Published: December 16, 2007 04:11 pm         

CHS grad will sing Monday on national TV

Baker representing OKC on ‘Clash of the Choirs’

Cleburne High School graduate Jill Baker has a big event Monday.

She will compete on NBC’s “Clash of the Choirs,” a live musical contest beginning at 7 p.m. The four-night show pits five choirs against each other and lets viewers vote for the one they like the best. The choirs are assembled and led by music industry stars Michael Bolton, Patti LaBelle, Nick Lachey, Kelly Rowland and Blake Shelton.

For Baker, the chance to compete on the show is the chance of a lifetime.

“I’m excited to be a part of it,” the 2005 graduate said.

Baker, 20, first heard about the show through her choir contacts at Oklahoma City University, where she is a soprano in the school’s choir.

“One of the producers sent out a message to my choir director at OCU, and she passed it along to us,” she said. “So I made an appointment and auditioned because I thought it looked like fun and something interesting to do.”

Soon after, Baker received word she’d made the cut. Baker is performing as a part of the Oklahoma City choir on the show, which is led by Shelton.

Baker’s mother, Christi Baker of Cleburne, said she’s extremely proud of her daughter’s accomplishment.

“I think it will be so much fun and a great learning experience for her,” Christi Baker said. “There are only 20 people in the choir, so therefore there are only five sopranos. So to be one of the five chosen, it’s a pretty big deal. It’s a great opportunity.”

Baker will also represent her choir on the “Today” show on NBC, probably on Monday morning, Jill Baker said.

CHS choir teacher Pam Elam taught Baker during the latter half of her high school career. Elam said Baker was a hard worker when she knew her, and it appears that she’s kept that trend going now that she’s moved on.

“She’s very goal oriented,” Elam said. “She always took private lessons in addition to whatever we were working on in class. She’s very motivated, self-driven and a very hard worker.”

Baker made the All-State mixed choir when she was in high school, which was a major accomplishment, Elam said.

“It means she was in the top 1 percent of choir students in the state of Texas,” Elam said. “She has a nice talent, but it’s not enough to just have talent. You have to have a high work ethic and determination, and she has that. I’m glad I got the chance to work with her and teach her.”

Baker has always been musically inclined, but she didn’t start singing until her late childhood, Christi Baker said.

“She was in Carnegie Kids when she was 10, but she started out playing the fiddle when she was 3,” Christi Baker said. “So she developed an interest and love of music from that but didn’t really start singing until she was in Carnegie Kids.”

In addition to choir, Baker was involved with several other activities while at CHS. She was a National Merit Commended Scholar, National Honor Society member, National Beta Club member and Greater Cleburne Carnegie Player, and she graduated 10th in her class.

     

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.