Master of Music
University of Texas at Austin, Trombone Performance
Bachelor of Music
Appalachian State University, Music Education
Mary Kathryn Bowman Choat is the Assistant Director of Athletic Bands at Wake Forest University. At Wake Forest, she works with athletic bands at both football and basketball games throughout the year. Prior to her appointment at WFU, she was the Director of the Athletic Band at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In addition to her position at Wake Forest University, Mrs. Choat is in her thirteenth year as the director of bands at Hanes Magnet School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Mrs. Choat received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from Appalachian State University where she played on the ASU Women’s Varsity Golf Team. She received her Master of Music degree in Trombone Performance from the University of Texas under the instruction of Dr. Nathaniel Brickens. While at the University of Texas, she traveled with the UT Trombone Choir to Paris to perform in the 2012 International Trombone Festival.
Mrs. Choat has received numerous awards throughout her years at Hanes Magnet School including the American School Band Directors Association (ASBDA) Encore Award in 2016, “Band Director of the Year” for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in 2017, and the “Outstanding Jazz Educator Award” for the West Region Jazz section of NC in 2019. She frequently serves as a guest clinician for honors ensembles throughout the state.
Mrs. Choat also performs regularly throughout North Carolina in many professional ensembles including Winston-Salem’s only “big band” – Camel City Jazz Orchestra, the Piedmont Wind Symphony (Principal Trombone), and the North Carolina Brass Band.
Mrs. Choat and her husband, Colin, live in downtown Winston-Salem. In her spare time, she is an avid triathlete and most recently competed in the 2023 Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.