Emy Pablico knew the odds were against her making the All-State Small School Mixed Choir. After all, she is only a freshman at Wylie High School.
“Whenever I attended the HSU choir camp, they were all saying that it is very difficult for freshmen to make it,” Emy said. “It’s very daunting going into it.”
But Emy beat those odds, advancing through the region and area competitions to qualify for state.
“It was really stressful,” she said. “It’s been a journey.”
Emy, who is a member of the Wylie Bella Voice Choir, traveled to San Antonio in February, where she joined other top choir students for clinics and a concert.
“It was a great experience that I will carry with me forever,” she said. “I was soaking it up. I got to meet so many great people.”
Emy said the schedule at state was pretty grueling, but she loved it.
“It’s very rigorous,” she said. “We are in rehearsals all day, every day. We have three-hour sessions with food in between. It’s intimidating, but it’s been a life changing experience being there with so many people who are passionate about music.”
Emy has been passionate about singing since she was little. She said she comes from a family of musicians.
“Music is very big in my family,” she said. “My cousins all play instruments, and my brother plays an instrument. My voice has always been my instrument. Singing is something that I am passionate about. It comes naturally.”
Her interest in singing grew from watching her older sister sing in choir at Abilene High.
“My sister has always been a big influence over me being in choir,” Emy said. “I’m good at singing, but my sister is so much better.”
Emy said her sister never achieved state, but attributed that to the tough big school competitions. When pressed if her sister was really better, she held her ground.
“It wouldn’t matter if I went to Broadway,” she said. “I would always think my sister is better than me.”
Emy moved to Wylie in the 5th grade and started choir when she was old enough. She worked hard to earn her trip to state in her first attempt as a high school freshman. She said she worked almost daily with choir director Stephanie Mouat and then went home and worked some more.
She knows that making state a second time will be much more difficult next year. Wylie is moving to Class 5A, which means choir students will no longer compete in the small school division.
But she said she is motivated to repeat.
“That’s a lot of pressure to put on me,” she said. “But it pushes me to work harder for it. I really want to make it back there.”