UT Martin’s Department of Music welcomed Dr. Mark Statler as the new Director of Choral Activities and assistant professor of choral music education courses in the fall of last year. Since that time, Statler has approached these positions with diligence and attentiveness. But every individual has their own unique journey of figuring out what they aspire to be in life. What led this Indiana native to the small town of Martin?
Statler is originally from Rochester, Indiana, where he spent the majority of his early years. “That’s where I did all of my kindergarten through high school and then went to a small college in Indiana as well, called Taylor University,” Statler said.
During his freshmen year of college, unironically enough he wasn’t a music major but instead an engineering major. He didn’t have a strong interest in music, but he played saxophone and sang a bit in the choir. Little did he know that it would eventually become his career. “When I graduated from college, I taught that year in Indiana, and I taught elementary music: kindergarten through fifth grade, just general music. I had a little choir that I did before schools one day a week,” Statler said.
What inspired Statler to pursue choral education is its impact on people because it serves as a great way to express emotions whether you are a music major or not. “You get to know other people, and I think that’s another thing I love about choirs is that it has such different backgrounds,” he said.
During Statler’s seven-year teaching experience in Nairobi, Kenya, he learned how choirs can bring people together. He taught the middle and high school choirs along with theatre and music theory. “It was an American international school. So, it was the same curriculum that a school here in the U.S. would have. A lot of the teachers were from the United States, but from other places too. There was a lot of American students that were living there, but then we also had a lot of Kenyan students, from the city, and then a lot of international students. There were people from all over the world. I think we had 55 countries that were represented at the school; people who had passports from those countries. It was a really rich experience, just getting to know people,” Statler said.
He also mentioned a hilarious moment from his time in Kenya, when a monkey was walking along the rafters of the boma (where events were held) and was in the background when he was conducting.
Following his experience in Kenya, Statler would continue to further excel in his teaching career. “I went to grad school in Bowling Green, Ohio. I did some teaching at the university there. And then when I graduated with my masters, I went to get my doctorate at Ball State University in Indiana. I taught there at Ball State while I was doing that and directed a choir at Taylor University, which is where I did my undergraduate too. Then I came here to Martin,” he said.
What caught Statler’s eye about Martin was how it has such an impact on the community. “That’s the one thing that really drew me here initially, because I’m not from here at all. The idea of the students that I meet and have a chance to work with are the students who are doing really important things in this region and in other places as well, but especially in this area,” he said.
Since becoming the new Director of Choral Activities and assistant professor of choral music education courses at UT Martin, Statler has made a tremendous impact on students.
Anastasia Duncan, a senior Music major from Kentucky, is among the students who get to witness Statler’s phenomenal teaching abilities every Tuesday and Thursday because she is part of the University Singers choir that he conducts. “My experience learning from Dr. Statler has been great. It is different from the past professor because I feel that Dr. Statler focuses more on inclusion and doesn’t make it seem that music majors are versus everyone else. He does a great job of making it feel like a community as it should be,” she said.
Duncan also says that Dr. Statler’s teaching style is very “energetic and puts everyone in a good mood as it gives them a break from the stresses of college life.”
Although teaching can be so rewarding, it also has challenging moments. “I think the challenges I’ve found are when I came in, the choirs were very small and there wasn’t a lot of students in them. And so, I wanted to try to grow the choirs and get more people involved. The students such as Anastasia and a number of others who brought their friends to come and be a part of the choirs is really fun to see,” Statler said.
Despite the challenges, Statler and his festive socks have now become one of the hearts and souls of the music department at UT Martin.
When he’s not teaching courses, some hobbies he enjoys are spending time with his family, watching and playing sports, baking and walking while listening to podcasts.
Advice Statler would give to any student who wants to pursue choral education is, “Be open to learning no matter where you’re at. Whether you’ve been in choirs a lot or very little. Be open to learning new things and new ways of doing things.”
