Jackson Hopper (left), and Robert Hopper (right).
Two students at Eaton-Johnson Middle School have been selected to be a part of the 2014 North Carolina Middle School Honors Chorus.
Robert and Jackson Hopper, who are brothers, auditioned with over 1,200 students and were two of only 171 students selected to be a part of the statewide chorus.
Robert is a seventh grader at Eaton-Johnson and Jackson is in the sixth grade.
Robert was ranked sixth out of 20 tenor I’s chosen for the chorus, while Jackson was ranked fourth among the 24 soprano I students selected. They auditioned in Goldsboro for placement in the prestigious chorus. The intense audition included preparing a classical music selection chosen by directors and then singing the piece as a solo in front of a judge. Students were then given an eight-measure melody they had never seen before and given 60 seconds to learn it and sing it for the judge. Once the auditions were completed, judges selected members for the Middle School Honors Chorus.
They are members of the Eaton-Johnson Middle School Chorus, directed by Cindy Clark.
The Hoppers are the sons of Mark and Sharon Hopper of Henderson. Mark Hopper is the music director at First Baptist Church in Henderson. Sharon Hopper is the literacy specialist for Vance County Schools.
Congratulations Robert and Jackson!
Just an observation about our local newspaper. Saturday’s UNC-Notre Dame football was completed around 7:00 PM, but is not mentioned in Sunday’s paper. It is as if the game was never played. The AP could have furnished a short story about the highlights. I think we are getting cheated.