Our Team

Mary Durst is a singer/pianist/songwriter who has worked in the music industry for more than 40 years. Originally from the Detroit area, her professional career and education began in Gospel and Classical music from Spring Arbor University while in High School where she toured with groups, as a soloist, and she also was a piano accompanist for several choirs. As a scholarship winner at Huntington University in Indiana, she then auditioned &; joined a jazz fusion band in LA at the age of 18. Since then she has opened for bands such as Earth Wind and Fire, Ronnie Laws &; toured with several groups including her own with husband, saxophonist, Craig Durst. Mary studied extensively with Seth Riggs instructor, Wayne Eikenberry of Azusa Pacific University where she was accepted into the music program, and also with Jazz legend Nancy Wilson through Cal Poly Pomona. As an educator she has given music clinics to hundreds of schools around Southern California. As a faculty instructor at Pasadena City College since 2006, she helped develop their successful jazz vocal program. Here she also teaches Rock History, Jazz History, Pop Songwriting, Music Theory and Jazz Vocal Combos. She has also been teaching in her own private teaching practice for more than 40 years. Her and her husband’s studio’s roster has averaged 120 to 200 students a month along with their own elite teachers for more than 37 years in L.A. They have produced 100’s of student showcases through the years. As a studio musician and song writer, besides work with other artists, Mary wrote &; arranged all original works for 8 of her own albums. Worldwide play of her tunes includes “94.7 FM, The Wave” in LA. Four of her songs hit top 40 smooth jazz charts between 2001 &; 2007, and are currently on iTunes and streaming stations including Spectrum’s Music Choice smooth jazz channel. She’s also been the lead worship pastor at one of the most racially diverse churches in the nation for 30 years out of Long Beach California where she offered a rich experience and platform for some of the most diverse vocalists & musicians out of a purely positive environment. Recently she received a Grant from Azusa Pacific University for her newly founded program called “Aurora Worship Training” for multi-generational worship. Over the pandemic Mary received state certification for Distance Education through Pasadena City College to teach online at college level. She has written 2 courses for LA College of Music in Pasadena over the past few years including Improvisation II for vocalists and Chart Writing. She is currently working on several other courses with LACM’s esteemed colleagues in developing 2 masters level course. In her free time, Mary loves to ride her Harley Davidson Motorcycle with her saxophonist husband Craig and she has won several awards for her custom bike design.