The room was almost painfully silent. Jennifer’s heart beat faster and faster with every passing moment. Surely they would’ve called by now. Finally, the phone rings. A slow smile spreads across Jennifer’s face. She’d done it.

Senior Jennifer Cho is a four-time All-State violinist, the first in Allen Orchestra history. Violin has been a family tradition, with her older cousins and mother preceding her in playing the stringed instrument.

“She had two cousins in our orchestra before her, David and Alex Hong,” Orchestra director David DeVoto said. “I think Alex taught Jennifer when she was really little, so they’ve kept it in the family. They’re all very musical.”

Alex held the previous Allen record for All-State with three years in a row.

“I knew I kinda hurt his pride a little,” Cho said. “It felt so good to beat his record, though.”

Jennifer began playing violin in the first grade when she started private lessons. She was first involved with the Allen Orchestra when she joined her elementary school’s orchestra, and began to really compete during middle school.

“For the middle school All-Region orchestra I placed second,” Cho said, “so that was kind of a big milestone for me. It gave me hope that I could get to the top if I wanted to.”

Texas All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive. Only 1,500 students are selected out of over 60,000 that audition.

“It’s like being in a very exclusive club,” DeVoto said. “All-State is already exclusive, and then to make it four times is like being really VIP.”

Jennifer’s accomplishments have given her many opportunities, along with responsibilities. In the orchestra room, she is seen as an example and a leader.

“I really believe that a lot of the reason we’ve been so successful since she’s been here is because others look up to her,” DeVoto says. “The other students sort of follow her lead. She’s always ready to be an example and to help the other kids out. She’s spectacular, and isn’t selfish at all.”

Jennifer’s role in the orchestra room has proven her to be more than just a violin player. Cho says she handles the leadership position and responsibilities by helping her classmates as much as possible.

“I have to be careful how I react to the leadership position,” Cho said. “I don’t want it to come off as cockiness, or me thinking I’m better than everyone else. I have a lot of friends in orchestra, and they know I’m not that kind of person. I always try to make sure I’m there to help other people, and not to show off.”

In the future, Jennifer hopes to major in engineering and continue with her violin playing on the side.

“I don’t want to major in music,” she said, “but I definitely want to keep music in my life. I’m teaching right now, so hopefully I’ll still be able to give lessons in college.”