$1.7 Million Gift From Voice Teacher Helen Hodam To Fund New Scholarship at the Oberlin Conservatory Of Music

OBERLIN, OHIO (August 18, 2009)—Throughout her long life, Helen Hodam gave generously of her time and talents, helping dozens of students to build careers in classical singing. Now, another generous gift will continue her life’s work, allowing generations of talented young singers to study at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

A $1.7 million gift from the legendary voice teacher’s estate has established and will endow the Helen Hodam Merit Scholarship in Voice at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. A professor of singing at Oberlin for more than two decades, “Miss Hodam,” as she was universally addressed, was one of the most distinguished voice teachers in the United States. She died on May 21, 2008, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the age of 93.

Miss Hodam’s students performed with many of the world’s major opera companies, from the Metropolitan Opera in New York to La Scala in Milan. Notable singers whom she taught at Oberlin include Lisa Saffer ’82, Ann Panagulias ’84, and Denyce Graves ’85, hon. ’98. 

In celebration of Miss Hodam’s life and legacy, Graves will return to the conservatory on Sunday, October 11, to present a recital with pianist Warren Jones in Finney Chapel at 4 p.m., as part of Oberlin’s Artist Recital Series.

In a recent interview with the Boston Globe, Graves praised Miss Hodam: “She was an enormous part of my life, and she’s the reason I have a career today, without a doubt…. She produced a lot of wonderful artists all over the globe.”

Tickets for Graves’ concert, the second in Oberlin’s 2009-10 Artist Recital Series season, will become available on September 7 from Oberlin’s Central Ticket Service (1-800-371-0178 or www.oberlin.edu/artsguide). 

“The talent and dedication that Helen Hodam brought to teaching young singers was nothing short of extraordinary," says Dean of the Conservatory David H. Stull. “Her exceptional pedagogical skill along with her personal devotion to her students made her a singularly important teacher. This generous gift from Miss Hodam will ensure that talented students are financially supported as they pursue rigorous training in vocal performance at the Oberlin Conservatory.  Again, this legacy demonstrates her constant concern for the well being of her young vocal students.”

Helen Hodam grew up in Illinois and graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University, where she studied voice and organ. She pursued graduate work at the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music and earned a master of music degree from the Hartt College of Music in 1952. She began her teaching career at Hardin-Baylor College and Muskingum College. A large portion of her career was spent at Oberlin, where she taught from 1963 to 1984. Her passion for teaching compelled her to continue working after retiring from Oberlin, as a professor at Boston’s New England Conservatory, until illness forced her to retire in 2003. In her 50 years of teaching, she worked with hundreds of singers.

Over the years, her students performed in all of the major American opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, and San Francisco Opera, and with European companies in Cologne, Munich, Vienna, Paris, Zürich, Madrid, and Amsterdam. In addition, her students have won many prestigious prizes. Twenty of them successfully competed in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, winning district, regional, or semifinal competitions. Three were Fulbright Fellows, and another twenty took first-place in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competitions.

“Helen Hodam was my formative vocal and musical teacher, my guide and confidante, my conspirator, and eventually my friend,” says soprano Lisa Saffer. “She helped me to not only find my voice, but to find my own way of musical inquiry and discovery, probably because she was a naturally curious person herself.” Saffer, who is renowned for her interpretations of contemporary operas, says that Miss Hodam was always interested in seeking out new music for her students to study. By the time she left Oberlin, Miss Hodam’s requests had expanded the library’s vocal holdings significantly, particularly in the areas of contemporary music, French mélodie, and baroque arias.

Miss Hodam’s generosity was a defining characteristic of her relationships with students. Although she was widely regarded as one of the finest voice teachers in the country, she charged modest fees for lessons, telling students to instead use their limited resources for living expenses. She lived modestly herself and left Oberlin much of the money she had saved, funding the merit scholarship that now bears her name. 

In accordance with Miss Hodam’s wishes, the scholarship fund will enable extraordinary undergraduate students to attend the Oberlin Conservatory. The class of 2014 will likely include the first students to benefit from Miss Hodam’s scholarship gift.

The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, founded in 1865 and situated amid the intellectual vitality of Oberlin College since 1867, is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. The Conservatory is renowned internationally as a professional music school of the highest caliber and has been pronounced a “national treasure” by the Washington Post. Oberlin’s alumni have gone on to achieve illustrious careers in all aspects of the music world. Many of them have attained stature as solo performers, composers, and conductors, among them Jennifer Koh, Steven Isserlis, Denyce Graves, Franco Farina, Christopher Robertson, Lisa Saffer, George Walker, Christopher Rouse, David Zinman, and Robert Spano. All of the members of the contemporary sextet eighth blackbird, most of the members of the International Contemporary Ensemble, and many of the members of Apollo’s Fire are Oberlin alumni. In chamber music, the Miró, Pacifica, Juillard, and Fry Street quartets, among other small ensembles, include Oberlin-trained musicians, who also can be found in major orchestras and opera companies throughout the world. For more information about Oberlin, please visitwww.oberlin.edu/con. 

CALENDAR LISTING 
Free parking is available throughout the Oberlin campus. Single tickets can be purchased starting September 7 from Central Ticket Service, at 1-800-371-0178, or www.oberlin.edu/artsguide. Subscriptions to the Artist Recital Series, including this concert, are available now from CTS.

Sunday, October 11, 2009, 4 p.m.
Finney Chapel
90 North Professor Street, Oberlin, OH
Denyce Graves, mezzo-soprano
Warren Jones, piano
Program to be announced
Tickets: $28 general public, $22 seniors and OCID*, $10 students
A presentation of the Artist Recital Series
www.oberlin.edu/arseries 

*OCID discount available for Oberlin faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and area educators