Walking onto the stage, he nervously looks at the faces of the people sitting in the audience in front of him. As he positions himself in the middle, the lights go off making the room pitch black and leaving nothing but a single dim light reflecting on him.  Waiting for his cue, he finds the confidence within and belts out a tune.

Juan Daniel Lopez, 19, music major, said that singing on stage, as part of the 42nd Street cast, is one of the most memorable experiences.

“I was playing Julian Marsh, he sings at the very end so the director told me to sing in the dark and there was a single light on me. It was so cool that I was singing in the dark and at the end, the director told me to turn off the light and it was a very exhilarating moment for me,” he said.

Singing since age 13, Lopez said that it wasn’t until high school were he really began singing on stage, as he was part of the choir after meeting a group of new friends.

Switching lunch tables, Lopez was introduced to a group of men who had one thing in common, singing.

After developing a strong interest in singing, Lopez became a part of a barbershop music group – an a cappella style group – consisting of about 40 men who traveled to Las Vegas to perform in The Really Big Quartet Competition.

“We had only rehearsed two times, considering everyone in the group lived in different areas,” he said.  “We were pretty nervous but we were confident in ourselves. We were going up against these groups who had been around for a long time and we ended up winning fourth place.”

Lopez’s mentor, Noel White said that he is a “stand-up guy.”

“Juan Lopez has grown greatly  as a singer,” White said.

Although Lopez loves to sing, there is one aspect of it that he has a hard time getting used to, he said.

“I get nervous,” he said.

But Lopez will always remember the advice a classmate once gave him, “being nervous is a beautiful thing because it reminds you that you are alive and is also a reminder that we live for those moments.”

His music professor, Joanna Nachef, who has been working with Lopez for two years said he is a solid singer who has a wonderful future ahead of him.

“He is one of the most diligent and disciplined students with great talent,” Nashef said. “He has amazing focus.”

Although Lopez finds great excitement in winning as well as singing, he said he finds the most pleasure in creating and performing music.

“A lot of people can relate to the music that I create and most break into tears when I sing,” he said. “To have someone be so moved and who can directly relate to singing, is what inspires me.

“I can sing myself happy on any given day, I really enjoy it,” Lopez said. “I just do it because I love to perform beautiful music for all to listen to.”