Like most kids her age, 13 year old Emily Ramirez of Burbank is into music. But in Emily's case we're not just talking rap, hip hop, R&B or rock. Emily has been taking voice lessons for over half her life and has already performed in two professional operas.

Last year, Emily was one of eight children selected to join the Los Angeles Opera cast of Grendel through a special program of the Los Angeles Children's Chorus. During the six months of practice, Emily took time off from seventh grade at Village Christian School in Sun Valley and the opera provided her with a tutor. After seven exciting shows at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, Emily experienced one of the most memorable moments of her life. On closing night she met and hugged opera great Placido Domingo, director of the Los Angeles Opera. And it wasn't over yet. Emily then traveled to New York to perform in four shows at Lincoln Center. The composed young singer explained she didn't get nervous on stage because "You can't really see past the third row. So for me the performances felt just like we were practicing."

This past winter, Emily landed a role in the Los Angeles Opera's Hansel and Gretel. Preparing for this opera took three months of rehearsals culminating in five performances. Asked what she liked about the show, Emily responded quickly, "the costumes!" After donning "a brown sack" in the dark and eerie Grendel, Emily was delighted to wear one of the cheery purple, pink and yellow dresses of Hansel and Gretel.

Discovered in a school yard

So just how does a junior high school student make her way to the opera stage? In Emily's case it took a great voice, a bit of luck and a lot of practice. When Emily was 7 years old, a yard duty teacher at school, struck by Emily's beautiful voice and love of singing, suggested to Emily's parents that they have her voice professionally evaluated. Her parents, who had no musical training themselves, were curious. They took her to see music teacher Mary McGregor.

Not afraid to make mistakes

McGregor recognized the young girl's raw talent at once. "A lot of parents think their child has a special gift so I'm usually pretty skeptical," commented McGregor. "But when I first heard Emily I was like, 'Oh!' God gave her a very good ear as well as a very high voice." Emily became a voice student of McGregor's and a few years later added piano. Over time, Emily has honed her voice and technique learning to sing in many different styles and languages including Hebrew, German, French, Italian and even Old English. "Unlike a lot of people, Emily is always open to learning new things and isn't afraid to make a mistake," said McGregor. "She just goes for it! If she misses a note, she misses it boldly. And her laugh comes just as easily when she accomplishes something as when she doesn't."

Loves the challenge

Leaving her very little time to hang out at the mall, Emily studies dance in addition to voice and piano. She completed nine years of ballet at Burbank School of the Ballet and continues to take hip hop and jazz there. She is applying to and auditioning for the Los Angeles County High School for the Performing Arts and dreams of going to college at the prestigious Julliard School in New York.

Emily is now in rehearsals for Keeper of the Night , the first professional opera commissioned by the Los Angeles Children's Chorus. It will run for four performances this July. Although Emily doesn't play a lead role, she doesn't seem to mind at all. She just loves the challenge of singing at this very difficult level.