DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Cecile Cooper newspaper clippings, 1966-1987 | 1976-06-28 Article: ""Simon Estes returning to Iowa for dedication""

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Cecile Cooper newspaper clippings, 1966-1987

1976-06-28 Article: ""Simon Estes returning to Iowa for dedication""

Simon Estes returning to Iowa for dedication
By Starla Smith For the Press-Citizen
What makes a man sing? Perhaps it is a combination of shackles and love. More than 30 years ago in Centerville a young boy began to sing. His father had moved there to work  in the coal mines. The family had no running water. The young boy had to fetch the daily supply from a well some distance away. He had only sisters.
They were poor. They were devoutly religious. 
When he started school, he wasn't allowed to take part in the the school
plays or help the younger children across the streets. He was only allowed music and gym.
Why?
Because Simon Estes is black.
Now that same young man has become an international opera star with an incredible bass-baritone voice. And he will sing the National Anthem at ceremonies dedicating the restored Old Capital at 1 p.m. Saturday and then appear in convert at Hancher Auditorium that evening at 8:30 p.m. 
Simon Estes always loved to sing. His mother was naturally musical, and the family would sing humns at home regularly. One day the minister of the Second Baptist church heard one of these sessions and invited eight-year-old Simon to sing "next Sunday."
He kept on singing. Throughout high school, where he played football, basketball, high-jumped and pitched for the baseball team, he kept on singing.
Then in junior college he decided he wanted to become a doctor, and Estes put music aside.
But Music doesn't take to being shackled. And while Simon Estes attended the University of Iowa, he began to sing again. He became the first black member of the UI Old Gold Singers. He was singled out as a soloist. And Charles Kellis, who taught voice, began teaching 
Simon. He felt he had a great talent. 
The lessons were free
Simon Estes kept on singing.
Kellis arranged for an audition at Juilliard for Simon. He also arranged for a campus concert, which raised $267 for the purpose of sending Estes to New York. Estes went and was successful, but he was hungry - hungry for music. So when he heard about some of the special opportunities in the numerous opera houses of Germany, he applied for a grant. Eventually he raised the money to take him to Berlin where an audition was arranged for the Deutsche Oper.
Again he was successful. He was immediately offered the part of Ramfis to "Aida." He accepted and learned the part in 13 days, sang without an orchestral rehearsal, and was offered more leading roles.
The "music and gym" were paying off. 
And they kept on doing so.
In 1965 Simon Estes was a prize winner in the Munich International Competition and in 1966 he won the Silver Medal in the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. 
Triumphs and laurels. Talent and hard work. A command performance for President Johnson at the White House. Working with conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, Antal Dorati, Seiji Ozawa and many others. Being chosen as the soloist for the inauguration of the...
Simon Estes has sung at most of the major opera houses in Europe and the United States. He has made numerous television appearances and has several recordings available. His voice has been described by critics as noble with a rolling, voluminous sound. He left audiences in Sidney Australia, shouting form the aisles for more. 
Countries invite him to stay permanently. And Simon Estes answers "I'm an American. I was born there and I'm going to stay there and fight and die for my rights to try to help the country become what it really should be."
He's serious. But then that is how he has always been. Students who knew him at the UI during the sixties remember Simon as someone who believed he was going to have a career. He not only had determination, but he believed he could do it. His seriousness, not his blackness, set him apart 
One close friend described him as "still the same Simon, though he now speaks five languages."
That same Simon worked his way through college helping move houses for Max Yocum. That same Simon who in a recent Des Moines appearance was touched that the former members of the Old Gold Singers attended his performance, "They drove all that way to see me...,"
All that way. Estes knows the way very well. But with one big difference. He knows the way home.

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Simon Estes returning to Iowa for dedication By Starla Smith For the Press-Citizen What makes a man sing? Perhaps it is a combination of shackles and love. More than 30 years ago in Centerville a young boy began to sing. His father had moved there to work in the coal mines. The family had no running water. The young boy had to fetch the daily supply from a well some distance away. He had only sisters. They were poor. They were devoutly religious. When he started school, he wasn't allowed to take part in the the school plays or help the younger children across the streets. He was only allowed music and gym. Why? Because Simon Estes is black. Now that same young man has become an international opera star with an incredible bass-baritone voice. And he will sing the National Anthem at ceremonies dedicating the restored Old Capital at 1 p.m. Saturday and then appear in convert at Hancher Auditorium that evening at 8:30 p.m. Simon Estes always loved to sing. His mother was naturally musical, and the family would sing humns at home regularly. One day the minister of the Second Baptist church heard one of these sessions and invited eight-year-old Simon to sing "next Sunday." He kept on singing. Throughout high school, where he played football, basketball, high-jumped and pitched for the baseball team, he kept on singing. Then in junior college he decided he wanted to become a doctor, and Estes put music aside. But Music doesn't take to being shackled. And while Simon Estes attended the University of Iowa, he began to sing again. He became the first black member of the UI Old Gold Singers. He was singled out as a soloist. And Charles Kellis, who taught voice, began teaching Simon. He felt he had a great talent. The lessons were free Simon Estes kept on singing. Kellis arranged for an audition at Juilliard for Simon. He also arranged for a campus concert, which raised $267 for the purpose of sending Estes to New York. Estes went and was successful, but he was hungry - hungry for music. So when he heard about some of the special opportunities in the numerous opera houses of Germany, he applied for a grant. Eventually he raised the money to take him to Berlin where an audition was arranged for the Deutsche Oper. Again he was successful. He was immediately offered the part of Ramfis to "Aida." He accepted and learned the part in 13 days, sang without an orchestral rehearsal, and was offered more leading roles. The "music and gym" were paying off. And they kept on doing so. In 1965 Simon Estes was a prize winner in the Munich International Competition and in 1966 he won the Silver Medal in the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Triumphs and laurels. Talent and hard work. A command performance for President Johnson at the White House. Working with conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, Antal Dorati, Seiji Ozawa and many others. Being chosen as the soloist for the inauguration of the... Simon Estes has sung at most of the major opera houses in Europe and the United States. He has made numerous television appearances and has several recordings available. His voice has been described by critics as noble with a rolling, voluminous sound. He left audiences in Sidney Australia, shouting form the aisles for more. Countries invite him to stay permanently. And Simon Estes answers "I'm an American. I was born there and I'm going to stay there and fight and die for my rights to try to help the country become what it really should be." He's serious. But then that is how he has always been. Students who knew him at the UI during the sixties remember Simon as someone who believed he was going to have a career. He not only had determination, but he believed he could do it. His seriousness, not his blackness, set him apart One close friend described him as "still the same Simon, though he now speaks five languages." That same Simon worked his way through college helping move houses for Max Yocum. That same Simon who in a recent Des Moines appearance was touched that the former members of the Old Gold Singers attended his performance, "They drove all that way to see me...," All that way. Estes knows the way very well. But with one big difference. He knows the way home.