Leyly Bagherof enjoyed having a camera run down her throat as a part of a vocal pedagogy class—especially when she regained consciousness. “It was fun. I fainted, but my excuse is when they take it out it messes with the balance in your head,” she says with a laugh.

Getting scoped was the price Leyly was willing to pay to learn more about a voice box able to produce a mezzo-soprano so beautiful she’s one of the few whose dreams of being a professional singer could actually come true. That talent has taken her all over the world and helped land significant roles in Furman Lyric Theatre’s annual productions, directed by mentor Grant Knox, every year.

“What I want to do is perform, and those shows have helped me get prepared for that the most,” Leyly says.

Her German mother and Iranian father aren’t “musically inclined in the slightest,” but they did pass along the ability to speak fluent German and Farsi as well as unconditional support for Leyly to do all she’s ever wanted to do. She’ll follow in Knox’s footsteps this fall when she starts Eastman School of Music’s Master of Music program, with an eye on one day earning a doctor of musical arts with a focus on the physiology of singing.

“I definitely appreciate the fact that I had the opportunity to take the classes that I wouldn’t have been exposed to,” she says, “but I just want to spend all my time doing music all day, every day.”