Fiona Breen Receives MSVMA Scholarship to Pursue Music Education Degree

It isn’t common to find a high school student who knows exactly what they want to do with their career at such a young age. Fiona Breen, a 2021 graduate of Haslett High School and recipient of the Michigan School Vocal Music Association (MSVMA) college scholarship, is an exception.

Breen’s passion is to connect music and education, and hopes to teach choir to high school students after college. Breen will be attending Michigan State University (MSU) in Fall 2021, where she will study Choral Music Education.

“The scholarship means a lot to me both financially, and personally,” Breen said. “I’ve put a lot of time, effort, and passion into my performing arts career and my application. It was awesome to be selected out of the whole state.”

Breen started participating in music and theater at the age of six, and began to fall in love with choir when she moved to Haslett in the seventh grade. It was there that her passion for music education was ignited.

“I had great teachers that really fostered my growth, and my love for singing and teaching at a young age,” Breen said. “I always wanted to be a teacher, and once I realized I could combine music and education, I got super excited about that.”

Through her time at Haslett High School, Breen participated in a plethora of MSVMA events. From Solo & Ensembles to the Michigan Youth Arts Festival (MYAF), a large festival for the highest achieving choirs in the state, MSVMA has provided Breen with life-long memories and now will help her through her education at MSU.

“Congratulations to the very deserving Fiona Breen,” MSVMA Executive Director Erik Jacobson said. “MSVMA is so proud to support Fiona as one of our outstanding future choral music educators. Now in its second year, this scholarship is the highest honor we can give to a high school student and we are ecstatic to support Fiona, our member schools, Michigan college music programs, and the future of our profession.”

While Breen’s love for singing and teaching didn’t grow overnight, Breen can think back to a time in her sophomore year of high school when it really clicked.

“When we went to the Michigan Youth Arts Festival my sophomore year, it was one of my choir teachers last years teaching with us,” Breen said. “It was a great performance, the best we ever sang. We were one of two choirs selected out of the state to perform at this concert. It was the last year before COVID changed the way in which we rehearsed and performed, it was really special.”

You can learn more about MSVMA by going to www.msvma.org/.