At the bottom of Kimbrough, mixed in with several practice rooms, you will find the office of graduate student MaKenna Wagnon. Wagnon is preparing to graduate this spring with a Master of Fine Arts in vocal performance.
Afterward, she hopes to get a job teaching choir or band to high school students. Wagnon has excelled in her time at WSU, taking on many roles and creating a positive environment where she can help others grow and perfect their craft.
Wagnon first started singing when she was in the second grade and became fascinated with opera singing. She had a music class where she described trying to emulate opera singers. In fifth grade, she was accepted into the South Central Kansas Music Educators Association, a select choir for young students.
“I always knew, in my head, I would go into music education,” Wagnon said.
As she grew up, she looked up to her music teachers and her older brother, a high school music teacher and found her passion for music and teaching through them.
“It’s always been there. My dad has always sung to me when I was a kid, my brother would sing to me. Music has always been a part of my life,” Wagnon said.
Wagnon previously attended Drury University, where she graduated with degrees in education and vocal performance. Wagnon had been looking at universities on the East Coast before turning her eyes to the Pacific Northwest after hearing positive things about Washington from her brothers and wanting to be closer to her family. She chose WSU because it offered her a TA position and she felt she connected the most with the students during her interview.
“It was the best interview I had. The students went out of their way to make sure I felt invited and welcomed,” Wagnon said.
The chamber choir singers also took her out to lunch after the interview and Wagnon loved the experience.
“It was the best overall interaction I had with any school that I auditioned for,” she said.
When she is not busy teaching or helping out fellow music students, Wagnon also fills the role of student conductor. When she first came to WSU, Wagnon made it clear she wanted to get her Master’s but did not want to give up conducting, so she got it worked into her position that she could continue conducting while wrapping up her graduate program.
Wagnon wants students who have similar aspirations as her.
“It’s all worth it in the end. Your anxieties are valid, but they shouldn’t stop you from achieving your goals and your dreams. As musicians, we tend to be perfectionists, but that will only get you so far,” she said.
She expressed how, no matter the anxieties one might have, allowing oneself some wiggle room as we grow.
“We have to give ourselves grace in voice and in other academic ventures. It’s all worth it in the end,” Wagnon said.
Wagnon held her graduate voice recital on Tuesday in Bryan Hall Theater, where she performed thirteen songs before taking her final bow.
