MSVMA is pleased to announce our 2026 Michigan Music Conference Headliner: Elaine Hagenberg.

Elaine Hagenberg’s music “soars with eloquence and ingenuity” (ACDA Choral Journal). Renowned for her ability to seamlessly weave lush harmonic landscapes, captivating melodies, and evocative piano and orchestral accompaniments, she offers a unique blend of artistic sophistication and universal appeal.

With notable performances across the Americas, Europe, Australia, and Asia, her works are frequently featured at regional symposiums, national American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conferences, All-State festivals, as well as performance venues including Carnegie Hall in New York, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, the Vatican in Rome, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, and the upcoming Église de St-Sulpice in Paris.

Elaine’s award-winning compositional style is profoundly influenced by her connection to nature, beauty, and spiritual reflection. Drawing inspiration from the vivid imagery and themes found in poetry, she crafts intricate musical textures that enrich her narratives and “pull at one’s heartstrings” (NY Concert Review), creating immersive experiences that connect listeners to both the complexity and awe of the natural world and the profound depths of shared human emotion. This is evident in her celebrated composition I Am the Wind, which earned first place in the American Choral Directors Association Brock Prize for Professional Composers.

In addition to composing full-time, Elaine is a guest artist and clinician, seeking to foster meaningful connections through music and texts. Her recent and upcoming residencies and speaking engagements include ACDA conferences, Carnegie Hall Festivals, the Incanto Mediterraneo International Choral Festival in Milazzo in Italy, the Vox Anima London Choral Festival, and the Galway Choral Festival in Ireland.

To learn more about Elaine, please visit: elainehagenberg.com 

Featured Ensembles:

Beagle Middle School 8th Grade Treble Choir

Kristin Burton, Director

Traverse City West Middle School Tenor/Bass Choir

Emerick Dee, Director

Byron Center High School Bella Voce

Jennifer Metcalf, Director

Ann Arbor Pioneer High School A Capella Choir

Steve Lorenz, Director

Jackson Northwest High School Vocal Dimension

Matthew Snell, Director

Featured Performers and Ensembles:

Will Powers

Lana Lanzanis

Ann Arbor Skyline High School

Millennium Middle School

MSVMA All-State Jazz Honors Choir

Rosana Eckert, Director

Rosana Eckert wears many professional musical hats, having earned international renown as a dynamic vocalist, creative songwriter, versatile arranger, and masterful educator.

Formerly an accomplished French horn player, Rosana began singing jazz in college at the University of North Texas, becoming the first woman hired to their esteemed jazz faculty in 1999. Since then, Rosana has helped build the UNT vocal jazz program into one of the best in the world. An acclaimed solo singer, she has released several solo albums and performs regularly throughout the U.S. and abroad. She has also collaborated with countless jazz luminaries, including singing on the Grammy-nominated album Vocabularies by Bobby McFerrin, co-producing the Grammy-nominated track “How Deep is Your Love” by vocal group Kings Return, and singing on the Grammy-winning composition “Eberhard” by legendary jazz pianist Lyle Mays.

She has published many vocal arrangements and created various educational resources for all levels, from elementary school singers to professionals. Her book, Singing with Expression: A Guide to Authentic and Adventurous Song Interpretation, has been praised as an unparalleled resource for contemporary singers, and she was the co-creator of the online Vocal Jazz Improvisation Boot Camp series with Darmon Meader.

In addition to her extensive live performing, writing, and teaching, Rosana works regularly as a studio vocalist, producer, and voice-over actor. She is the in-house announcer for the Dallas PBS TV station KERA, and she has sung on hundreds of commercials, album projects, publishing demos, and radio IDs heard around the world.