BIO

Mark Petty joins The College of Idaho as the Director of Choral Activities after several years teaching in Iceland, Idaho, and beyond. Mark nourished a love for music and the mountains while growing up in Boulder, Colorado, and has spent his life exploring the intersection between nature and the arts. As the music teacher and adventure coordinator at an Expeditionary Learning school, he pioneered curriculum integrating music and the local environment, helping students connect to culture and the natural world through music exploration. His current work explores how music rooted in landscape and place can help foster environmental stewardship, with a particular focus on Icelandic choral music

Mark believes strongly that singing each other’s songs helps build bridges and creates cultural understanding and unity. He has studied music education, conducting, and environmental communication at Colorado State University, Idaho State University, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Washington, working with such generous mentors as Scott Anderson, Eph Ehly, Edith Copley, Jeremy Fox, Giselle Wyers, and Geoffrey Boers. When not directing music, Mark enjoys leading mountaineering leadership expeditions throughout the Western United States.

EDUCATION

D.M.A., Choral Conducting, University of Washington, ABD 2024

M.M., Choral Conducting, Northern Arizona University, 2015

B.M.E., Music Education, Idaho State University, 2010

B.S., Environmental Communication, Colorado State University, 2007

SCHOLARSHIP & RESEARCH

Singing & Sustainability: An Ecological Perspective. Star of the North, ACDA Minnesota, Spring 2025

Forests of Song: Building Environmental Stewardship through Choral Singing. ChorTeach, Fall 2021

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Icelandic Legacies of Land, Word, and Song, with Dr. Cayla Rosché. Málstofa Rannsóknastofa í tónlist/Seminar for the Music Research Laboratory, Listaháskóli Íslands/Iceland University of the Arts, Reykjavík, Iceland, November 2022

Ecomusicologies of Place: Singing and Environmental Stewardship in Iceland, the North, and Beyond. Hádegisfyrirlestur í tónlistardeild/Lunchtime Lectures in Music, Listaháskóli Íslands/Iceland University of the Arts, Reykjavík, Iceland, April 2022

Authentic, Appropriated, or Informed: Performing Multicultural Music with Integrity & Respect. Idaho Music Educators Association Inservice Conference, Rexburg, ID, February 2019

Northern Lights: Choral Treasures of Iceland. Idaho ACDA Conference, Boise, ID, October 2018 & Idaho Music Educators Association Inservice Conference, Moscow, ID, February 2018

Choral Music of Native North America. Idaho Music Educators Association Inservice Conference, Boise, ID, February 2017

Real Adventure: Building a Values Based Adventure Program at Your School, with Cara Sonnemann. Expeditionary Learning National Conference, Baltimore, MD, 2013

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Guest Conductor and Clinician:

Nordklang Choral Festival, Reykjavík, Iceland, 2022 Idaho International Choral Festival, Pocatello, ID, 2019