Riley Sharp

“My favorite memory is breaking the rules by going outside the hotel one night to get the Dominos we ordered,” said senior Riley Sharp. “We never got caught.”

Sharp has been singing ever since third grade and has taken private lessons for the past five years with voice teacher Katie Berkebile.

An avid member of Dallastown’s musicals, Sharp has participated in six PMEA festivals during her high school career, including District Jazz in her sophomore year.

The furthest she has got in the past was Regionals, so making States this year was a big deal.

“There was no festival for Districts but we did get a pin like we would every other year,” Sharp said. “Sadly, I had to drop out of [the State festival] because it conflicted with the filming schedule for Frozen [one of this year’s school musicals].”

According to Sharp, the auditions were much less stressful this year.

In previous years, auditions would take all day and no singing was allowed as students waited in a long line outside the audition rooms.

However, this year, singers were able to quickly record the two excerpts of their songs and could re-record as needed, like the other ensembles.

Sharp says, “I really like [the song] Come Home. We sang that for District Jazz even though it’s not a jazz piece.”

After high school, Sharp plans to go to the University of North Carolina Greensboro to major in drama and to minor in musical theatre.