About the Irving Chorale

Mark will lead the Irving Chorale during the 2026-2027 season.

​

Mark Woodman is a Corporate Trainer with Scouting America, headquartered in Irving, TX. He is an Eagle Scout and has worked for Scouting since 2012 in Washington, California, and Texas. Mark holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Eastern Washington University in Cheney, WA, and is a native of Seattle, WA.

Mark began his formal music training at the age of six when he joined a children’s choir and started piano lessons. Since then, he has been actively involved in school and church choirs, with opportunities to perform in regional and world premieres of several choral and theatrical works.

Mark moved to Irving, TX, in September 2022 and joined the Irving Chorale shortly thereafter. When he is not teaching, he enjoys exploring the Dallas–Fort Worth area, particularly attending arts-related events such as musical theater performances, ballets, operas, and symphonic concerts.

Mark is excited to serve as Board President and contribute to the continued growth and success of the organization.

Jennifer Markley is a graphic designer with 40 years of experience. She is a graduate of Dallas College (Brookhaven Campus) with an associate degree in Advertising and the University of North Texas with a B. F. A. in Advertising. She has worked for boutique design firms as well as freelance projects for identity systems and book design. She worked for Sally Beauty for 26 years in a variety of roles providing print & digital support. She currently provides creative services for a variety of profit and non-profit organizations. Jennifer’s first exposure to music and singing was with her mother (piano and vocals). In addition to singing with the Irving Chorale, she also sings with her church choir.

Madge started her career as a real estate attorney working in a small firm in Arlington Texas. She held a variety of positions over the next 30 years, including as an over-sight attorney for the Resolution Trust Crop, a leasing and asset manager for Starbucks Corp, and prior to retirement, as a development partner with the Haydn Cutler Company of Fort Worth. Madge is currently sharing her knowledge of management, finance, and law through her services on the Irving Chorale Board.

The love of music was instilled in her at an early age by her beloved piano teacher, Mrs. Charlotte Willis of Irving, Texas. Madge went on to study piano with the late Dr. J. Wilgus Eberly in Denton before switching to a career in law.  But despite her work schedule, she always found time for feeding her soul by participating in various community choirs and instrumental groups.

For many of the years since 1988, Lita Strubhar has been a member of Irving Chorale. Always an Alto and serving in various board positions, Lita has in the past also functioned as the group's Managing Director. "Music has been part of my life since I was a child. Throughout junior high and high school I sang in both my church choir and school choirs. But, that wasn't the end. I sang one year in college at Texas Woman's University and for one year in Mesquite Civic Chorus. Then, I moved back to Irving and joined Irving Chorale. Singing lifts my spirits and hearing the harmonies and stories of the music can make my heart swell. The friendships formed through music are wonderful. Even though I have had to "lay out" of a few seasons of the Irving Chorale due to work travel, I always come back."

Patty is a long-time resident of Irving and began singing in Church as a child. Her love of music was carried into high school when she sang at MacArthur High School. She began singing with the Irving Choral under the leadership of James Moore and took some time away. She has been an active member for the last 17 years and has served on the board for the last four years in several positions. She enjoys baking in her spare time and works part time for a local general contractor in the accounting department. Her endeavor as president this year is to see the Irving Chorale thrive has it did before the Covid years.

Caryn is an Insurance broker/manager with 51 years experience in all lines of personal and commercial insurance management. She sings at her Church (the Occasional Singers), and sometimes with special groups. She enjoys going to dinner and movies with her family, friends and does some travelling. She also likes the outdoors and will spend time in her kayak when possible. She stays busy at home with her two kitties

A native of Irving, Carol has supported the Chorale in various non-singing roles since 1994. She recently retired from serving the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth for over 30 years, working as the Court's Network Manager. Her goal as Stage Manager is to assist the Chorale members in whatever way needed to allow the singers and musicians to excellently present their music to their audiences. She is active at 1st Baptist Church in Irving, assisting with the Sound team during traditional services and playing in the handbell choir.

Info to come.

Norma DeLeon has been a member of the Irving Chorale for over 13 years. She has served many roles for the Irving Chorale from Member-at-Large to President. Norma has been a resident of the City of Irving since 1989. She loves the variety of music the Irving Chorale sings and performing with guest artists. “I love singing,” Norma says. “I hope the Irving Chorale keeps growing to reach more people in Irving and the DFW community.”

Becky Compton was called to the vocation of education at a very early age.  She has worked with the children's music programs at her church in Irving since 1986 at many levels.  She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from North Texas State University in 1995. Mrs. Compton taught music in Irving ISD and Keller ISD until her retirement in 2020 and at present, she teaches private voice lessons.  She has directed multiple school choirs and has coordinated the 4th Grade District Honor Choir. She was the managing director for the Keller District 5th and 6th-grade choir from conception in 2014 - 2017.  She has worked in many capacities with many children's honor choirs over the years. 

Becky has held the position of the Texas Music Educators Association as the Elementary Region chair from 2010-2020 coordinating music workshops for the teachers in Region 2 and now in Region 30.  Since 1997, she has enjoyed working behind the scenes accomplishing everything from stuffing "goodie bags" to presiding over and facilitating sessions for TMEA conventions and continues to volunteer at the TMEA conventions. In addition, Mrs. Compton has served on the Ways and Means committee and facilitated teams during the Texas Choral Director's Association convention for 2 years.

With her vision for ARTS education, she started her journey to create a non-profit organization that would foster, enrich and nurture the lives of children seeking to continue their personal journey in the ARTS.  Becky looks forward to many more years of service in cultural arts education. 

​

Becky is blessed to be married, she has three girls and 5 grandchildren and resides in Southlake, TX. 

Robert holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Dallas and a Master's degree in Library Science from the University of Kentucky. He has worked in public library technical services and library administration in the North Texas area for thirty-four years. Robert was also a founding member of the Arlington Master Chorale. Since retirement, he works part time as the music librarian for The Orchestra of New Spain, a Baroque chamber ensemble of singers and period instrumentalists in Dallas. He loves travel, singing and participating in his church choir and has had many opportunities to combine all three.

Info coming soon.

Alex Straw serves as Board Member at Large for the Irving Chorale, Sponsorship Director for the North Texas Chapter of the Women’s Energy Network (a non-profit professional organization), Grant Review Committee Chair for the DFW Chapter of Oilfield Helping Hands (a non-profit charitable organization) and is employed full-time as Senior Reservoir Engineer for GRP Energy Capital in Dallas.

Alex has been involved with the Irving Chorale for over 3 years and has previous advanced choral experience at the Colorado School of Mines University, Green Mountain High School and with the Colorado Children's Chorale. She has travelled across the United States, as well as to Mexico and China with choirs, starting at the age of 9 years old. She also grew up playing piano and guitar throughout her childhood years.

Mrs. Straw enjoys spending time with her husband and six rescue dogs, volunteering at animal shelters, attending concerts and playing recreational softball. 

Donna is a licensed, practicing attorney bringing a wealth of personal and professional experience to the Board of the Irving Chorale. After 12 years as an assistant attorney general in the child support division, Donna recently joined the Methodist Justice Ministry in Ft Worth. Donna has been a member of the Irving Chorale for over 30 years and has served on its Board of Directors consistently for the past 15 years. Donna has held the positions of Member-At-Large, Treasurer, Past President, and President. She is honored to again service as President to guide the Irving Chorale through this next year.