Mary Ann Peterson Higley Endowed Scholarship

Mary Ann Petersen Higley (1931-2021) had a passion for music – choral music in particular – all of her life.

She attended the University of Colorado at Boulder from 1949-1950, then the University of Iowa, graduating with a degree of bachelor of arts in education in 1953. Later in life, she attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha, graduating with a degree of bachelor of music in theory and performance in 1972. At UNO she also received a degree of master of music in choral conducting in 1989.

In 1972, she founded and directed the chamber choir “The Century Singers,” which specialized in a cappella singing and presented more than 30 concerts in the greater Omaha – Council Bluffs area.

In Omaha, Mary was a member of the choir at Dundee Presbyterian Church. She was a soloist at All Saints Episcopal Church and First Central Congregational Church. Mary was a choir director at Lord of Love Lutheran Church and Benson Presbyterian Church. She was also a member of the choir at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.

Mary relocated to be near her family in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was a performing member of the Oratorio Society of Minnesota and a member of the choir at Hamline Church United Methodist.

When she wasn’t singing or conducting, she was an elementary school teacher, a special education teacher, a licensed real estate agent, the proprietor of a residential cleaning service, the host of a classical music radio broadcast at KVNO, a computer programmer, and a software quality assurance specialist. All the while Mary was a loving mother and grandmother, and the matriarch of the extended family.

We have established the Mary Ann Petersen Higley Scholarship in her memory with the purpose of assisting aspiring choral artists with their education at Colorado Mesa University.