SARA PARKS
President
Sara Parks has been performing and music-directing in Marquette’s theatre community for the past fifteen years. Sara holds a Bachelor of Music Education from NMU and worked as a full-time elementary music teacher for nine years. Sara currently teaches private voice and beginning piano lessons at Yooptone Music Store in Marquette and is the Director of Music at Messiah Lutheran Church. Sara is also an adjunct instructor in NMU’s Department of Music. Sara has music-directed several productions for local theatre companies; her favorites include Bonnie & Clyde, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Into The Woods Jr. Sara also enjoys performing as a vocal soloist with the Westerly Winds Big Band. Her favorite roles on stage include Emily Hobbs in Elf the Musical (FRT), Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (PAAC), and The Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods (FRT). Sara is a co-founder and Board President of Big Lake Theatre Company.
TONY BEACCO
Advisor
Tony Beacco graduated from Northern Michigan University with a degree in music education in 1989 and retired from the NICE Community School District where he was a choral teacher for 33 years. He also studied choral conducting and voice at Ball State University, earning a Master of Arts degree in 1996. Tony is currently an adjunct instructor at NMU teaching voice lessons.
Tony has been a vocal soloist with the Marquette Choral Society, the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra and the Marquette Symphony Orchestra over the years and also has performed at several local venues. He has also been music director at local churches and music theater productions and remains active in the musical community in the Marquette area.
DR. ERIN COLWITZ
Advisor
Erin Colwitz has served as Director of Choral Activities at Northern Michigan University since 2015, where she conducts the Arts Chorale and University Choir and directs the Marquette Choral Society. Under her leadership, NMU choirs have toured Finland, Austria, Italy, Poland, and throughout the United States. Recently promoted to Professor of Music, Dr. Colwitz is an active guest conductor, lecturer, and adjudicator at state, regional, national, and international levels, including engagements with the Michigan Music Conference, the Michigan State Honor Choir, and the Athens Institute of Research.
Before joining NMU, Dr. Colwitz was Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where her choirs performed nationally and internationally. Her research and performance collaborations have been supported by multiple grants, including a U.S. premiere of Tarik O’Regan’s Martyr and fieldwork in South Africa on African church music traditions.
Dr. Colwitz holds MM and DMA degrees in Choral Music from the University of Southern California, where she studied with William Dehning and sang with the GRAMMY-nominated Dale Warland Singers. She has also performed with the Pacific Chorale, Pacific Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic under conductors including Carl St. Clair, Esa- Pekka Salonen, and Gustavo Dudamel.
Dr. Colwitz currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Marquette Symphony Orchestra and the Advisory Board for Big Lake Theatre Company, and also directs the Chancel Choir at Marquette Hope’s First Campus.
AMANDA BOUNDY
Executive Director
An Upper Peninsula native, Boundy was raised in rural Alger County and graduated from Superior Central High School. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from Albion College and a Master of Music in Voice from the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University. She's divided her career between performing musical theatre, opera, and choral solos, teaching voice and vocal ensembles, directing theatre productions, and administration for performing arts organizations.
As a theatre performer, Boundy played roles including Cathy in The Last Five Years, Mary in Mary Poppins, Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Meg March in Little Women. Opera roles include Monica in The Medium, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, and 2nd Lady in Die Zauberflöte. She was also the soprano soloist for several major choral works , most recently John Rutter's Magnificat with the Marquette Choral Society.
In addition to performing, Boundy was an Adjunct Professor of Music at Georgia College and State University. She directed community theatre performances for the Lake Country Players in Greensboro, GA and the Plaza Alliance for the Performing Arts in Eatonton, GA. As an arts administrator, she served as the Director of Operations for the youth and adult programs of the Fairfax Choral Society in Annandale, VA.
Boundy returned home to the U.P. in 2023.