Joanna Brehaut has come a long way since singing “Tomorrow,” from the smash musical “Annie,” in her bedroom.

“I used to send her upstairs to sing it, because she was a belter at 7 and 8 years old,” said Brehaut's mother, Suzanna.

Joanna, of Elbridge, is currently completing a degree in music education from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa. Her studies could continue as soon as this summer at Syracuse University, where she was recently accepted as a master's candidate in music education.

While studying to teach music, Brehaut has happily seized every opportunity to sing as well. Her performances span from opera to musical theater, but her preference lies with the latter style.

“I really like the modern musicals that have come out,” Brehaut said. “My favorite show is the 'Little Women' musical, and I also really like 'Wicked.'”

Brehaut can trace her beginnings as a songstress to her time spent by the piano of her grandmother, Carolyn Paddock.

“She'd take a song like 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' and have me sing it,” Brehaut said.

Her first taste of the stage came in Port Byron, where she went to A.A. Gates Elementary School while her mother taught kindergarten and third grade classes. Joanna, then in third grade, was cast as Gretl von Trapp in Leslie B. Lehn Middle School's production of “The Sound of Music.”

“After that, I got hooked,” Brehaut said.

Brehaut returned to Jordan-Elbridge for fifth grade and soon took advantage of the abundant opportunities offered by the district's drama department. Over the next several years, she rounded out her musical resume with piano and tap dancing lessons, as well as a stint as a saxophonist in the high school marching band.

By eighth grade, Brehaut knew she wanted music to be more than an after-school activity. But it wasn't until her junior year of high school that she chose to teach it.

As her commitment to music solidified, Brehaut continued to collect credits as a singer. The highlights of her high school musical career came with roles as Polly Baker in “Crazy for You” and Fantine in “Les Miserables.”

But perhaps her finest achievement was a first runner-up placement in the casting of the last Broadway production of the latter musical. Every singer who did win a part had studied at prestigious music schools in New York City.

“That was a big builder on her resume,” Suzanna said.

When Brehaut went to Mercyhurst, voice professor Lisa Layman helped strengthen her vocal cords with several exercises. Although the practice was intense, Brehaut found that it did not immediately make perfect.

“I was at a point where I was fighting it and wanted it to click, but then all of a sudden it just came together,” she said. “It just takes your muscles to get it.”

Now Brehaut packs a powerful mezzo-soprano punch that soars through performance halls.

“She can be heard very easily over an orchestra without any amplification,” Layman said. “Her voice has a very dark, warm quality to it, but she also has wonderful articulation so her voice comes through very clearly, which is a unique quality because she's actually quite petite.”

On her own time, Brehaut prefers to sing material from musicals, particularly the songs of Idina Menzel and Sutton Foster. She also prefers contemporary singers like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Faith Hill, whose material she has performed at weddings.

“I do a lot of belting, using my chest to sing in this really loud kind of voice,” Brehaut said.

Studying at Mercyhurst has allowed Brehaut to step outside her comfort zone to sing more opera and other types of classical music.

“Some of the classical stuff gets really complicated in terms of range and style,” Brehaut said. “I still get a little nervous.”

While learning Mercyhurt's expansive repertoire of French, German and Italian opera, Brehaut has exhibited an eagerness to learn and a passion for music that Layman believes will serve her student well when she becomes a teacher.

“I think she's going to make a marvelous music teacher and deeply influence the lives of her students,” Layman said.

Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net