RADFORD, Va., Sept. 14 -- Radford University issued the following news release:
Music has been part of Michelle Manning's life for about as long as she can remember.
The Rocky Mount native just started her senior year as a choral music education major
and, on Sept. 19-20, will perform in the chorus for Opera Roanoke's presentation of
Verdi's "La Traviata."
But she can trace her path in song all the way back to kindergarten, when her elementary
music teacher heard her young voice's potential and started giving her solos in school
concerts.
"She saw something in me," Manning recalled, and that early encouragement helped fuel
her enthusiasm through middle and high school, when she started winning singing competitions.
In her teens, she att...