GRAMMY Award-winning mezzo-soprano Susan Graham is imparting her hard-earned wisdom to School of Music performance students in the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts (TCVPA) at Texas Tech University.

Susan Graham is a superstar. She has performed everywhere from Santa Fe to Berlin, from St. Louis to Paris, in a much-celebrated career.

"The person in front of us has had so much in her life," shares Senior Nicole Magallon. "All of the good. All of the bad. She's the perfect mentor."

The students say they appreciate the perspective Graham is able to share from her experiences performing professionally.

"She just has so much insight in so many ways," adds Graduate Student Cara Ellman. "It was life-changing and, possibly, career-changing."

The opportunity to study under Graham came about thanks to Dean Noel Zahler. Recognizing the special impact distinguished visiting professors have on students and the bond it creates, Zahler asked TCVPA's School of Music, School of Art and School of Theatre & Dance to each bring in high-profile guests for yearlong classes.

Graham, an alumna of the School of Music, is as high-profile as it gets and represents Texas Tech's strong contribution to the opera world that includes other alumni such as established Wagnerian soprano Jill Grove, as well as Garrett Sorenson, Bruce Ford, Terry Cook, and Rebecca Nelson.

But, teaching? During a visit to the School of Music in spring 2019, Graham confessed to Zahler that she was no teacher.

"She couldn't have been more wrong," Zahler says. "By the time she was finished with those students the color of their voices had completely changed and the students were able to perform at a level they hadn't imagined possible before."

Either because of Zahler and School of Music Director Kim Walker's persuasions or because of the same driving force behind Graham's opera career, soon, Graham was on board.

"My pursuit of excellence is to become the very best I can be at something that seems impossible" Graham explains. "I thought that's how you could make a mark."

Impossible is the feeling of something being completely out of reach. This could mean being young and having to wait for the years to come that will bring the gift of wisdom. Or daydreaming of packed opera houses the world over between classes.

For Graham's five students, the daydreams and wisdom became instantly attainable shadowing superstar Graham while she performed in Jake Heggie's "Dead Man Walking" at the Lyric Opera in Chicago.

"We spent all week behind the scenes, learning what the opera is like," Sophomore Alaina Galt describes. "It's real. She's a real performer. This is what she does for a living. Getting to learn from her helps me take those tools to eventually be there."

In a Nov. 3, article, the Chicago Tribune described "Dead Man Walking" as "the most celebrated American opera of the 21st century." Critic Howard Reich praised Graham for bringing "both pathos and dignity to the role ... in so doing, Graham, who sounds splendid (especially in her middle register) reminds us that the killer's family also suffers."
Graham's students were there in witness and under tutelage of the superstar.

"So much of it comes down to what kind of person you are," says Ellman. "How you treat other people and how you act in rehearsal and performance situations. That's something, especially when we were in Chicago, that we learned a lot about."

Need transition here. Maybe something like: The students said they are thankful for the experience.

"Her giving us that opportunity to go to Chicago gave us a glimpse into what could be," Magallon adds.

Back on campus at Texas Tech, Hance Chapel is filled, in varying moments, with take-your-breath-away singing, laughter and cheers. Graham paces back and forth from the piano to center stage where one of her students is performing. The other students watch from the pews.

No one can take their eyes off Graham. She feels everything in the students' performances and articulates her words with her whole body. Through that, there is an exchange between Graham and the students in the chapel—their nerves, doubts and fears are absorbed by Graham as she gifts them confidence and grace.

"Some of the fearlessness I learned from 30 years of performing is what I want to bring back," Graham says.

Graham's students adore her. Through her, they see themselves as award winners, as world-renowned opera performers, as superstars.