High notes

SINCE IT began offering lessons for a nickel 99 years ago, Settlement Music School has helped shape the lives of more than 300,000 students.

"It made it beautiful to grow up," is how one now-famous alumna, opera singer Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez, described her experience there.

The broad reach of Settlement's inspiration and instruction has made it the largest community-arts center in the country and a model for other cities. Settlement graduates have played in every major symphony orchestra in the United States, but the poise and confidence gained here have guided former students to success in many other fields.

In preparation for next year's centenary, Settlement is honoring 100 former students - some musicians, some not - whose experience at the school deeply touched their lives. The "Settlement 100" announcements began in 2005, with 20 inductees so far. Forty-one will be feted at a gala Saturday, and the final 40 will be hailed next year.

This year's roster of 41 inductees is a stellar list of professional classical and jazz musicians, singers, composers and teachers. Others traveled a path different from the arts but have continued to support and guide their alma mater.

Fernandez was a longtime South Philadelphia resident, but she recently relocated to Kentucky. First exposed to opera at Settlement, she eventually graduated to the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts, and major roles in Europe. Her Carmen, Bess and Tosca were famous, and she sang a Musetta in "La Boheme" with tenor Placido Domingo and soprano Mirella Freni in Paris.

None of that fame could have prepared her for the enormous visibility gained from her role in the 1981 French film "Diva," which rocketed her to even more international fame - though she never was asked to sing opera in her hometown.

We spoke with the famous soprano by phone from Kentucky about how her life was shaped by her Settlement experience.

Q: What do you remember about Settlement School?

A: It gave an incredibly positive start to a young person's musical and artistic upbringing, a source one could go to when there was no other. I lived at 23rd and Dickinson streets, and in the black community there was always church outreach. But we knew Settlement was the place to be enrolled, a positive place.

Q: Who encouraged you to go to the school?

A: It began at home, since my mother - who still lives in Philadelphia - is a pianist. She saw that I needed more. I began singing as early as 5, certainly at church, and it filled my life. I knew its importance early. I was always hearing my mother play the piano or organ and became very interested in reading music.

Q: Do you remember your teacher?

A: Oh, yes! Her name was Tillie Barmach [and she] did not try to force a very young voice into difficult repertory. She helped me mature vocally. Aligning yourself with good coaches, that's the key.

Q: What was the greatest lesson you learned from her?

A: What has stayed with me is that she knew young singers and saw the farther, bigger picture. She wouldn't allow pushing the voice into the blockbusters, into an area of no return.

This kind of guidance, or lack of it, can make or break a career at an early age. If you want longevity, you have to take care of the voice in the early years, even in the early 20s.

Q: Did you receive financial assistance?

A: Absolutely. Our family was not able to afford the full tuition. I believe it cost $4 a lesson - $8 a week - so it was discounted quite heavily. It was such a beautiful outreach program for the community, and I look on it with enormous gratitude.

Q: Do you feel the Settlement experience helped you grow as a person?

A: The school was set up in a way to help develop leadership and social skills, interaction with other people. It made it beautiful to grow up. I got a true appreciation for the arts, and got much more out of the school than I gave to it.

Q: What was your link to further study?

A: At William Penn High School for Girls, Miss Alva Edwards encouraged me when she heard me in the choir. And I auditioned for the Academy of Vocal Arts, thinking I had a shot, without realizing how hard it was to be accepted! They offered me a two-year program, then Juilliard School - one glorious progression.

Q: Do you feel slighted by not performing opera in your hometown?

A: They say a prophet is never recognized in his own land. Even as a child, I knew I was not going to remain solely in Philadelphia, and my prayer was answered. I was able to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Zubin Mehta. I don't look back on Philly with any regrets. My humble, meager beginning will always be dear in my heart.

Q: What happened after "Diva"?

A: It was a wonderful and fun exploration of another artistic side of myself, and I only did it because I could sing. But the film gave me an exposure that I could not have imagined, and I had to catch up with my own fame when the floodgates opened to do countless operas. My repertory simply wasn't that great, and there was so much expectation to do everything well.

Q: Are you still singing?

A: My career is still very much going on, with orchestral concerts and recitals in France, West Africa and other places.

Q: Do you still sing spirituals at the end of your recitals?

A: Always! This is important American music, not to be made fun of, and we can sing in a dialect just as we sing in Italian. It's not just limited to the black culture, though people who are not black are afraid of not approaching it correctly. It should not be limiting. It's part of our heritage that needs to be told.

Q: What are you doing now?

A: Since I didn't finish Juilliard, I went back to school to finish my degree and, on May 6, I finally graduate from the University of Kentucky. I'm not a teacher, but I coach a few students like the Wicked Witch of the West, a stickler for studying parts and having the voice paint the color. It has come almost full circle, like a flower just beginning to bud and blossom. But that first music school, which I had the blessings of being able to attend, made me want to humble myself and follow my path, the life that was chosen for me. *

Send e-mail to dinardt@phillynews.com.

For a list of Settlement 100 honorees so far, go to www.settlement100.com. For tickets or information about the gala, call 215-320-2686.