NE twins share passion for singing

By Kenney Kost/ne news editor

Identical twin sisters Emily (left) and Colleen Abdo have different interests but say they are more alike than people may think. Emily, an alto, and Colleen, a soprano, have been singing together since they were little girls.
David Reid/The Collegian

Living 100 miles apart was a challenging experience for the twins.

“It was really hard because we had never been that far apart for that long.”

They said this at the exact same time, one of many times they shared each other’s thoughts out loud.

Walking down the hall, from appearance alone, one would think Emily and Colleen Abdo could not be any more different. Emily wore brown ballet slippers, curly hair and a little makeup while Colleen had indoor cleats, her hair pulled up with no makeup.

Once they begin to talk, though, the differences melt away.

“We have always been different in some ways,” Emily Abdo said. “But we are definitely more alike than people think. When we were young, I had a teacher that had trouble telling us apart. So one day, I had my hair pulled up and decided to cut my tail off and say, ‘Now you can tell us apart.’ I was 5 years old.”

The two have shared a love of singing since early childhood. Colleen Abdo attributed this to their father, who belonged to the Texas Boys Choir and continued to sing into his adult life.

“When we were young, our dad would tell us stories about traveling all over the world to sing in Boys Choir,” she said. “We thought that was neat, and we had already picked up a passion for music by this time.”

The link to their father’s influence does not end there. Assistant professor of music Bobbie Douglass said her students actually competed against Nick Abdo when she taught music at Birdville ISD.

“Their father was a fine singer,” Douglass said. “When we would arrive at various competitions, my students would check the roster of competitors. If they saw Nick’s name on it, they would look up and say, ‘Ugh, we have to compete against Abdo.’”

Emily Abdo was in chorale with Douglass last year while her sister was away at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. During her opera workshop class with music instructor Stan Paschal, she mentioned that she had a twin interested in attending and singing at TCC.

“He said, ‘Oh my, there is another one? Well, what are we waiting for? Get her here,’” Emily Abdo said. “Colleen had been telling me she had wanted to come back, and I told her how much fun I was having here at TCC, and she decided to start her fall semester at the NE Campus with me.”

They both now take chorale with Douglass who said she enjoys helping the two continue to share their passion.

“Emily is a fine alto, and Colleen is a fine soprano,” Douglass said.

The two plan to continue their singing and strive to strengthen their talent as well as their bond.

In their words: “We’ve always been best friends, and we will always be best friends.”