Since 1995, The Woodlands Chorale has been performing beautiful choral music in The Woodlands, Texas. We have performed a wide range of music from intimate contemporary pieces to large choral masterworks, many with orchestra or small instrumental ensembles. We are privileged to have in The Chorale some of the best singers in the community and are committed to inspiring a passion for excellent choral music within The Woodlands and the surrounding communities.
Mission Statement
The mission of The Woodlands Chorale is:
- To uphold the highest standards in the performance of classical and contemporary choral repertoire
- To reach out into the community to attract, educate, and inspire the broadest possible audience
- To recruit the best singers in our community as members of the Chorale
Read an article on The Chorale‘s appointment of new artistic director Mark Marotto, PhD
Mark Marotto, PhD
Artistic Director
Dr. Marotto has served as Artistic Director of the Woodlands Chorale since 2021. He has directed the choral program at Lone Star College- Montgomery for more than 10 years and has also served as Chair of Music and Dance.
Originally from New Jersey, Dr. Marotto has lived and worked in several countries throughout Europe and North America. During his eight years in Switzerland, he served as Artistic Director of Le Louverain, a summer choral festival in Neuchâtel, and he conducted several ensembles including the Bern University Chorus, Le Motet de Genève and the Lausanne Youth Choir. More recently, he served as artistic director of the Houston Cecilia Chamber Choir and the Windsor Classic Chorale in Canada.
Dr. Marotto completed his doctorate in choral conducting at the University of Michigan and his research focuses on collective virtuosity and the transfomational effects of music and dance. He also holds a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the National Music University of Bucharest, Romania and a bachelor’s in music, summa cum laude, from Duke University. He has worked with a number of prominent conductors, among them Helmuth Rilling, Christopher Hogwood and Kurt Masur.
Assistant Conductor and Accompanist
Matthew Martinez is an educator, collaborative pianist, conductor, and church musician whose work spans music education, sacred music, and community performing arts throughout Southeast and Central Texas. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Mary Hardin–Baylor and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Sam Houston State University.
Since 2016, Mr. Martinez has served as choir director at Beverly Hills Intermediate School, where he leads a thriving junior high choral program. Under his leadership, the Beverly Hills choral program has consistently earned Sweepstakes awards at UIL Concert & Sight-Reading, produced numerous Region and All-State singers, produced the highest number of region singers in PISD and is recognized as one of the premier junior high choral programs in Region XIX.
Also since 2016, Martinez has served as pianist for First Baptist Church Conroe, collaborating in weekly worship services, concerts, and seasonal productions for the past 10 years. Since 2017, he has also served as accompanist for the Region XIX Junior High All-Region Choir, collaborating annually with distinguished guest conductors and some of the region’s finest young singers. An in-demand collaborative pianist, he regularly accompanies HS and JH UIL Concert & Sight-Reading evaluations, vocal and instrumental Solo & Ensemble contests, judges piano festivals, and has accompanied recitals throughout Texas. For more than two decades, he has collaborated extensively with Académie Musique in Central Texas, serving as primary keyboardist or music director for more than twenty-five musical theatre productions.
He also serves as a director of the Segundo Barrio Children’s Chorus, Houston’s first and only bilingual children’s choir, whose singers were selected as an invited performing choir at the 2026 Texas Choral Directors Association Convention, one of the state’s highest honors for a choral ensemble.
Whether conducting, teaching, or collaborating at the piano, Martinez is passionate about cultivating musical excellence and creating meaningful artistic experiences for singers and audiences alike. Mr. Martinez is thrilled to extend his role with the chorale as Assistant Conductor and Accompanist of the Woodlands Chorale!
Leadership Team
- Diana Malin – President
- Garrett Maddox – Vice President
- Gary Wooddell – Treasurer
- Kathleen Klingshirn – Secretary
- Marjorie Russell – Immediate Past President
- Barbara Kurtz – Director at Large
- Gary Heath – Director at Large
- Nancy Davis – Director at Large
- Katie Gordon – Director at Large
- Stephanie Parker – Director at Large
- Sarah Spark – Director at Large