Sarah Parks joined the music faculty in 2009 as head of choirs and choral music education. Her college choirs have toured regionally and internationally, most recently to Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. The St. Norbert College Chamber Singers have been selected as a featured performance ensemble for WMEA and WCDA state conferences and the choirs have been invited to perform on stage with distinguished musical artists, ranging from John Rutter to Kenny Rogers. 

Throughout her life, Parks has sung with renowned choral conductors, including Robert Fountain (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Kenneth Jennings (St. Olaf College). As a member of the St. Olaf Choir and the Minnesota Chorale, she performed frequently with the Minnesota Orchestra under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner and sang Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony” with Leonard Slatkin conducting. Parks is an active stage performer and has appeared in diverse roles such as Pitti-Sing (“The Mikado”), the Beggar Woman (“Sweeney Todd”), Mrs. Potts (“Beauty and the Beast”) and Madame Armfeldt (“A Little Night Music”).

Prior to working at St. Norbert College, Parks was an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, where she received the Outstanding Teaching Award within the Humanities and Fine Arts division of the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a licensed music educator in Wisconsin and has taught for five years in choral and general music programs at the middle and high school levels.

Parks enthusiastically serves as a guest conductor, adjudicator and clinician through the region. She is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, where she has held many state leadership roles and has presented research sessions at state and regional conferences on aging voice and group voice instruction. Her article, “Enriching Choral Opportunities for Aging Voices,” appeared in the Choral Journal. Professor Parks is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the honor society of Phi Kappa Phi and the National Association for Music Education. She is proud to be a co-advisor to the college’s highly active student chapter of NAfME.