The two most accomplished singers in the history of the choir department at Houston Schools are down to the final notes of their careers.
When seniors Taylor Bryson and Elisa Williamson sing alongside their classmates in Friday’s spring concert inside Hiett Gymnasium, it will be one of the final times they perform in their hometown. The following week, they will compete at the State Music Festival for the last time and will sing May 3 at baccalaureate for their own graduating class.
They are the last public appearances for a duo that has won a combined 85 individual awards and medals the past seven years.
“It’s sad to be leaving,” Elisa Williamson said. “But we’ll take the memories with us and the lessons we have learned to apply to our next steps in life.”
Their high school days will soon be gone, but certainly not their legacies.
Houston choir director Beth Williamson said no students in her 30-year tenure have earned as much individual recognition as Bryson and her daughter, Elisa. But beyond the medals, awards and certificates, the two longtime friends have also impacted those around them as co-presidents of the choir department.
“They are amazing leaders,” Beth Williamson said. “They set the bar high for themselves, which set the bar high for the choirs.”
The honors for the pair are impressive –– and lengthy.
Bryson has compiled 11 District I and three District II medals along with five State I and three State II medals. He is a four-time selection to the all-district and all-conference honors choir and also four times has been named to the Future Farmers of America all-state choir. He was once named an all-state honors choir alternate.
Elisa Williamson has won 13 District I and six District II medals, three State I and five State II medals and eight all-conference medals. She is a three-time all-district honors choir selection.
Beth Williamson said both Bryson and Elisa Williamson, who were also named to the MSU Invitational Honors Choir, worked hard to become successful musicians.
“Talent without discipline is nothing,” Beth Williamson said. “If you don’t have the discipline to go home and work, practice and prepare, it is nothing. Yes, they’ve both been given a gift. But they have developed that gift.”
Music is more than performing for Bryson and Elisa Williamson. They both said it is the driving force in their lives and will continue to be beyond high school.
Bryson, who will pursue a degree in vocal/choral music education at Missouri State University, said he has known since seventh grade that he wanted to be a music teacher. He gained valuable experience leading students at HHS as president of the concert choir and intern of the middle school choir.
“Music is a purpose,” Bryson said. “It is what I eat, sleep and breathe. It’s what I focus on now and what I plan to focus on for the rest of my life.”
Beth Williamson said Bryson has been a strong leader for the music department. Along with conducting music for middle school students, she said he encourages and teaches them.
“He has quite the gift. I think if he could sing all day he would. I’ve caught him a few times,” she said. “Because he loves it, it’s part of him, and he wants everyone to join him and love it as much as he does.”
Elisa Williamson has the same passion.
She will attend Southeast Missouri State University with both vocal and piano scholarships. Her plans include pursuing a degree in English or speech pathology while also being involved with music in piano composition. If she seeks the latter degree, Williamson could be a music therapist with an emphasis in recovery.
“I would incorporate music to help people recover from accidents and trauma,” she said. “It’s a language everyone understands.”
Elisa Williamson, who is president of the women’s choir and accompanies the middle school choir on the piano, said her favorite moment of her career at HHS has been co-leading the choir department her senior year alongside Bryson.
“Music brings people together,” she said. “We get to show people you can touch people’s lives with one song. It’s something we can all do. I’ve made friendships and memories to last a lifetime.”
There are still memories to be made, too, with a spring concert, state performance and baccalaureate the next weeks to conclude two successful careers. The May 9 graduation will officially mark the end.
“It’s very bittersweet,” Bryson said. “It’s sad to think about all the things we will no longer get to do, but it’s also exciting knowing that we are going into music and have so much in store.”
The annual event is 7 p.m. Friday inside Hiett Gymnasium and will be streamed online at www.houstonherald.com/live.