Grau Estate Gift, Estes Concert Have BVU Arts Poised for Growth

Benefactor's estate gift opens a multitude of opportunities in the arts for BVU students and the community.

Iowa legend Simon Estes joins the Buena Vista University Concert Choir and high school choirs from across Buena Vista County in a concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 21, at Schaller Memorial Chapel on BVU’s campus.

Estes, a native of Centerville, will sing and interact with students as part of his “99 Counties Roots and Wings Tour,” an endeavor in which Estes, one of the world’s leading bass-baritone voices, shares the blessings of his talent while showcasing the gifts and work ethic of students in vocal music programs across the state.

“I’m so excited to visit Buena Vista University in Storm Lake for this concert,” says Estes. “It will represent the 57th Iowa county I have visited since starting our ‘Roots & Wings Tour.’”

“Several years ago, I was teaching at Boston University and singing in opera houses around the world. It was then that my wife, Ovida, said, ‘Simon, maybe you should slow down a bit and head back to Iowa, where you can travel and sing.’”

Simon Estes

Estes, a philanthropist who has endowed scholarships and raised millions of dollars to educate young people while also protecting residents in Africa from malaria, has donated a portion of his appearance fee back to Iowa high school students, accounting for 229 scholarships totaling in excess of $223,000 for students in schools involved on his “Roots and Wings Tour.”

“Several years ago, I was teaching at Boston University and singing in opera houses around the world,” says Estes, who has performed with 115 orchestras across the globe. “It was then that my wife, Ovida, said, ‘Simon, maybe you should slow down a bit and head back to Iowa, where you can travel and sing.’”

Estes said he struggled financially as a collegian at the University of Iowa more than six decades ago. Using talent he says God bestowed on him, he devised an Iowa tour plan combining music, education, and philanthropy. Estes delivers a master class and talks to BVU students and high school students from across Buena Vista County in the week following the Nov. 21 concert.

“I talk about my values, my principles, my faith, and the importance of education,” says Estes, 83.

Benefactor’s gift termed game-changer for arts

The concert, which is free and open to the public, signals the latest development in a whirlwind of activities for BVU’s growing music programs, an effort recently aided by a gift of $1.575 million from the Doris Grau Estate. A 160-acre tract of land in Buena Vista County, previously owned by Grau, was sold at auction in August. Proceeds of the sale were designated for an endowment in support of BVU’s music initiatives, a legacy that followed Grau’s establishment of a BVU scholarship in the name of her late parents, Oscar and Tena Grau.

Grau, who died in 2019, attended BVU in the 1940s before heading west to work and reside in California, where she achieved success with Wells Fargo as an investment and trust manager, managing real estate throughout the country. A lover of opera, Grau was also an accomplished pianist who enjoyed taking part in cultural and symphonic events in San Francisco for years. 

BVU remained in her thoughts throughout her life, and she illustrated the University’s impact through her family’s scholarship and her vision for a future in the arts.

“I wanted to do something that would make a positive impact for generations to come and to reimburse the community that meant so much to me, my parents, and siblings,” Grau once said. “I believe that a gift to BVU will have a greater impact on students than other organizations with which I’m affiliated.”

Grau’s gift helps establish an endowment for the arts at BVU, which will allow for more travel opportunities for students in music programming. Additionally, concerts such as Estes’ appearance, camps and clinics, both on campus and within communities around the region, will become commonplace for BVU instructors and students.

“Thanks to Doris Grau’s vision and her generosity, BVU faculty and students will be even better equipped to share their musical gifts and talents with our community, a wonderful development for our students and those who love music and the arts across the region,” says BVU Vice President for Advancement Joan Canty. 

“We are grateful for the work former BVU President Fred Moore and former Vice President for Advancement Ken Converse did to help Doris Grau fulfill her vision of impacting music at the University in such a meaningful and lasting way,” says President Brian Lenzmeier. “Generations of BVU students will benefit from her generosity.” 
 
“I plan to see vocal music educators in Buena Vista County high schools before our concert featuring Simon Estes,” says BVU Director of Choral Activities Christopher Phalen. “I’ll take several pieces of music to each school and then work with teachers and students as I help teach those pieces in preparation for the Nov. 21 concert. It’s a great chance for us to connect with teachers and students. It’s also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our local high school students and BVU vocal music students to observe and sing with Simon Estes.”

Ticket information will be disseminated on a date closer to the concert that signals the start of Thanksgiving week.

Estes says he intentionally takes time each week to give thanks for his success, which can be traced, in part, to a teacher, Charles Kellis, at the University of Iowa some 62 years ago.
 
“The director of the University of Iowa Choir told me my voice wasn’t good enough for the choir,” Estes recalls. “He then told me a young teacher was coming who might take me on for lessons. That young teacher, Charles Kellis, quickly recognized and told me I had a voice for opera.
 
Estes’ reaction is the stuff of legends: “I said, ‘What is opera?’”

In a few short years, the young Iowan with no exposure to opera was singing his way through The Juilliard School on a full-ride scholarship. In time, he’d make history on hundreds of occasions as the first Black man to perform with major orchestras around the world. And just as often as he broke barriers and thrilled audiences with his soaring voice, he committed himself to sharing gifts with those who may one day follow.

“We are put on this earth for two reasons: to love God and to love one another,” he says. “Blessed is a word I use often. I have truly been blessed.”

“Simon’s story aligns perfectly with BVU’s mission, ‘Education for Service,’” Phalen continues. “He came from humble beginnings, he worked diligently to hone his craft on his way to becoming an internationally renowned opera star. Even with the countless accolades he has earned, he continues to share with others.”

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