Kaitlin (Bertschi) Martin, Head Director of the Destrehan High School Choirs, is a New York native with a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Loyola University New Orleans, a Master of Music degree, and a Post-Graduate Diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Mrs. Martin has always maintained a passion for both performing and teaching with a mission to connect with singers of all ages and backgrounds using music as a conduit for self-expression and exploration.

Under the direction of Mrs. Martin, the Destrehan High School Choir program offers students opportunities to participate in a mixed-voice Concert Choir, a Men’s ensemble, a beginner Treble ensemble, as well as the Advanced Treble Choir and Show Choir ensembles which are both audition-based. The Destrehan Choirs compete annually at regional music assessments where they consistently receive Superior ratings. Choir members from Destrehan participate each season in multiple honor ensembles at the local, regional, and state-levels. In 2023, the DHS Concert Choir traveled to New York to sing at the Nationals for Top Choirs on the Carnegie Hall stage as well as the Aaron Copland Stage at Queens College. Travel will continue to be an exciting part of the DHS Choir program. 

Mrs. Martin cherishes her students of former ensembles from both private and public schools across the country. Her work with the San Francisco Girls Chorus School as the Training Chorus Director and later the director of the innovative SFGConnect pilot program, in collaboration with JackTrip Virtual Studio, afforded Kaitlin the chance to reimagine the conventional ways choral music could be shared and performed. Mrs. Martin values her tenure with the Pre-College and Continuing Education Division within the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she served as Director of the Vocalise ensemble & diction coach, and where she taught students of all ages in her private voice studio which she maintains both in person and virtually from her home studio in Louisiana. 

Mrs. Martin is a mezzo-soprano and has enjoyed singing with professional choirs and opera companies throughout the U.S., featured in venues in Louisiana such as the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts, the Saenger Theater, and the Orpheum Theater as well as in California at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, and as a soloist with the California Symphony. Her active musical career includes international performances in classical and contemporary opera, recitals, and musical theater. Her fulfilment continues at home with her beloved band-director husband, and multi-talented step-daughters. Along with their dogs, Mimi and Autumn, Mrs. Martin and her family are enriched daily by their very musical estate.