Bio
Stover came to Ann Arbor from Northfield, Minnesota, home of Saint Olaf College, where he served on the music faculty as conductor of the St. Olaf Chapel Choir (SATB) and Viking Chorus (TTBB) while teaching conducting and a new course he designed titled, Music and Social Justice. Both of these choirs have regularly appeared in the annual St. Olaf Christmas Festival, a tradition held for over a century and regarded around the world as one of the great music festivals of the season. Stover led the Chapel Choir, Viking Chorus, and the Festival Mass Choir of over 400 voices in the St. Olaf Christmas Festival presented at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis at the 2017 National Convention of the American Choral Conductors Association (ACDA).
From 2018 through 2022, he conducted the Together In Hope Choir holding the role as artistic director for the Together In Hope Project. This work led to performances throughout Rome, including opening the 17th Annual International Festival of Sacred Music and Art at the Papal Basilica St. Paul Outside the Walls. In July of 2022, Stover led the Together In Hope Choir and Trondheim Solistene in the world premiere of The Stranger (composed by Kim André Arnesen to raise global awareness about refugees and displaced persons) at the Trondheim International Olavsfest, the largest annual cultural event in Norway. He conducted the U.S. premiere in St. Paul, MN at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in October of 2022. Additionally, Stover served for multiple seasons as the artistic director of Magnum Chorum, a semi-professional choral ensemble of over 60 voices based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
In April 2022, Stover led the Men’s Glee Club in the world premiere of Tesfa Wondemagegnehu’s To Repair as a part of a full concert performance in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. On the heels of the premiere last spring, the Glee Club was invited to present the work and an accompanying lecture at the 2023 American Choral Conductors Association National Conference in Cincinnati, OH.
Mark Stover holds degrees from St. Olaf College and Luther Seminary where he studied conducting and choral repertoire under the mentorship of Dr. Anton Armstrong and Dr. Paul Westermeyer. In addition to his professorial role at the University of Michigan, he is also soon to complete the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting at Michigan State University.
