Emily Marino doesn’t sleep much.

Between her roles as captain of the Mt. Hope tennis team, president of the school’s honors vocal ensemble, vice president of the theater group, a National Honors Society member, the organizer of the school’s Music Cafe open mic nights and, of course, being a senior high school student taking multiple AP classes, there’s not much time left for slumber.

But such inherent drive and dedication to her creative craft has led Marino to make Mt. Hope history. She is the first student from the school to ever be chosen as a member of the All-National Honors Chorus, a group of the most talented singers from across the country organized by The National Association for Music Education (NAfME).

“Emily has incredible natural talent,” said Mt. Hope Choral Director David Lauria, who nominated Marino for the honor. “She really is just capable of things that other people are not, but she also puts in a great deal of work. It’s that combination. Sometimes you have talented people who don’t put in the work. Those people would not make nationals. You need both of those things, and she has them.”

Work in the performing arts started young for Marino — as early as five years old when she strolled confidently up to her parents with a toy piano and insisted she was about to play them a song.

“They probably thought I was just going to slam the keys, but I started playing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow,’ and they were like, ‘Oh my god, how did you do that?’”

Since that moment, she dove headfirst into performing anywhere she could. From her first performance as Molly in the musical “Annie,” which fittingly enough took place on the Mt. Hope stage, to plays throughout her elementary and middle school tenure, to singing in the Rhode Island Children’s Chorus and at churches in Newport and Barrington on Sundays.

“I just love every aspect of performing,” Marino said.

Her singing ability has been recognized as superb for quite some time now, as she has been a member of the All-State Chorus, organized by the Rhode Island Musical Education Association, since the fourth grade. The group comprises the top 100 singers from the state and performs each year at the Providence Performing Arts Center.

Last year Marino, who sings in soprano, made the regional All-Eastern Chorus, which encompasses singers from New England to the Chesapeake Bay Area. Her friend, Rachel, made the regional team’s orchestra through her flute playing. Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions, they were unable to meet up and perform with their peers in person.

“Even though it was virtual, it was still really good,” Marino said of the experience, where singers recorded their portions remotely that were later combined into a full choral piece. “It was super cool to see the technical side of it.”

When Lauria recommended Marino for the All-National team, Marino’s drive to achieve perfection kicked in while recording her audition piece.

“For that recording, I did stand in front of my phone for two hours recording it over and over again,” she said with a laugh.

And although in more normal times, Marino and her family would be flown out to the West Coast to perform with her national peers in some glamorous theater, she still relishes the opportunity to be included in a virtual performance with some of the best singers in the world.

“Of course it’s the year I’m in it,” she said regarding the foul luck of being chosen during a pandemic year. “But I’m still very much looking forward to it. It’s going to be super fun.”

It’s just as well, really. She’s too busy for a vacation anyways.