One of the reasons graduate student Isabel Velazquez came to Wichita State was because she knew Sam Ramey was an alumnus, but she never expected to meet him in her “wildest dreams.”

Ramey is the most recorded bass-baritone in history, with more than 80 records to his name. The New York Post said, “Ramey’s singing is the stuff of which operatic legends are made.”

Velazquez couldn’t agree more, which is why she couldn’t believe when she heard the news that Ramey would be giving her a private voice lesson.

“Everybody knows who Samuel Ramey is,” Velazquez said. “And if he is at Wichita State, people notice that, and WSU is a great music school already, and with his presence here, it just gives us that extra credibility and something that people should be talking about.”

Ramey has finished his second week working with students in one hour, one-on-one coaching sessions. He has held public seminars, his final one being today from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Miller Concert Hall, and he attends master voice classes on Fridays.

“We hope our students will benefit greatly from [this] experience,” Dean of Fine Arts Rodney Miller said. “It will bring to light the quality of this program and bring students of higher caliber.”

Ramey has a five-year commitment. He will be leaving after this week, but will return for four weeks in the spring. Still a working professional, Ramey has a performance with the New Orleans Opera in November.

After Ramey made the offhand comment to a member of the WSU Foundation that he wouldn’t mind coming back and teaching, several groups came together to find a way to get him to WSU.

With the help of many generous donors, students get the opportunity to work and learn from someone who, “not only made it, but is world-famous.”

Being world-famous in opera is not just about having a great voice. Marie King, associate professor and opera program director, compares opera with musical theater, but the musical demands are more extreme, and when characters have dialogue, music is still playing underneath them.

Most operas were written in Europe, which is why they are often in another language. However, English operas are becoming more common, like the fall opera at WSU, “Pirates of Penzance,” which will run Oct. 18 through Oct. 20.

A singer’s voice must be athletic because the notes they must sing can range between two to two-and-a-half octaves.

King said what makes Ramey stand out is his stage presence, natural charisma and his fine-tuned voice that can do whatever he wants.

“If dark chocolate had a sound, it would be Ramey’s voice,” Charles Passy, from “The Record,” said.

This huge powerful voice is a native of Colby, Kan. — a town with a population of 5,000 — and a graduate from Kansas State and Wichita State. He then continued studying voice in New York.

“I hope students gain some really valuable insight on what it means to be a professional opera singer,” King said.

Meanwhile, Velazquez is gearing up for her next lesson with Ramey in a couple of days.

“He is super humble, and he refers to his greatest times in opera as being busy,” Velazquez said. “That was the time he was busy. No, that is the time when you were world famous and everyone knew who you were, and you were doing gigs everywhere.”

King hopes that this will motivate other distinguished alumni to come back on campus and continue to enhance the programs.

“It shows students that someone from a small town in Kansas with talent and hard work can, in fact, achieve greatness,” King said.