Student auditions will use the official Rehearsal Tracks which can be purchased through OkCDA.

Downloads will be released on July 15 by 7pm.

Link to Digital Download Order Form

John M. Petzet serves as Director of Choral Activities/Associate Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) and has developed a national and international reputation as a conductor, teacher, and artist-scholar. Recognition as a three-time National Finalist for The American Prize in Choral Performance with two different UNK choirs affirms sustained artistic excellence and visionary leadership in choral music.

Since arriving at UNK in Fall 2019, the choral program has achieved expanded national and international visibility. The UNK Choraleers have been invited to perform at the South Dakota Music Educators Association Conference, the Nebraska Music Educators Association Conference, and the Festival Internacional de Coros – Tlaxcala Canta in Mexico. In May 2025, the UNK Concert Choir traveled to New York City to collaborate with four choirs from Arkansas and Nebraska in a performance of Steve Dobrogosz’s Mass, marking a Carnegie Hall conducting debut.

International engagement includes three invited residencies in Mexico since 2018 to present interest sessions, conduct choirs, and serve as a clinician. Regional credits include 2 invited performances for the Music by Women Festival in Columbus, MS (2018 and 2019) as well as the Louisiana American Choral Directors Association Conference (2016 and 2018). In 2027, Petzet will conduct the Oklahoma Choral Directors Association All-State Junior High Mixed Honor Choir.

As an artist-scholar, Petzet maintains five publications in print and has presented eleven distinct interest sessions in nearly twenty states. His leadership in vocal and choral pedagogy has been recognized through invited sessions such as Building Beautiful Voices (California ACDA; Kansas and Florida Music Educators Association Conventions), The Choral Warmup (ACDA Voices United, Washington, D.C.) and The Freedom You Deserve: A Choral Voicing Demonstration (10th Congress of the Association of Mexican Teachers of Singing).

Expertise in current repertoire trends has been affirmed through presentations at eight state conferences, a regional NAfME conference, two national and one regional ACDA conferences, and one international conference. Featured sessions include The Shakespeare Songs of Matthew Harris: Choral Music with Some Pizzazz!, 15+ Pieces for Small Church Choirs, 15+ Accessible Pieces for High School Choirs, and A Virtual Tour of Global Choral Music.

Professional performance credits include multiple performances with Red Shift, a professional choir based in Baton Rouge, LA and Passion Week, a recording by the Kansas City Chorale and Phoenix Chorale that received the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Classical Album.

Through artistic excellence, pedagogical leadership, and sustained scholarly contribution, John M. Petzet continues to influence the choral profession at state, national, and international levels.