CRESTVIEW — Even as a tot, Jenna Lewis loved to sing.
“I started singing when I was 4 years old…,” the Rocky Bayou Christian School ninth-grader said.
Jenna has sung at parties, festivals, school events and just for sheer fun. She currently sings in Rocky Bayou Christian School's praise band, captains the color guard and is a member of the Mu Alpha Theta math honor society.
Her grandmother, local jazz singer Sandra Daggs, taught Jenna how to play piano, and nurtures her development. “She also trains with Chevon Corlew," her mom, Jill Lewis-Daggs, said. "She really pushes her.”
However, while her grandmother is noted for her repertoire of jazz and American Songbook standards, Jenna has gravitated toward country music.
“Everything about it just draws me to it,” she said. “My favorite female artist is Carrie Underwood. My favorite male artists are Dan and Shay.”
In the future, she wants to use music to help people.
“I want to become a music therapist,” she said. “You go through multiple courses in music theory and multiple courses in psychology.”
She recently composed a song in memory of Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Myers. With an arrangement by Crestview gospel singer Chevon Corlew, she debuted “Things I Will Miss” at the October 2015 Mullet Festival in Niceville.
In addition, “My dream is to sing at Coachella, a music festival in Arizona,” she said. “It’s mainly where all my favorite artists have been. It would be amazing to sing on the same stage where they were.”
For now, she is happy sharing her gift with others in the community, and perfecting her talents under her school vocal teacher, Thomas Hood.
“God’s just given her a gift and we’re just fortunate that she shares it," Lewis-Daggs said.
What: Jenna Lewis performs at the Laurel Hill Arts & Heritage Festival
When: 1:15 p.m. April 30
Where: Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church yard, 8115 Fourth St.
WANT TO GO?
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: For Crestview singer, music is therapy (VIDEO)