Simon Estes

Waverly, Iowa

Simon Estes is an internationally acclaimed bass baritone who has performed in the world’s major opera houses and in special performances for U.S. presidents and international dignitaries such as Boris Yeltsin, Yassar Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin, Nelson Mandela, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Since 2000, he has been a faculty member at Iowa State University, serving as the F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Artist-in-Residence with the Department of Music, sharing his incredible talents and musical knowledge with students and at numerous activities and events.

Estes rose from humble beginnings in Centerville, Iowa, the son of a coal miner and grandson of a slave, to become one of the world’s most accomplished opera singers, paving the way for other African Americans in the classical world. He transferred from Centerville Junior College to the University of Iowa in 1957 and was there until he was accepted in the Julliard School of Music in 1963. Estes has a BA in music from the University of Iowa and an honorary doctorate from Iowa State University. In 1965 Estes made his operatic debut in Aida at the Deutsche Opera in Berlin. Among his more than 100 lead operatic roles have been the title role in Der fliegende Holländer at Bayreuth, the first male African American to sing a major role on stage there; the role of Porgy in the Metropolitan Opera’s first production of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess; and the role of Amonasro in Aida with Leontyne Price as Aida in her “farewell performance” at the Met.

Estes is also internationally known for his humanitarian efforts for children. He established the Simon Estes Educational Foundation, which has awarded more than a million dollars in merit-based college scholarships, and the Simon Estes International Foundation for Children, which provides support for children’s health and educational needs. During 1998-99, he led an effort sponsored by Rotary International District 6000 to bring to Iowa 40 musically gifted students from the Simon Estes Music High School, which serves some of the poorest children in South Africa, to attend school and perform throughout Iowa as the Simon Estes South African Youth Chorus. In 2006, he led a group of six Iowa State music faculty members to South Africa to bring music instruction to the students of the Estes school in the Cape Town area. He has performed numerous benefit concerts to help combat HIV/AIDS. Another concern Estes has is elder care and gerontology.

Estes has taught at the Julliard School of Music, and currently is a professor at Iowa State University, Wartburg College, and Boston University. Among his many recognitions is the Iowa Award. The riverfront amphitheater in Des Moines, Iowa, is named in his honor. He is the only artist to perform at both the 25th and 50th anniversaries of the United Nations held in San Francisco and New York City, respectively.

He and his wife, Ovida, live in Waverly, Iowa.