When Joseph Timms begins to sing, heads turn. Ears perk up.

This is no run-of-the-mill shower-stall crooner. The 19-year-old Conway native is already making his mark as a musician.

Timms was accepted into the USC Concert Choir as a freshman, an accomplishment rarely achieved by first-year students. This summer he toured and performed with the choir in Italy and Bulgaria. In Rome the group sang at the Vatican for Pope John Paul II.

"Whenever I'm on stage singing, it's a rush," Timms said. "There's nothing like it."

The son of Joey and Debbie Timms of Conway began garnering attention for his singing ability when he was a junior at Conway Christian School. He was selected to participate in the S.C. Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities in Greenville, where he spent five weeks in a summer program designed to help young musicians and singers polish their talents to succeed in the extremely competitive music world.

Today, Timms is a sophomore at USC in Columbia where he is taking an 18-hour course load this semester. He is both a Life Scholar and the recipient of a USC music scholarship.

"One of his professors told us that he received one of the largest four-year music scholarships ever given by the University of South Carolina," his mother said.

Timms said he decided when he was still in high school to sing as a career, and attending Carolina has only reinforced his resolve.

"Right now I'm focusing on opera," Timms said. "I want to go to graduate school and get my master's and doctorate. Then I hope to join an opera company."

As a paid singer, Timms is already in demand. Last year while attending USC, he was paid to sing at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Columbia, and will do so again this year. He also regularly performs at weddings.

Timms' father is the owner of Coastal Monument Company, and his mother is a member of the music faculty at Conway Christian School. They are members of the First Baptist Church in Conway.

Both of his parents have music degrees, so it was natural that Timms should inherit musical ability. But Mrs. Timms gives most of the credit to his high school.

Conway Christian, she says, has a wonderful music program, adding that Joseph's musical interests are wide and varied. "He sings country, gospel and even rap now and then. But he's more interested in serious music, like opera."

Timms played on the CCS varsity basketball and soccer teams. He was a member of the honor society, choir and the brass ensemble.

Following the example set by his father and a grandfather, Joseph is an Eagle Scout, scouting's highest rank, earned by fewer than two percent of all Boy Scouts.