1. Finding Her Voice

"I want to make sure that I'm highly educated in both how to sing and the science behind that, and also what it means to be a performer."

~ Isabel Duarte '26

When Isabel Duarte '26 arrived at Washington and Lee University, she wasted no time connecting with one of her earliest loves: singing.

"My first week here, I went to our music department head's office and I was like, 'I want to major in music. What do I need to do?'" she recalls with a laugh.

Duarte knew she wanted to continue her experience singing in high school choir and with other groups into her college years. Four years later, that determination has evolved into something extraordinary. A double major in biology and music, Duarte says W&L's liberal arts approach has allowed her to synthesize her seemingly disparate interests into one cohesive future.

"My whole goal is to take some gap years so I can get more clinical experience, go to medical school and hopefully become a laryngologist who specializes in working with performing voices," Duarte says. It's a fusion that feels as natural to her as a chord progression.

"I've done research both on the biology side of things and in music research, and I realized that I want to synthesize them," she says. "It's always been really interesting to me learning about the science of the voice or vocal pedagogy, and then seeing how I could apply that to help people. I want to make sure that I'm highly educated in both how to sing and the science behind that, and also what it means to be a performer."

In the music department, Duarte found the mentorship that helped her link science and art into a single melody.

"One of my biggest mentors is Dr. Greg Parker [professor of music]," she says. "He's a fantastic educator. He also teaches pedagogy and has just helped me progress throughout my voice."

"Isabel is a team player, committed to the success and well-being of those around her," Parker says. "She's thinking about a career as a laryngologist, and I can't imagine a better vocation for her, because she can combine her bright mind, experience as a vocalist and compassion for others to help people who are going through difficult times vocally."

She also credits the Choral Conducting Mentorship Program (CCMP) with transforming her approach to leadership and confidence. The program provides aspiring conductors with substantial podium time leading university ensembles, where they gain practical, real-world experience under faculty mentorship.

"I spend close to seven hours every day in that concert hall," she says. "Singing with a bunch of people has shaped such a positive experience for me. CCMP has really helped me become a better musician but also understand leadership techniques and how people work. It's given me a lot of confidence."

Shane Lynch, professor of music and director of choral actibieis, says that at its core, CCMP is a leadership development program.

"Half of the students in the program want to go on to become professional conductors, but the other half are students like Isabel who plan to go in a different direction," he says. "I see this as the sort of program that's building leadership skills that are going to be applicable no matter what you do. Peer leadership can be particularly hard, and Isabel has grown into someone who can earn respect from her peers and take ownership when she is at the podium."

Her faculty mentors in the sciences have been equally formative. Duarte conducted summer research with. Nadia Ayoub, professor of biology, and Natalia Toporikova, investigating spider behavior and circadian rhythms.

"Doing summer research really helped me realize that I actually really love it," she said. "My mentors here have really believed in what they saw in me and helped me bring that out in myself."

That encouragement fueled her growing interest in voice science, a niche she hopes to expand upon as she embarks on her medical school career.

"If I do become a laryngologist, I'd still want to continue doing research, especially within the voice science field, because that currently is very small," she says.

Between classes, lab research, choir rehearsals and tutoring in the Science Center, Duarte's schedule is busy but balanced, and her creative pursuits don't stop at the classroom door. During her very first semester, she found herself in an introductory music theory class that would change the course of her college experience.

"Everyone went around the room and gave their name, their intended major and what instruments they play," she remembers. Duarte sang in a band in high school with some friends and hoped she could continue that in college, so when a classmate mentioned that he played drums, Duarte turned around immediately and said, "You're joining my band." That spontaneous moment became the spark for Time Trav, a student band that now has five members. The group's repertoire is as diverse as its members.

"We do a lot of country music for one of the fraternities' cowboy-themed parties, which is something I've never really explored," she says. "It's been really exciting. We also do rock, and we write our own music."

Although time is tight, the band still manages to perform at least once each semester.

"Sometimes we'll meet up just to jam," Duarte says. She adds that their rehearsals and performances are now tinged with some bittersweetness as graduation looms on the horizon.

"Sometimes lately I've been thinking, 'Oh my gosh, we've done so much together and it's really sad that it's ending soon,'" she says.

After graduation, Duarte hopes to move to a city where she can continue to thrive as she has in Lexington. She says her W&L experience has prepared her for her future.

"It's been a melting pot of ideas," she says.

See Duarte and fellow members of W&L's Washingtones a cappella group perform an impromptu barbershop quartet piece in the stairwell of Wilson Hall:

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Isabel's Favorite Things

Favorite studying song or album: I don't listen to music that often when I study, but when I do, I like listening to Debussy art songs such as "Fleur des blés."

Favorite song for walking around campus: I love listening to Bad Habit by Steve Lacey and No More Like That by Eiafuawn when walking around campus.

Favorite Time Trav song and why: Weathervane! John originally wrote this song, and it became the first song we arranged for the band.

Place on campus with the best acoustics: My favorite place to practice is Wilson 3034. I'm convinced that it has the best acoustics in the whole building.

Most fun performance you've participated in at W&L: My most fun performance that I participated in at W&L was Lessons and Carols 2024.

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