Mark Helms

Education

• University of Maryland
• Eastman School of Music
• Furman University

Background

Mark Helms is the newly-appointed Director of Choirs at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, where he conducts the William & Mary Choir and teaches academic courses in music. Dr. Helms is a recent graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, where he received his Doctor of Musical Arts in choral conducting. At Maryland, he served as primary conductor of the University Chorale, assistant conductor of the UMD Chamber Singers, chorus master for the Maryland Opera Studio, instructor of undergraduate conducting courses, and assisted in the preparation of choruses for the Baltimore and National Symphony Orchestras. His dissertation research at Maryland focused on shifting choral repertoire programming trends following the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Dr. Helms previously conducted church, community, and collegiate ensembles in Pennsylvania for six years, where he served as director of choral activities and liturgical music at DeSales University and as director of music and the arts at Doylestown Presbyterian Church. In 2021, he received the Outstanding Young Conductor Award from the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Choral Directors Association in recognition of his work in the state. Dr. Helms is also a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where he earned a Master of Music degree in choral conducting, and of Furman University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in church music. He has studied conducting with Jason Max Ferdinand, Edward Maclary, David Neely, William Weinert, Brad Lubman, and Hugh Ferguson Floyd.