May Garrettson Evans (1866–1947) began her professional career covering news for the Baltimore Sun in 1888. Her brother Henry Ridgely Evans, a newspaperman himself, would often ask for her help with stories when he was pressed for time. As a student of the Peabody Conservatory, May would often be asked to cover concerts or musicals. She was officially brought on as a general reporter for The Sun in 1888 as a music and drama critic. She was considered the first woman reporter for The Sun, working for the Baltimore newspaper until 1895.

Looking for an interesting story to cover for the paper, Evans was drawn back to the Peabody Conservatory. She believed there was a need for a preparatory school as a means to prepare future students for the rigorous curriculum offered by the Conservatory. She interviewed the director and wrote the story, sparking serious interest in the project. Though the Conservatory director, Asger Hamerik, was interested in the idea, there were no steps taken to begin the project. Evans then took it upon herself, along with her sister Marion, to open the Peabody Graduates' Preparatory and High School of Music in 1894. Evans enlisted the help of fellow graduates of the Conservatory to teach the several hundred pupils who applied for admission that year. The school was officially incorporated into the Peabody Conservatory in 1898 as the Peabody Preparatory Department.

Evans served as superintendent of the Preparatory Department until 1930. She was passionate about bringing music to the people of Baltimore, inviting various communities to study at the Preparatory and participate in a community singing program. The Preparatory added a dance program in 1914.

Throughout her tenure at the Peabody Preparatory, Evans continued to write, acting as editor of the Peabody Bulletin. She was one of the founding members of the Edgar Allan Poe Society in 1924 and would go on to serve as president from 1935 to 1938. Her 1939 book Music and Edgar Allan Poe: a Bibliographical Study contains an annotated list of musical settings of Poe's works.

In 1928 May, Marion, and their sister Bessie Evans visited Navajo and Pueblo communities in New Mexico to study their dance and songs. Bessie and May wrote a book titled American Indian Dance Steps, published in 1931.

May Garrettson Evans is one eight children of Henry Cotheal Evans and Mary Elizabeth Garrettson. Their ancestry is traced back to the 17th century and includes Edward Dorsey, Nicholas Greenberry, Henry Ridgely, John Worthington, and John Hammond.