teaching both voice and Italian.

Marta believes that in order to teach performance to the best of one’s ability, one must have first-hand experience in the field. As a choral performer, she was a six-year All State student. She also attended both ACDA and All State Sight Reading Choir for multiple years. She received numerous scholarships for voice and choral composition in high school, and turned to commercial music in college. Marta has already made quite a name for herself in Music City — she’s played at well-known venues like Café CoCo, True Music Room & Bar, Commodore Grille, Bowery Vault, Two Old Hippies, Boulevard Records, Just Love Coffee and Belcourt Taps. In addition, Marta has added both the Schermerhorn Symphony and Bridgestone Arena, where she sang back-up for Josh Groban, to her musical resume.

As an artist, Marta’s initial break into the industry came from an acoustic cover of LP’s 2015 single, “Lost On You”, soon followed by her debut extended play: 2016’s Revisions. The single “Sparrows” followed in 2017, along with her songs “Bitter End” and “Gold.” In 2020, she released her second EP titled Him, Vol 1. The title track, “Him,” received international acclaim and won the Vox Pop Award at the 18th Independent Music Awards. Re-emerging in 2021, she released a breathtaking series of reflective songs titled The Quarantine Tapes, which she recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

True to her signature style, Marta’s music continues to demonstrate her ever-growing passion for telling life’s most compelling stories, big and small. Admiring her roots while simultaneously eschewing the traditional notions of what a singer-songwriter should be is paramount to who she is as an artist and a teacher. With Marta, music is about embracing your unique voice and discovering your passion for performance in a healthy, fun, and natural way.

Marta’s Teaching Philosophy: “Everyone has a unique voice that can perceive, paint, and express the world differently. My job as a voice teacher is to help every individual find that unique voice, and to help them maintain it in a healthy, fun, and natural way. I’m here to develop the voice into something that will tell all of life’s stories, big and small.”

Where did you grow up?
“I was born just outside of Florence, Italy. My parents moved to the US when I was very young, and I grew up spending the school years in America and the summers in Italy. As I grew and discovered my passion for music and performance, it became clear that I had to be in a city that lived and breathed music. Alpharetta, GA, where I went to middle and high school, was a lovely place — but not exactly bursting with musical opportunity. Italy, while absolutely beautiful, hasn’t quite gotten to the point where it considers music to be a viable “career.” So, I found a commercial music program I wanted to pursue for college, and I moved to Music City!”

How did you come to be a mentor at ROOTS?
“I knew early on that my ideal post-college adult life would revolve around freelance music jobs and teaching. My goal was to maintain a flexible enough schedule that I could still perform, write, and record, but find a part time teaching job that would allow me to foster a passion for music in others. I had heard of ROOTS and wanted to apply upon graduating, but the pandemic threw all of my plans for a loop. Once I got vaccinated and started the job hunt again, ROOTS was immediately the first place I applied!”

What is your favorite local spot to spend time at?
“The Sylvan Park area! It’s right by my house, so I go take walks, get fancy coffee, kill time…it’s a great little part fo town to find hidden gems.”

What type of student will excel under your mentorship?
“I’m big on artistry and expression. I can (and will) teach technique all day every day with diagrams and vocab and all that jazz, but at the end of the day what I really love to pick apart is the emotional expression of a song and how to mold your voice to convey the feelings and imagery you want. Also…I’ll teach you how to mess up! Learning is all about making mistakes, and I love a student who can proudly and loudly mess up.”

What’s something that makes you laugh out loud?
“I love watching compilation videos of cats doing stupid things. Like when they freak out the minute they see a cucumber?? Priceless.”

When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?
“For a few years, I wanted to be a fashion designer or a costume designer. Then, I discovered music and I knew I wanted to be an artist! I still get to make fun costumes…but now I wear them myself!”

Salty Treat: Chips and guac!

Sweet Treat: Anything chocolate!

Fast Food Restaurant: Poke Bros

Sit Down Restaurant: Once Upon A Time In France

Coffee Drink: Matcha, mocha, or pumpkin spice — love Starbucks

Movie/Show: When Harry Met Sally, or Pride and Prejudice!

Place to Shop: Etsy, Target, or thrift!

Candle: Vanilla

Musician/Band: Taylor Swift

Travel Destination: Spain or Italy!

Gift cards I love to receive: Starbucks, Target, Amazon