“I feel I’ve been lucky in the variety of things I’ve been able to do at Central — teaching a variety of music courses, teaching Intersections, opportunities to travel and institutional service that also benefits students and gives insight into how all of the parts of the whole work together,” Petrie said.
The self-described “language geek” was determined to “be comfortable in the Big Four languages” by the time she completed her doctorate at the University of Oklahoma, and today her CV lists competency in Italian and Russian and proficiency in German and French as a native English speaker. She has shared her love of languages at Central through a variety of diction courses.
Petrie’s sophisticated musical talent, which she has shared with generations of college and community audiences, grew from an early love of classical and folk music to attending vocal recitals to learn the literature, to knowing she herself wanted to be a singer and private voice instructor. At Central, she has taught music fundamentals and appreciation to majors and non-majors; coached musical theater students; stage-directed opera workshops; and performed frequent recitals.
A former student, now college faculty member, recalls “Dr. Petrie is extraordinarily knowledgeable about a broad range of topics, and was the sort of professor students felt comfortable with. During my own career as a music professor, I often find myself asking, ‘What would Dr. Petrie do or say in this situation?’”
Petrie’s own most memorable travel and educational experience, which she calls the “biggest stretch of my life,” was three months living and studying in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, on sabbatical, just five years after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
“I grew up in the Cold War era and hadn’t tried my wings in any place where only Russian was spoken. I took in the conservatory, the operas and the rehearsals, and learned how vocal music is taught on their home turf. The cultural differences were difficult as well as the language. I knew what our students encountered on study abroad, and it made me encourage students to take advantage of the opportunity because it will change their life.”
Petrie has also committed significant time and talent in service to her professional organization, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, by serving as an officer at the state and regional levels, in addition to memberships in Pi Kappa Lambda music honor society and Phi Kappa Phi academic honor society. Still, she found time to share her voice and specialty in art song through regular campus performances, as well as consulting, performances and presentations to professional groups.
“I want to express to Central how grateful I am for all of the opportunities, relationships with students and colleagues, and the variety of things I’ve been able to do. I can’t imagine a better place to spend my professional life,” Petrie said. In her retirement, she plans involvement in arts and culture and philanthropic organizations throughout the state, as well as volunteering in the local community. She will also fulfill her role as class dean for the Class of 2018 through their commencement.