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Holley High senior scholar
also ranks high on stage and in sports Jenna Lee Barber has been busy with more than books while becoming salutatorian in Holley High's graduating class of 2002. In the course of accumulating a 98.26 cumulative average, the senior, who aspires to Broadway, also has achieved on the school stage and sports fields. Currently, Jenna is rehearsing her lead role in Holley High's production of "Hello Dolly" scheduled for March 7, 8, 9 and 10. It will be her "swan song," appearing as Dolly in the Friday and Saturday night shows, after having leads and dance roles in school musicals each year since 6th grade. It is a rigorous task to get to the top in school music performance which is the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) All-state Conference. In fact, it requires a perfect score of 100 in auditions. In spring of 2000, Jenna received a 99. She set her goal for a score of 100 in the 2001 audition, her last chance to make All-state before graduating. She received 100 and became the first Holley High student in 14 years to make the All-state Conference. During the week of the conference, Jenna also was selected by the Rochester Broadway Theater League to attend their Master Class where the cast of 'Phantom the Opera' critiqued her performance of Shakespearean and contemporary stage roles. She sets goals for herself in sports, too, like cutting her track time from 73 seconds in the 400m in the Sectional tournament last year to 69 seconds in this year's event. She did it. She also helped the varsity soccer team achieve a Section V championship. And, she received a Sportsmanship Award and Academic Scholar Team Award. Jenna says she always has achieved her major goals until this year. Since sixth grade she has aimed to graduate from Holley High at the top of her class. She is philosophical about coming in second by a fraction of grade point. "I'm going into a competitive field where there is a lot of rejection," Jenna said. "This disappointment is good preparation for the future. I can accept it as long as I know I did my best." Jenna's Biology teacher, Dan Burke, also directs the musical and technical aspects of the high school productions. "She just attacks everything and puts her heart and soul into it," Burke said of Jenna's performance in the classroom and on the stage. "You rarely see a kid who does that and still has such a great outlook on things." About his six years of working with Jenna in lead roles, Burke said, "She is always very focused, very determined, and well prepared - just unbelievably professional." One more challenge for Jenna is to pass the auditions and be one of the few out of many applicants admitted to the musical theatre major at an institution of her choice. She has been admitted academically at six top universities in the field. But selection into her major is very competitive, based on performance. At Carnegie Mellon University, for instance, five percent were admitted last year from almost 1,000 applicants to the Musical Theater Department. The role of Dolly in her last school musical is another challenge for Jenna. "Dolly is an older woman with a very low, raspy alto voice," said Jenna, a soprano. Jenna is cautious with Dolly's "belting voice" to maintain vocal health for college auditions. She still says, "It's fun. It's a big role, ending my senior year on a big note." "Hello Dolly" |