By Derrick Smith
Jones High School seniors Maliah Perkey and Sarah Grant recently competed at the OSSAA State Vocal Contest and both walked away with high marks. Perkey received a First Place Superior, while Grant was awarded Second Place Excellent.
Maliah began singing in choir in the fifth grade, but she says that she has loved music and singing since she was small.
“When I was younger, I auditioned for the elementary choir,” she stated. “I sang a song from The Little Mermaid and realized that performing is something I really enjoyed doing.”
For Grant, there was a little resistance but she knew that it was something that she wanted to do.
“I didn’t want to join choir at first,” she said. “But after a few weeks of singing, I realized how much I loved it and I’ve been doing it ever since.
There have been influences on each girl’s life throughout their years singing that have helped shape them into the person and singer they are today.
“My high school choir teacher, Debbie Rueda, has always pushed me to do my best,” Perkey said. “She is one of the main reasons I always chose to participate in choir and Theater. This year was hard because COVID restrictions meant we couldn’t sing in our classroom. I had to have a private voice coach to prepare for my performances and competitions. I feel like my voice coach Daniel Lucas really helped me compete at a State Level and gain the confidence I needed to earn a Superior rating.”
For Sarah, the role models she looks up to have helped her throughout the years.
“Mrs. Rueda was one of the reasons I joined choir and stuck with it,” Grant said. “She has continued to believe in me and my abilities when I couldn’t believe in myself. My aunt is the reason I started to love music. She started me in piano lessons when I was six and having that background is the reason I am at the level I am today. My mom made me join choir when, at the time, I would have chosen anything other than choir. Little did I know, I’d be thanking her for forcing me to join choir, as I love it so much now.”
