Since before she could remember, Class of 1994 McLean graduate Danielle Talamantes has been singing to her heart’s content. She was a part of the Madrigals here.

“I have been singing for as long as I can remember. I used to sing for the Madrigals and for my local church,” Talamantes said.

Talamantes has majorly progressed her singing career since her high school years and has now performed in places like Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. One of her most recent performances was on Sunday, March 10, at St. Luke’s Catholic Church in McLean.

“I have known Bob Shafer, the choral director at the church, since high school. The church was holding an all French concert with an 80-person choir. I was asked to do the soprano solo and just couldn’t say no,” Talamantes said.

The next step in Talamantes career is heading to Honolulu for a month where she is going to do Verdi’s La Traviata. Along with performing and competing in singing competitions, Talamantes has also found time to teach her own students to sing too.

“I have a studio inside of my house and I have been teaching there for 16 years now,” Talamantes said.

Singing is extremely exhausting but Talamantes really loves it.

“I love everything about singing. I like how you can communicate with the audience through singing even if the audience speaks in all different languages. When I sing, I escape the good and bad things in the world,” Talamantes said.