Matthew Callaghan, Director of Choral Activities
Matthew Callaghan holds his Masters of Music in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, and his Bachelors of Music Education from Grand Valley State University. Matthew Callaghan began his teaching career in 2008. At Haslett High School, Mr. Callaghan will be in charge of directing Varsity, Men’s Chorale, Concert Choir, and Chorale at HHS, along with 6th and 7th grade choirs. He will also be taking a role in the stage production of the fall musical.
Over the course of the past years, Mr. Callaghan’s career has taken him through many experiences in K-12 music education in Colorado and in Michigan, including teaching elementary music, middle school and high school choir, musical theater, and intro to theater. Through these experiences, his students have consistently received the highest ratings at both District and State Choral Festivals. He has also performed as a soloist and guest artist throughout Michigan, and has performed in and directed multiple plays and musicals with various high school groups including; Bye Bye Birdie, Oklahoma!, Maxwell P.I., Damn Yankees, The Pirates of Penzance, La Traviata, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Monkey See Monkey Do, The Pajama Game (Vocal Director), Charlottes Web (Vocal Director), Shoestring Theatre (Director), Once Upon a Mattress (Vocal and Stage Director), The Music Man (Vocal and Co-Director), Seussical the Musical (Vocal and Co-Director), Once Upon a Mattress (Vocal and Co-Director), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Vocal and Co-Director), Annie (Vocal and Co-Director), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Vocal and Stage Director), and Beauty and the Beast (Vocal and Stage Director).
Mr. Callaghan has three children – David, Aria, and Benjamin. The Callaghan family is excited be a part of the Haslett choral family!
Samara Valla, Associate Director of Choral Activities
Samara Valla received her Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education at Michigan State University. Mrs.Valla began her teaching career here in Haslett and has been the choir director since the fall of 2000. Her students regularly receive the highest ratings at both District and State Choir Festivals. After school, she directs the HS Select Women's Ensemble and they were selected to perform at the Michigan Youth Arts Festival in 2018. She also directs the middle school musicals and co-directs the high school musicals. As a soloist, Mrs. Valla has performed both internationally and locally. She has toured Europe and the Midwest with various choirs and has participated in community theater in New York in such musicals as Anything Goes, Barnum, Bells are Ringing, Guys and Dolls, Into the Woods, Leader of the Pack, and Fiddler on the Roof. Previously, Mrs. Valla was a Community Music School Instructor of early childhood music classes and the coach for the Ladies First A Capella Ensemble at Michigan State University. She currently resides in East Lansing, Michigan and has completed her Masters Degree in Music Education at Michigan State University. She is married to Justin, orchestra director at Okemos High School, and has three daughters, Myah, Julia and Lara.