Mary Nabours was trained as a pianist and earned a music degree from UC Berkeley. However after over twenty years as a professional accompanist and piano teacher, she grew fascinated with early second- language acquisition and decided to become a Spanish Immersion teacher. During one of her family’s yearly stays in Guadalajara, Mexico the sound of a viola made by a luthier friend so enthralled her that she determined to learn to play it, giving up the piano entirely. Beginning an under-chin instrument — at age 40 and essentially self-taught — proved a serious challenge, but it’s a decision she has not regretted. Now retired after three decades of Immersion teaching, musically she has never been happier. She loves playing in chamber groups, is a violist in five local orchestras and is the librarian for the Santa Monica Symphony.