A successful person should never forget where they came from. It takes hard work to achieve success, but it also takes a great deal of help. 

That’s why, when looking for a place to settle down with their families, international opera stars Sam Ramey and Alan Held took the opportunity to return to the place where they received a lot of help — Wichita State University.

Rodney Miller, college of fine arts dean, announced last week that Ramey and Held are joining the WSU family on a permanent basis this fall to coach opera students at their alma mater. 

“They bring an air of authority,” Miller said. “Not only have they been there and done that, but they started here at Wichita State.”

Ramey, a three-time Grammy Award winner, holds the distinction of being the most recorded bass in history and has performed in a variety of venues including New York City, Paris and Vienna. Held, a bass-baritone, has had a similarly distinguished career as an opera singer and is performing at the San Antonio Opera with upcoming shows at the Minnesota Opera. Miller emphasized that this is a huge development for opera students at WSU.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Miller said. “It would be like Peyton Manning coming to be the quarterback coach on the football team.”

The prospect of moving back to Wichita and teaching full-time appealed to Held because of the flexibility of the position.

“One of the things that made this position most attractive is that Wichita State is allowing me to continue as a performer,” Held said.

Held studied music education as well when he attended WSU, so the idea of helping young singers grow has always appealed to him.

“One of the important things to show these young singers is that what they do is valid and that it’s important,” Held said. “It’s how we enrich our souls.”

Ramey also felt compelled to return to Wichita because of the quality of music education that he received as a student.

“Wichita State’s always had an excellent school of music,” Ramey said. “It’s a very exciting atmosphere.”

As Ramey’s performance career began winding down, he felt that Wichita provided a great opportunity for him to instill a love of his art in young people. He visited WSU for a few weeks each semester during the past couple of years, but this is a chance to do it full-time.

“I wanted to look for something else I could do to help people,” Ramey said. “It’s sort of my artistic life coming full circle. It’s where I started and it’s where I’m coming back.”

Vocal performance major Liz Jarmer is excited about Ramey and Held’s return, too. 

“Having two legendary performers on faculty at WSU will take the voice department here to the next level,” Jarmer said. “Both Held and Ramey have had worldwide success in opera, and their presence at WSU will be invaluable to those hoping to pursue a similar path.”

Jarmer said adding Ramey and Held to the faculty increases the legitimacy of and respect for the college of fine arts.

“Both have had such prominent careers in opera, and it’s an honor to have them here at WSU and to be able to learn from them,” Jarmer said. “All of these opportunities make a great name for Wichita State within the opera community and better our training.”