Celebration of Music - Talent Search

Hello! My name is ... Jillian Sjoquist. I love to sing, and I am a musical theatre geek. My mom says I have been singing as long as I could talk. I love telling stories through song. I began performing when I was eight years old. I was in was “The Music Man” as a River City kid, and I have been in love with singing ever since. Since then, I have listened to, and learned as much as I could about musicals.

I was a pretty good student in high school, I graduated with honors from Jefferson High School this spring. I was a theatre captain and a part of the varsity show choir. I received the Spirit of Theatre award from the Jefferson Theatre Company, and was selected as a finalist for the triple threat competition for Hennepin Theatre Trust’s Spotlight Education program this year. I also competed in a solo competition through show choir and won first place. The best part of my day is getting to sing.

I have the best family ever. They support me in my singing and go to all my shows. My mom is a graphic designer and loves what she does. My dad is a contractor and is able to fix anything. My younger brother is pretty cool. He also loves theatre and is on the varsity swim team for our high school. We have hosted foreign exchange students the past two years, and it has been quite an adventure. I know that traveling is something I plan on doing when I am On My Own.

I have decided to take a gap year before going to college to pursue musical theatre. I can’t imagine doing anything but performing. To me, theatre is bringing to life something that just reading can’t do. Music can make people feel in ways speaking can’t. Theatre can change the way we think and feel about difficult topics and lead to change. Theatre shows people emotion and motivation. We can learn things about ourselves and it can be an escape for awhile. When I am on stage, being able to transform myself into a character and entertain the audience is something I look forward to doing as a career.

Sincerely, me. Jillian Sjoquist