Isabella (Nadeau) Hagen was an active and influential member of Michigan’s Keweenaw Community. She was born in 1911 in Calumet, Michigan and spent her young life in Houghton County where she learned to play piano and began playing as an accompanist for her church. Her passion for music led her to pursue a baccalaureate degree from Eastern Michigan University. She married Rob Hagen and moved with him to Ohio only to return in 1941 when he would begin his teaching career at Michigan Technological University in Mechanical Engineering.

For thirteen years Mrs. Hagen taught at Suomi College, now Finlandia University, while also playing organ and piano for several of the local churches. She achieved her master’s degree in 1970 from the University of Michigan in music education and a focus on piano. At one point she studied under Boris Goldovsky, a prominent music educator from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s. She was an educator through the Houghton High School music program and she taught piano to the youth of Houghton County, popularized through word of mouth. One document in the collection suggests that she never had to advertize. She was well respected in the community and her love of life and music were greatly appreciated.

Outside of her music career Mrs. Hagen also participated in local theater groups such as Michigan Tech’s Little Theater, Houghton High School’s Keweenaw Play House, and the Calumet Players at the Calumet Theater. Her community activism is represented through her volunteer work for the Pine Mountain Music Festival, participation in the Houghton County Historical Society, and her role in Michigan Tech’s Women’s Club.