Adelle Remke

Adelle Remke has been performing since she was 6 years old. One of her earliest memories regarding her category of expertise is balancing on top of the couch, singing an impromptu piece about how all of her toys were made in China (a Taiwanese toy forced some quick lyrical changes). Since then, she has presumably only improved.

From taking vocal lessons growing up to performing in concerts now, she has pursued her goal of performing on stage for a career with a single minded dedication. It is no small wonder then that she has been recognized as the Highland High Sterling Scholar in Vocal Performance.

Vocal performance is a broad category, and Remke has experienced much of what it has to offer. Recently she starred as the titular character in Highland’s production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, a role that demands a mixture of dramatic and vocal abilities.

The stereotypical image of an actor is of a pretentious egoist, but this is not the impression that one gets upon meeting Remke. She has a quietly confident personality, as though she does not much care what other people think of her. Instead of that confidence translating into brashness, it creates an amicable attitude. As Remke says, she’s an open book.

An interest in the performing arts could potentially have directed her towards cinema, particularly because her father works in the film industry. However Remke is specifically interested in the stage. While perusing some middle school journals she found an entry from 7th grade in which she had written

‘Watching things on film gives me a weird anxious feeling, but then I watch things on stage and that’s the best thing ever so I think I want to do that.’

Something that she is particularly proud of is a four piece vocal arrangement of the song “For Good” from the musical Wicked. The arrangement was so impressive that a professor of music at Westminster offered to buy a copy, an offer that Remke had to temporarily refuse because she hadn’t even written it down yet.

Remke has also had lots of help along the way. Her parents have been particularly supportive along her journey. They signed her up for vocal lessons when she asked in the 1st grade, and have been avidly following her progress ever since. Her mother commented that

“For years we hear her singing first thing in the morning when we wake and hear her singing as we doze off to sleep.”

In addition to her parents, Remke has had plenty of mentors to help her. Highland teachers Katie Houston and Alexie Baugh have honed her abilities in singing and theater respectively, and Remke’s other teachers have helped her to catch up with class missed for performances and rehearsals.

This summer Remke intends to start a pre major in musical dance theater at BYU, and she hopes to eventually be able to perform on stage for a living. Her ideal career consists of moving to New York City and participating in the city’s thriving performing arts scene. If she continues to work towards her goals with the devotion that she has previously demonstrated, then this is a dream that certainly seems to be within her grasp.