In church, a 1-year-old is unable to stop crying from the overstimulation of the vast environment around her. Her mother sings softly in her ear, pacifying her restless screams, as she allows herself to be enveloped in the calming sound of her mother’s voice, drowning out her intimidating surroundings.
Seventeen years later, the child, Coppell High School senior Ana Jesayen, harnesses a voice of her own, determined to touch the hearts of her audiences in the same way.
“I love when you can make an audience member cry from your music,” Jesayen said. “Whether out of joy or sadness, the idea that you can tell a story through music is so cool.”
Before joining choir in sixth grade at Coppell Middle School East, Jesayen sang Indian Carnatic music, a passion passed down by her mother, Mesmin Jesayen. Jesayen’s cultural connection to her heritage is also demonstrated in her performance of Bharatanatyam and Bollywood dance as a child, but she gradually had a greater inclination towards singing.
Her fervor for singing enabled her to pursue both Carnatic and choir singing despite the discrepancy between the two styles. The sharp, pingy sound of Carnatic music combined with the sustained, mellow sound of Western music posed a vocal challenge for Jesayen.
I love when you can make an audience member cry from your music. Whether out of joy or sadness, the idea that you can tell a story through music is so cool.
— senior Ana Jesayen
“In Carnatic music, you are trained to sing more ‘forward’ and to sing out, while Western music advises against that, and you sing like in the back of your throat,” Jesayen said. “It’s hard at times to do both, but I love both styles so I’m fine with it.”
Jesayen channels her love of singing through being Madrigals Queen, captain of Vivace! and vice president of Coppell Choir. These positions allow her to surround herself with singing and define her high school experience through the choir room in F Hall.
“I like to joke that choir is my whole life, but it genuinely is,” Jesayen said. “All of my closest friends are people I met through choir, and people have told me, ‘When I think of choir, I think of you.
Joining choir allowed Jesayen to hone her talents and share them with a larger audience outside of her home. Though she already sang with the Dallas Tamil Catholics Church choir, she could experience singing with more people and gain a new perspective of music in a group setting.
“Choir gave me the chance to bond over singing with a friend group,” Jesayen said.
Jesayen leads the choirs by being a nurturing, helpful figure and looking out for hr classmates. Her warm disposition makes her a person that anyone can confide in and go to for help.
“She’s kind of like everyone’s mom,” senior CHS Choir president Roma Jani said. “She takes care of us. If you need a bobby pin on show night, she’s the one you go to. If you forgot yor lipstick, she’ll have an extra one.”
By her caretaking nature, Jesayen likes to lead by example, striving to be the best version so others will follow suit. Her organization and leadership skills never fail to go unnoticed by the people around her.
“She is very organized in regards to managing choir work,” Coppell Choir Head Director Bona Coogle said. “She knows how to settle the choir down, and she knows how to stay focused until she’s done with the task at hand.”
Beyond high school, Jesayen plans to continue singing in her church choir and in a choir within the university she decides to attend. Following her mother’s passion for music, she strives to evoke emotion from others through singing wherever she goes.
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