Internationally known opera singer to keynote Gazette’s 2022 Iowa Ideas Conference

Internationally known operatic bass-baritone and Centerville native Simon Estes will be a keynote speaker at this year’s Iowa Ideas Conference, The Gazette’s two-day virtual conference that gathers Iowans to discuss topics vital to the state.

On Friday, Estes was among those who received an honorary doctoral degree from Julliard School in New York City as part of its 117th commencement ceremony. Among the other recipients were Pulitzer Prizer-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks and composer and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas.

Estes made his performance debut in 1965, with the Deutsche Opera Berlin in “Aida.” In 1978, in the role of the Flying Dutchman, Estes became the first Black male singer to perform at the Bayreuth Festival, according to a Juilliard news release.

During his career, Estes, now 83, has sung more than 100 roles around the world and with conductors such as Leonard Bernstein and Eugene Ormandy. He has performed for U.S. presidents and royalty as well as for South African president Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Estes is the grandson of a slave, and his father worked as a coal miner and hotel porter, among other jobs.

Iowa Ideas Conference, now in its sixth year, is set for Oct. 13 and 14. The online event will host a series of panels and speakers in a variety of subject tracks.

Details and registration for the free conference can be viewed at www.iowaideas.com.