Xavier student wins best male soloist in show choir 5 times

CEDAR RAPIDS — Jacob Sires won best male soloist five times this year — that’s at every show choir competition Xavier High School’s Xhilaration competed in this year.

“I never thought it was possible until I heard my name called. It’s surreal,” Sires said. “It was a dream of mine to win.”

It was a “no brainer” to choose Sires for the solo in the song that won all the awards — “Lead With Your Heart” by the Tenors — said Phil Schrader, Xavier High vocal director of choral activities.

To earn five best soloist awards, while not unheard of, is definitely “a rarity,” Schrader said. “It’s a testament to how wonderful a musician he is. He inspires people with his talents,” he said.

Sires, 18, is one of 145 students graduating from Xavier High School at 2 p.m. May 21 at the private school, 6300 42nd St. NE, in Cedar Rapids.

Schrader said Sires is a team player who is “always looking out for the best of the ensemble,” and he will miss having Sires’ leadership in Xhilaration after he graduates.

“He’s going to change the world,” Schrader said.

Music — and show choir in particular — has been Sires’ favorite activity in high school. It’s what he’s become known for, he said.

“There’s no better feeling than being at a competition, having a good time with friends and putting on a show,” he said.

“I cry tears of joy and pride” when watching him perform, Sires’ mother, Jill Sires, said. “I’ve watched him embrace this gift he has, embrace the God-given talent and know he can do some incredible things with it. He touches people with his voice. This was an incredible finish to his music career.”

Sires is a childhood cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare type of cancer that occurs in bones or in the soft tissue around the bone, when he was 8 years old.

“It flipped my world upside down,” Sires said.

While today Sires is cancer-free, it has limited his ability to participate in athletics, particularly high-contact sports, Jill said.

“He endured a tremendous amount of physical trauma through that treatment over a year and a half,” Jill said. “That’s one of the reasons I love seeing him embrace this musical gift.”

Despite that, Sires is also a three-time individual state qualifier in bowling — a hobby he inherited from his grandfather, who gave him his first bowling ball when he was only 5.

“It’s a lot harder than a lot of people think,” Sires said. “It takes practice and work to be one of the best.”

Sires is attending Iowa State University this fall to study software engineering. He hopes to continue to be involved in music and plans to join a choir at ISU.

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