Dr. Mari Jo Tynon

Mari Jo Tynon, Professor of Music; B.M., University of Denver; M.M., Colorado State University; D.M., Indiana University. Applied voice, vocal pedagogy and literature, diction, and opera workshop.

Originally from Wyoming, soprano Mari Jo Tynon earned a Doctor of Music in Voice Performance and Literature from Indiana University.  While at Indiana, Dr. Tynon studied with internationally-renowned voice teacher, Dale Moore.  Dr. Tynon’s doctoral dissertation focused on the adjudication of high school singers, and used the Idaho State Solo Contest as a model.   Dr. Tynon has also been involved in research on vocal health issues for women

Dr. Tynon has sung professionally in both theUnited States and Europe, winning critical acclaim for Mozart opera roles including Queen of the Night (Magic Flute), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Konstanze (Die Entfuhrung), and Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte).  She has also won critical acclaim for oratorio performances, including several as soloist with the Boise Master Chorale and Philharmonic in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Messiah, and Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Vespers. 

Dr. Tynon is an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.  She is a past Regional Governor, and is currently serving as President of the Treasure Valley Chapter of NATS.  Dr. Tynon was a Coordinator for the NATS 2002 Summer Internship Program, and she also serves on the Board of Directors for the NATS Foundation.

Dr. Tynon’s voice students at CofI are frequently chosen to perform in regional NATS workshops and competitions.  In the summer of 2005, Dr. Tynon traveled to the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio with three CofI voice students who were chosen to perform at the prestigious Institute of Voice Performance Pedagogy featuring internationally-renowned voice teacher and author, Richard Miller. 

In 1998 Dr. Tynon attended master classes and seminars sponsored by the Marilyn Horne Foundation at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City featuring Dame Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, and James Levine.  Dr. Tynon has served three times as a judge for the New York Metropolitan Opera District Auditions in Spokane.