Marie’s musical career in the church began in 1937, before she met and married Rev. Theodosie Scala. She directed Orthodox Church choirs in western, northern and eastern Canada. After moving to the U.S. and before coming to Washington, she directed church choirs in Nebraska, Michigan and Massachusetts. Marie was the founding choir director in several of the Washington DC area churches, among them Holy Cross, Sts. Peter and Paul and St. Mary. Her Pan Orthodox Choir sang in the White House, for the Justices and staff at the Supreme Court, The Kennedy Center, The National Cathedral and a host of other venues. She was a founder of the "Festival of Choirs" in Washington in 1975. Eight additional festivals were held in the years that followed. On numerous occasions, she directed up to 200 Orthodox voices at the Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers and the Festivals of Choirs. In 1988, His Beatitude Metropolitan Theodosius (OCA) issued a "Proclamation" (Gramata) honoring Marie for her "dedicated stewardship of time, labor and talent for the Holy Orthodox Church and its people...." The then Bishop Nathaniel presented it to her at a banquet attended by many Orthodox faithful and clergy from the nation’s capital.