A Native of Mandan, Tom Porter is a Professor of Music at Bismarck State College.  He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he studied with Dr. Eph Ehly and Dr. Charles Robinson.  He also holds degrees from the University of Mary, Bismarck, DePaul University, Chicago and the University of Notre Dame, South Bend.
 

While in college, Porter was recruited by BMCC founder Ted Duda to sing with the newly formed choir.  He returned as a singing member following his studies at DePaul.  In the fall of 1993, he was hired as the chorus’ director, a post he has held since.

An avid composer, Porter has published liturgical works with GIA Publications, Chicago and Concordia Publishing House, Saint Louis and choral works with Heritage Music Press and Roger Dean Publications, two divisions of the Lorenz Corporation.  His has written commissioned works for the San Francisco Girl’s Chorus, National Association of Pastoral Musicians, Central Dakota Children’s Choir (“What Color Is the Music”), the Bismarck-Mandan Civic Chorus (“Songs of the Prairies”), the North Dakota Music Teachers’ Association (“Prairie Sketches”), Jamestown High School, and the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra.

Porter is a member of the North Dakota Council on the Arts.  In 2003 he was recognized as the Outstanding Choral Conductor by North Dakota ACDA.  In 2002 Porter was awarded the Crystal Apple Award for excellence in teaching by the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce.  In 2001 he was selected as a Larry Remele Fellow by the North Dakota Humanities Council, and presented a series of lectures on the adaptation of folk songs to choral music.  He has also been recognized with the Faculty Achievement Award from Bismarck State College in 1997 and the Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Mary in 1989.       

Tom and Jenifer Porter live in Bismarck with their five children Hannah, Joel, Sarah, Benjamin and Isaiah.