"I was told to listen to her and to take note," Dunn said. "She had poise and wasn't afraid to be on stage. She certainly had talent."

Twelve years later, Taylor, now a senior music education major at MUW, is ready to take the stage and show everyone what she has accomplished.

On Friday, April 11, the mezzo-soprano will perform her senior voice recital at 7:30 p.m. in Poindexter Hall.

A Columbus High School graduate, Taylor has been taking voice lessons under Dunn for the past 12 years, working to build up her own unique style of classical singing.

"My first experience with music was in the church," Taylor said. "I appreciate all types of music, but my favorite types to sing is gospel and classical.

"I have always had my family to support me in whatever genre' of music I sang," she said.

Taylor has always looked to her family and church for the inspiration to sing. On a local level, she looks up to Dunn. In the professional realm, gospel artists Yolanda Adams and Mahalia Jackson and classical singers Jessie Norman, Kathleen Battle and Leontine Price inspire Taylor.

Her talents stretch much farther than her voice. Taylor has mastered the piano and the bassoon. "I tried the oboe and trombone for three weeks, but that didn't work," she said.

A former member of the MUW Madrigal Singers and New Horizon, Taylor now performs with The Group and MUW Chorale. "The Group has made me loosen up. Trying to do Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin while dancing is tough," she said.

For a musician who says she doesn't sing in the shower or want to be the next American idol, she has set her goals high. Taylor wants to teach music on the elementary school level, get a master's degree in performing arts and "maybe one day get into Juilliard," she added. "I see myself as just doing what I love."

Taylor is in demand to perform for charities and benefits in addition to the annual Columbus Pilgrimage, Columbus Police Department Night Out Against Crime and area churches.

Taylor's program will take the place of her semester final exam and she has opted to sing a full-length recital.

In her program, Taylor will perform songs by Mozart and Strauss and contemporary Spanish songs by Carlos Guastavino and Fernado Obradors.

She will sing "When I am laid in earth" from Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell as well as a group of art songs by African-American composer Margaret Bonds. She will conclude with a group of spirituals assisted by soprano Tracy Tennison. Professor James Allen will accompany Taylor.

"[Taylor] is a very special person to me and a joy to work with," Dunn said. "I am as proud as I can be of her."

"What makes her special is that she is a very sensitive musician," Dunn said.