Recently, each of them received $45,000 scholarships to study music, beginning this fall, at the prestigious Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College in Ohio.

At noon Wednesday, the 17-year-olds will perform at the Kanawha Forum -- a weekly concert series held on five Wednesdays each spring and fall at Kanawha United Presbyterian Church in Charleston.

King and Hopkins said they will sing a variety of songs, ranging from a Mozart aria to a duet from his opera "The Marriage of Figaro" to songs from the Broadway musicals like "Phantom of the Opera" and "The King and I."

King, who lives in Sissonville, grew up on a farm. "My dad always rebuilt cars, and I loved to work with him."

Today, King's father does electrical work in coal mines, installing security systems. His mother is a cook at Montrose Elementary School.

"I always wanted to sing. I was in the show choir at Nitro High School when someone told me about Roger Lucas.

"Talking to him was the best decision I ever made in my life," King said. "I never really intended to go to college until I met Mr. Lucas."

Lucas, a longtime tenor soloist in the Kanawha Presbyterian choir, graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music, where he met his wife, Deborah.

Today, Roger and Deborah Lucas offer vocal lessons to dozens of high school students, as well as adults, in their Charleston home.

Hopkins grew up in Hurricane and attends Hurricane High School. Her mother is a nurse at Thomas Memorial Hospital. Her father works for Airgas, installing fire suppression systems.

"I never listened to classical music until I took a music appreciation course at school. I decided I wanted to sing opera. Then I met Deborah. There are no words to describe her."

Hopkins said she especially loves the music of Mozart and Beethoven.

"It is unusual to find these kinds of voices," Roger Lucas said. "Daniel's mom called me 2 1/2 years ago and asked if I could teach him."

Back then, King played drums and sang for Among the Enemy, a heavy-metal band that performed around the state and traveled around to places such as Knoxville, Tenn.

"I have a wide range of loves in music," King said, "but I haven't touched my drums in two years."

Hopkins was never in show choir at Hurricane High. "I didn't make it in the ninth grade. It was pretty devastating to me."

"I sang karaoke my whole life with my family," Hopkins said, "but it was not until the 10th grade that I started singing classical music."

Last fall, Hopkins became part of Kanawha Presbyterian's Choral Scholars Program.

Over the years, Roger and Deborah Lucas have trained many students.

"Right now, Debby has about 40 and I have 15. We have had as many as 70 students. Kids from different high schools, kids in show choirs take lessons from us. That is how we met Emily and Daniel," Roger Lucas said.

"We teach correct ways of singing that can be used in musical theater, Broadway-type music, opera or religious music. I have also taught guys who sing country and a couple of guys who sing rock 'n' roll."

Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1564.