Q: This professor at Wichita State University has been recognized for distinguished achievement by the editors of Opera News. He’s also the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the National Opera Association. Give us his name and his Kansas hometown.
A: Samuel Ramey / Colby, Kan.
Opera singer Samuel Ramey has two new honors to add to his resume. The bass baritone is among five singers being recognized for distinguished achievement by the editors of Opera News. The Wichita Eagle reports that Ramey is also receiving a lifetime achievement award this month from the National Opera Association. A native of Colby, Kan., Ramey graduated from Wichita State University in 1968. He returned to the school last year as a faculty member in the music department, where he serves as a professor of opera. One of his students, Andrew Simpson, won one of the opera association's vocal competitions last year against what he called "well-established music schools." He performed a scene from the opera "Susannah," which Ramey has performed many times during his career. Simpson said Ramey "absolutely deserves" the awards.