February 2025

Upcoming Events

February 28 I State S&E Festivals Registration Closes

March 1 I College Scholarship Application Opens

March 4 I High School All-State Honors Choir Registration Closes

March 7 I State S&E Festival Late Registration Deadline

March 8 I Board of Directors Meeting (Zoom)

March 14 I A Cappella Festival Registration Opens

March 25 I State Choral Festivals Registration Deadline

Congratulations to our returning and newly elected Board Members!

Matthew Callaghan, President Elect

Julia Jenkins Holt, Treasurer

Zach Everly, Secretary

Kelli Falls, Director of Adjudication

Anna Bolton, Director of Honors Choirs

Anthony Funaro, Member at Large

Congratulations to the students selected for participation in the 2025 All-State Honors Choir. Thank you to their directors and their schools for supporting them in this endeavor.

• Allendale High School
• Ann Arbor Pioneer High School
• Ann Arbor Skyline High School
• Avondale High School
• Big Rapids High School
• Buchanan High School
• Caledonia High School
• Charlotte High School
• Chelsea High School
• East Lansing High School
• Escanaba High School
• Father Gabriel Richard High School
• Fennville High School
• Flushing High School
• Grand Blanc High School
• Grand Haven High School
• Grand Ledge HS Choirs
• Grand Rapids Christian High School
• Grandville Calvin Christian High School
• Greenville High School
• Grosse Pointe North High School
• Hartland High School

• Jackson Northwest High School
• Lake Orion High School
• Lakeview High School
• Lakeshore High School
• Loy Norrix High School
• Marquette Senior High School
• Milford High School
• Milan High School
• Northview High School
• Novi High School
• Oakland Homeschool Music
• Okemos High School
• Paw Paw High School
• Rochester High School
• Saline High School
• South Christian High School
• South Lyon East High School
• Spring Lake High School
• ​Standish Sterling High School
• West Ottawa High School
• Whiteford High School 
• Webberville High School
• Williamston High School

Submitted by Anna Bolton, All-State Honors Choir Supervisor

May 7, 2025

Skyline High School

Ann Arbor MI

Please complete the Adjudicator Evaluation Form if you have participated in festival(s). Evaluations will be accepted only from an MSVMA member who was present in the room during Adjudication.

Submitted by Kelli Falls, Director of Adjudication

MSVMA is proud to feature outstanding ensembles at the Michigan Music Conference. We are privileged to showcase ensembles annually chosen by a blind panel of vocal music professionals. 

Choral Hour is open to Middle or High School choral ensembles and specialized choral performances including but not limited to Jazz, Pop, A Cappella, Gospel, Show Choir, Musical Theatre, Barbershop, Non-Western traditional and other alternative genres. 

Deadline for applications is May 15, 2025.

The Michigan School Vocal Music Association is proud to offer one, $10,000 scholarship to an outstanding high school choral student who is pursuing a degree in choral music education. The scholarship is paid in increments of $1,250 per semester for the duration of a 4-year college degree.

To be eligible, the following requirements must be met or maintained:

•  Applicant must graduate from a High School member school of MSVMA
•  Applicant must attend one of the following collegiate music programs for choral music education:

Adrian College

Albion College

Alma College

Andrew's University

Aquinas College

Central Michigan University

Cornerstone University

Eastern Michigan University

Grand Valley State University

Hope College

Michigan State University

Northern Michigan University

Oakland University

Saginaw Valley State University

Spring Arbor University

University of Michigan

Wayne State University

Western Michigan University

Scholarship recipients must maintain a 3.0 GPA and remain in good standing in their respective degree program as a full-time student.

The application deadline is May 1, 2025 for the 2025-2026 academic school year. The recipient will be contacted by mid-May and will be announced at the Summer Conference.

NOTE: Students must be accepted to a collegiate music program before applying.

It's Not Too Late!

Are you pursuing an advanced degree, wanting to learn more about a particular teaching method or wishing you had the funding to attend an upcoming workshop? Then you need to apply for the MSMVA Carolyn F. Leep Scholarship

This scholarship was established in 1988 in honor of Carolyn‘s service to the Michigan School Vocal Music Association. In her position as head of the Choral/Vocal Department of Malecki Music Inc., Carolyn worked tirelessly for 20 years to provide MSVMA members with the materials to better perform our jobs as music educators.

Traditionally, the scholarship has been awarded to an MSVMA member in January at the Michigan Music Conference. This year, it has come to our attention that many universities do not announce acceptance until December 1 for graduate studies. This date falls after our deadline. With this in mind, it has been decided to move the award to align with the academic calendar. We will accept applications until May 15 each year. The committee will decide on a recipient to be announced during the MSVMA Summer Conference. The award will need to be used during the following academic year. The application form and eligibility details can be found on the MSVMA website under the Resources, Grants and Scholarships tab. 

For more information, visit msvma.org/CarolynLeepScholarship

Submitted by Gail Worden, Past President, Leep Scholarship Chair

Make plans to join us for Summer Conference! We will be welcoming Dr. Emily Williams Burch as our headliner at The Lansing Center, July 23 - 24.

Please consider sharing your knowledge and experience by presenting a session at

Summer Conference. Some suggested topics are:

• Choral Literature/Reading Session
• Vocal/Choral Pedagogy
• Rehearsal Techniques
• Warm-ups
• Music Literacy/Sight Reading
• Choral Program Growth/Recruitment
• Diversity/Equity/Inclusion

If you have additional ideas for sessions related to vocal music instruction, please submit them. 

To submit your session topic, please complete the Summer Conference 2025 Session

by May 2.

If you have questions or would like additional information about presenting at Summer Conference, please contact the State Office.  

MSVMA offers recognition plaques to choirs receiving Excellent ratings at District and State Choral Festivals. Orders may be submitted from February 1 to June 1 via the form on the website.