After a three-year-long anticipation of one of the most prestigious choir conventions in the state and country, the Coppell A Capella choir will finally have its time to shine.
The A Cappella choir qualified for the Texas Music Educators Association Clinic/Convention, an annual event that gathers multiple schools around Texas to perform and gain new musical skills. With workshops and live performances, the event will bring bands, choirs, orchestras and more to San Antonio from Feb. 12-15.
This year, the A Capella choir is one of only 15 selected vocal division groups set to perform. The rigorous audition process requires each choir to send in a couple of taped live performances from three consecutive years, in addition to the program they plan to perform. Once the recordings are submitted, committees blindly evaluate the choirs through several rounds, until making final selections.
The honor celebrates Coppell A Capella choir both past and present.
“It is a tribute to our current members but also the members who have been in A Cappella for the past three school years as well,” choir director Bona Coogle said. “If it wasn’t for them and for that specific recording from that year, we wouldn’t have made it.”
Prior to this year’s selection, Coppell choir had been selected twice to perform at the TMEA convention, once in 1997 under Jolene Webster’s direction, and once in 2017 under Josh Brown.
“I’m a first-year member of A Cappella and I’m still getting my bearings in the program, but I find it really exciting to see what our program is becoming and have a great legacy,” sophomore Max Victory said.
Since being selected for the convention over the summer, the choir began diligently preparing for its February performance. Morning rehearsals, workshops and outside-of-school events, along with invitationals with guest directors, have been critical to cleaning up its performance and technique.
”We’ve added extra rehearsals in the morning so we can have more time to rehearse and really get this music under our belts for performance,” associate choir director Aaron Coronado said.
The performance pieces, selected by Coppell choir directors, are representative of CHS: diversity. With songs from multiple cultures and languages, the performance captures the essence of the school community.
“I love the fact that our repertoire really represents the kids in our program and it’s very diverse,” Coogle said. “I think that our program is really unique.”
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