Directors
Pete Martin
Pete Martin graduated from the University of Illinois with a BA in music education in 1990. He began teaching strings in the Morton School district in 1991 and has remained there since. Under his leadership the orchestra program has grown from a Jr. High group of 14 students and a High School group of 17 students to its current makeup of two Jr. High orchestras totaling 60 students and 2 High School orchestras totaling 80 students. The program now has two full time orchestra teachers with Mr. Martin instructing the beginning 6th grade orchestra and the Jr. High program. Mr. Martin also assists with the High School orchestra. Mr. Martin has been a guest clinician and adjudicator in central Illinois. Mr. Martin resides in Morton with his wife Laura and their four daughters.
David Getz
David Getz has been the director of Orchestras at Morton High School, his alma mater, since 2012. In addition to his conducting at MHS, Getz also conducts the Central Illinois Concert Orchestra in Peoria. He has guest conducted the ILMEA District 2 Middle School Orchestra Festival and the Peoria District 150 Middle School Festival Orchestra. He also served as an adjudicator at both the All-District and All-State level. Getz received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Illinois Wesleyan, where he also studied composition with Dr. Mario Pelusi and Dr. David Vayo. Getz often performs his original works with his ensembles. He presented at the 2017 IMEC Convention on The Composers’ Guild, a student composition group he founded in 2012 that has premiered over 60 original student compositions since its inception. In 2018, he composed and produced his first full-length musical, Ruth, that premiered to a crowd of 1,200 people in Morton. In addition to conducting and composing, Getz also coaches Cross Country at MHS. He lives in Morton with his wife, Lauren, and dog, Jasper.