Copperas Cove High student selected for All-State Choir

Special to Leader-Press 

Copperas Cove High School Junior Adam Hirsch has been singing since he was a young child in the house, church, or school choir. 

This year, Hirsch achieved an accolade that fewer than three percent of more than 50,000 students who compete every year achieve. He was selected as a Texas All-State Musician.

“This year was the first time I competed with the mentality that I could make state. The process began with the TMEA choir camp, which was virtual this year, consisting of daily Zoom meetings in which we attempted to learn the competition music,” Hirsch said. “It was difficult to learn with those conditions, but it did ensure I had copies of the music and a start on learning them.”

Hirsh’s experience with choir competition began in junior high when he auditioned for the regional choir twice and qualifying once. He also was selected for the freshman/sophomore region choir as a freshman and then selected to the region high school choir including grades 9-12 as a sophomore and now again as a junior where he placed second chair in the Tenor 1 section. Hirsch is a member of the Copperas Cove High School Varsity Men’s Choir and Varsity Mixed Choir under the direction of music teachers Barry Dowell and James Barker.

“My simple enjoyment of singing allowed me to stay interested and have fun as my directors gradually improved my knowledge and skill,” Hirsch said. “After region auditions, my directors taught me to massively improve my tone. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have sounded good enough to succeed in Area (contest).” 

Hirsch said he is successful because he enjoys singing and paces his preparation for competition.

“In the last few years, I have learned that over-practicing is a serious threat to musicians. When I go over a piece of music too much, I begin to get bored. I stop putting details into my performance, and my voice may get worn. To combat this, I have taken 2-day breaks after consistent practicing. I do a lot of practicing though and consult people who have more experience and knowledge than I do.”

For the All-State Choir, Hirsh learned songs from Mozart and Brahms respectively, upbeat spirituals, and choral masterpieces such as Eric Whitacre’s Sleep and Threads of Joy. But he was not able to perform them because of the pandemic.

“My biggest motivation was the prospect of singing some of my favorite choral pieces with a large, talented choir,” Hirsch said. “It took a while for me to realize that wasn’t going to happen this year. But, I am still a (high school) junior, and I am optimistic about next year.”