The Musical Philanthropy of Phoebe Hearst – A lecture with live opera performanc

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The Musical Philanthropy of Phoebe Hearst – A lecture with live opera performance LEAD, SD - The public is invited to attend a historical presentation on the musical philanthropy of Phoebe Hearst, presented by author and musician Professor Leta Miller of the University of California, Santa Cruz. The presentation is accompanied by live opera performances and begins at 2:00 pm on Saturday, June 4, 2016 at the theater at 313 W. Main Street. Phoebe Apperson Hearst, widow of mining magnate George Hearst who owned the largest gold mine in the western hemisphere, the Homestake Mining Company. Phoebe Hearst conceived the idea for the 1,000-seat Homestake Opera House and library, constructed in 1914 which also boasted a heated indoor swimming pool, billiards hall, social hall, and more. She was an educator, philanthropist, feminist, suffragist, devoted mother, and avid supporter and collector of the arts. Miller presents this lecture with music of the story of philanthropist Phoebe Apperson Hearst and how her generosity has impacted the United States and specifically in California, in Lead, SD, and in the United States in the arts, education, and music. Vocal performances taken from select operas are weaved throughout the presentation, performed by Black Hills State University music department associate professors Dr. Nancy Roberts, and Jon Nero, along with 2016 award-winning BHSU graduate, vocalist Kirk Hauck. Admission is by donation to the Historic Homestake Opera House. Musicologist Leta Miller specializes in 20th-century American music. Her 2011 book on music and politics in San Francisco in the early 20th century built on her numerous publications dealing with avant-garde contemporary composers; she thereafter extended those interests into a biography of Pulitzer Prize winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis. Miller's earlier publications dealt with the sixteenth-century chanson and madrigal, music and science in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the music of C.P.E. Bach. Among the courses she teaches at UCSC are music history from the middle ages through the baroque, a history of music theory from the Greeks through Rameau, a history of the string quartet, and a cross-cultural seminar on East Asian influences on European and American composers. She has received an Eminent Professor award and an outstanding teacher award from the UCSC Arts Division. For more information, contact the Homestake Opera House office at 605-584-2067 or visit HomestakeOperaHouse.org.