Musician of the week, choir member, junior Andy Holloman, shares how discovering his love for singing and encouragement from his friends changed his life.

GENESIS: It’s clear that music has made a big impact on your life. Can you tell me what sparked it?

ANDY HOLLOMAN: Music has been a huge impact on my life!  It started when I was younger. I either had nothing to do or my parents would get into arguments.  I would use music to help pass the time or to distract me.

G: Choir can be time consuming. What inspired you to keep on going? 

AH: I’d have to say it was my parents.  I wanted to drop out because I felt like there wasn’t anything left for me in music since I had been doing the same things over and over.  I finally decided to stay, realizing that my friends and my passion were both important to me.

G: Due to Covid-19, your junior year of choir got cut short. Tell me how that has impacted you? 

AH: It has made me very sad.  I miss being able to interact with my friends and experience making the full sound a choir can make.

G: What is the group environment like? How do you encourage each other before performing? 

AH: The environment is very dynamic and energetic!  We are always booming to strive to do better, plus we always hype each other up when we are feeling down.

G: Is there anyone that has inspired you?

AH: My friends inspired me to pursue music.  They were always interested in it, so I followed.  Little did I know, I was really good at performing and that it would change my life!

G: After almost two months of being out of school, what do you miss the most about choir? 

AH: I miss being able to be with my friends.  It is the hardest thing because I never got to say my proper goodbye since most of them are leaving for college.

G: After the many hard working years of choir, is there a memorable moment that you’d like to share?

AH: It’s always thrilling to know you are doing better than you imagined.  When I auditioned for my first official high school musical, I expected to get ensemble.  Instead, I was one of the major roles!  It’s always a nice feeling when something like that happens.

G: Next year is your final year. What are some goals that you want to accomplish?

AH: I want to accomplish the goal of being a role model.  I would like others to look up to me as a senior and I want to continue to pursue music.

G: What are your plans after high school? What college are you looking at?

AH: I am planning on going to college, and yes, I am going to join a choir and do musical theatre while in college.  I plan on attending the main campus of IU down in Bloomington, IN.  It is my dream to pursuing counseling psychology!