Taking a deep breath, junior Anya Cherukuri adjusts the music on her stand. As the lights dim, she begins to sing alongside the highest-ranking musicians in Texas. Cherukuri was the only Bowie student who qualified to perform in one of the 18 Texas All-State ensembles.
In order to qualify for the Texas Music Educators Association All-State Mixed Choir, Cherukuri auditioned alongside 70,000 high school students. After years spent honing her craft, Cherukuri says she’s excited to be able to quantify her progress after this successful choir season.
“Sophomore year, I tried out and didn’t get in,” Cherukuri said. “This year, I did a lot to give myself a better chance, like getting a vocal coach to hone my voice.”
After advancing to region, Cherukuri advanced to pre-area, and then area, the final stage. Cherukuri’s voice propelled her to the state convention of Texas’s most musically talented students.
“She was first chair soprano two, so she literally could not have placed better,” choir director Aaron Bourgeois said. “It was great to have her represent AISD in that top spot.”
According to Bourgeois, the choir state process is extremely competitive. In order to be at the necessary level, Cherukuri had to practice ten pieces of music throughout the summer and fall semester.
“I practiced a lot more this year, 30 minutes to one hour every day,” Cherukuri said. “If I wasn’t practicing vocal pitches and songs, I was practicing sight reading, which is another aspect that we have to be good at.”
Outside of choir, Cherukuri sings recreationally and takes a host of AP and advanced classes. Despite choir being a time-consuming extracurricular, Cherukuri’s friend junior Zeynep Ozgun says that Cherukuri is an impressive student and a model to her fellow singers.
“Anya is one of the hardest-working people I know,” Ozgun said. “She takes all the hardest classes and manages to do amazing in them while balancing her school work.”
Cherukuri has a family of singers. Both of her sisters were choir students at Bowie, and according to Bourgeois, he has had one of her siblings in his ensembles for the last seven years.
“Much like her sisters, she’s very focused on her academics and has a great work ethic,” Bourgeois said. “On the other hand, her two sisters were both Soprano one singers, and she’s Soprano two.”
Cherukuri has taken inspiration from her sisters, singing alongside them and following their paths as she takes up leadership roles in the program.
“My sisters and I sing a lot together,” Cherukuri said. “And my sister had previously gone through the all state choir process, so I was more aware of it and prepared to approach the audition.”
