“You can’t be a good teacher, you can’t be a good conductor, without being a good human being... I’m grateful that I have stuck with so many of the things that felt true to me. I’m honest and vulnerable but also still open to learning from other people, because everything that I do is not right. If I realize it’s not right, I need to ‘fess up to it really quickly.” A Virginia native, Marques L. A. Garrett is Associate Professor of Choral Studies at the University of North Texas. He earned his PhD in Music Education (Choral Conducting) at Florida State University. An active conductor, Dr. Garrett is the founding conductor of the Nebraska Festival Singers. He has served as a guest conductor or clinician with several school, church, community, and festival/honor choirs throughout the country. In addition to his conducting classes at UNT, he leads conducting workshops at other universities and conferences. A versatile voice that performs both as a baritone and countertenor, Dr. Garrett has sung with several community, church, and university groups as both a chorister and soloist. He was the countertenor soloist in the European premiere of Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo in Limerick, Ireland. Currently, he sings with the Festival Singers of Florida and Jason Max Ferdinand Singers. Dr. Garrett is an avid composer of choral and solo-vocal music whose compositions have been performed to acclaim by high school all-state, collegiate, and professional choirs including Seraphic Fire and the Oakwood University Aeolians. His compositions are available through several publishers. To get in touch with Marques, you can visit his website, mlagmusic.com or find him on Facebook (@marques.l.a.garrett) or Snapchat/Instagram/X (@mlagmusic). Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro Part 2 episode from May 22, 2023, to hear how to share your story with us. Email [email protected] to contact our hosts. Podcast music from Podcast.co Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson