Dora Pop:  

Authenticity is a rare commodity in this world. To Dora Pop, authenticity is the root of her character. Born in Oradea, Romania during the Communist regime, her parents decided early in their marriage that they were going to find a way to raise their family in America. "My parents were always very active in the church," stated Dora. "They were desperate to escape the legalism of a Communist government." Dora was two years old when her family arrived in America. "My father's passions are God and music. That is his driving force, everyday." The Pop family settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where her dad continued his work in the Romanian church as both the Choir director and Orchestra conductor. His love of music eventually led the family to move to Houston, TX where the family settled in and have lived the life that they dreamed about while in Romania. Dora has shared her father¿s passion for music from an early age. "My parents always listened to Southern Gospel music. I didn¿t know about genres of music, I just knew that I wanted to sing." Her older sister Emilia often sang solos in the church Children's Choir. "I would beg the director to give me a solo too, but he thought that I was too young." The director finally gave in and gave Dora her first solo at age five, and she¿s been center stage ever since. As an elementary school student, Dora was enrolled in English as a Second Language(ESL) class. ESL happened to fall in the same time slot as music class. "One day, when my teacher told me it was time to walk to my ESL class room I told her that class had been cancelled, so she sent me to the music class instead." The ESL teacher showed up at the choir room looking for Dora. "I remember telling her, 'I'm not coming to ESL anymore, I d...Expand for more