Julia McDonnell was in fourth grade when she told her mother she wanted to stop taking piano lessons. Her mother was clear: The lessons would continue.

Now a senior at the University of Delaware, McDonnell looks back on that ruling with deep gratitude.

She not only continued those piano lessons, she added the clarinet in fifth grade, the bassoon in ninth grade and the mellophone as a high school senior.

Music is center stage now for McDonnell, a cross-cultural medium that offers promising career opportunities in the future and a lifetime of expressive artistry.

As an applied music major at UD, McDonnell is focused on bassoon performance, learning how to arrange music, expanding her music repertoire, planning a recital and developing other skills professional musicians need. She also plays in UD's marching band (on the mellophone, not the bassoon).