Meet F&C Scholar Addison Collins

Addison Collins is First & Calvary's soprano choral scholar. Addison is a sophomore at Missouri State University studying vocal performance. However, pursuing music professionally was not always her plan.

 

Until sophomore year of high school, Addison planned to have a career as a ballet dancer. She had been in choirs since middle school, but says, "I didn't take them seriously because I was going to dance." However, something shifted Addison's plans, and going into her junior year of high school she began to train her voice. Now in her second year of college, she says, "I continue to fall in love with the art form."

 

Addison says her career goals are "ever-changing, as I learn what I want to do and my passions," but she would love to work in a professional choir, possibly as the soprano soloist.

 

As part of the MSU chorale, Addison has had the opportunity to sing in France and Korea and will go to Argentina and Chile this summer. While performing in other countries, Addison observed the universal language of music. Commenting on the Korea trip, she says, "We sang in English, we sang in different languages that weren't Korean, and people were still weeping and very moved by the music, including myself."

 

Something else she wants to integrate into her plan is working with kids with special needs. Addison's brother has autism, and she has seen the power of music translate to his life and help with communication: "It really is just a universal language. I saw that in Korea, and I saw that with my brother, too . It's really cool to see how music translates with people."

 

The integration of faith and art is important to Addison. Not only is faith "an extremely large part" of how she approaches art and music, but it also helps her view music as a gift and not a self-proclaiming art, as vocal performance sometimes is.

 

First & Calvary helps with that expression of faith in art for Addison, too. Speaking about the congregation, she says, "They're really dedicated to worshiping the Lord in whatever they do."