Sosa-Hernandez Selected for All-State Vocal Jazz Choir

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Gioia Cumicek, Staff Writer, Advanced Journalism

Notre Dame senior Monica Sosa-Hernandez will perform in the All-State Vocal Jazz Choir in Appleton on January 11.

Sosa-Hernandez found out about the opportunity from Mrs. Salerno.

“I am not sure what happened. I believe we both got really busy with other things and had forgotten the audition. The day before the deadline she gave me the music to practice and record for me to send it in,” said Sosa-Hernandez. 

She learned the song “Come Fly With Me” within the span of two hours and then sent it into the director. The second audition song was called “Time After Time.”

“I’ve been singing since I was able to see,” said Sosa-Hernandez.

There are videos of her singing from a young age that were made up by the things that she would see. She immediately realized she had a passion for it. 

“I loved the free feeling it gave me,” said Sosa-Hernandez. 

Music felt like a whole different language to her. In her family her great grandfather is the only one who sings. Her father, however, plays the drums and is obsessed with music, so she has some sort of direct connection to it. 

“I loved singing so much that I used to plan all of my outfits according to the Disney movie I was going to put on, change into them depending on each scene, and act and sing along with the movies,” said Sosa-Hernandez.

Sosa-Hernandez practices songs for school and mass in her room. She also practices on Thursdays from 3-3:30 after school with her vocal coach Emily Paulsen. She started these lessons about about a year ago; before that she had never had lessons. 

She sings at mass with her dad on percussion and Randy Kostichka on guitar. 

“It’s a nice little group that we’ve got going and I enjoy singing to my Lord,” said Sosa-Hernandez. 

“I do hope to continue to sing after high school, but nothing as a career. I believe it is too hard to really have a career with singing and not a lot of people are able to achieve such a thing,” said the senior.