The University of Arizona Alumnus / Spring 2008

PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST: Making Endowed Chairs a Priority

Song from an Angel

by La Monica Everett-Haynes
Photos by Jacob Chinn

Charles R. Roe encourages his pupil, Eun Pa Lee, to dig deep into the core of his frame to find the right sound.

Two days after winning a top prize in the Opera Guild of Southern Arizona’s 50th annual Quest for the Best vocal competition, Eun Pa Lee stands at the piano making notes on his sheet music.

Lee is a student of Professor Charles R. Roe, a professional baritone who holds the Amelia T. Rieman Chair in Opera and directs The University of Arizona Opera Theater. Roe encourages his pupil to fine-tune his voice, urging him to roll his tongue slightly — but not too much — and to dig deep into the core of his frame to find the right sound.

The two practice an Italian opera aria and Lee sings the same lines over and over, visibly frustrated at times during his lesson. Yet the moment Roe offers a calm, but direct suggestion, or a “repeat, repeat” command, the student quickly makes annotations on his sheet music.

Roe is helping Lee understand that it’s vocal details and the ability to command one’s voice that brings fame to the virtuoso performer. Roe knows this quite well.

Roe himself has performed solos and in leading roles with the New York City and Michigan operas, at Carnegie Hall and the Caramoor Festival, and at other venues in the U.S., Mexico, Europe, and Korea. He also has performed with the Tucson Symphony and Arizona Opera.

With more than three decades of teaching behind him, Roe attracts talented students to the UA. Lee, a doctoral student from Korea, says it is because of Roe that he chose to study here. Several of Roe’s students have gone on to win national awards and to perform for symphony and opera powerhouses, such as the Metropolitan Opera. Roe attributes much of the program’s success to Rieman, longtime supporter of the university.

In the 1980s, Roe developed a friendship with Rieman and eventually convinced her to invest in the UA’s opera program. She obliged, founding the Amelia T. Rieman Chair in Opera in 2000 with a contribution of more than $1 million. The funding also provides students with scholarships and supports master classes for advanced students, opera performances, and competitions.

“My gifts are my response to music,” Rieman explains. “They are an expression of what is inside of me. Ultimately though, it is about the future and what the students will be able to do because of the plans I have made.”

Roe is emphatic in his praise of Rieman.

“I don’t think we could have come this far without her,” he says. “She’s always shown an interest in helping young singers. She’s our angel — that’s what we call her — and we will be forever grateful.”

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