THE GIFT OF MARILYN Stephen Rubin enjoys an uncommon bond with opera legend Marilyn Horne. And thanks to Rubin, Oberlin students enjoy it too. BY MIKE TELIN ’84 | PHOTO BY YEVGEN GULENKO
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tephen rubin first met marilyn Horne four decades ago, when he was working as a music journalist and the legendary mezzo-soprano was at the height of her powers. He was charged with writing a profile on Horne, and the two connected instantly. They remain close friends to this day. “I thought she was someone who was able to communicate her passion for singing in a very accessible fashion,” remembers Rubin, who has served as publisher of Henry Holt & Co. since 2010. “She knows how good she is, but she doesn’t put on any airs about it. I just found her tremendously engaging.” In 2013, Rubin committed $150,000 to Oberlin to establish the Marilyn Horne Professorship and Residency Fund. It is intended to support annual visits to campus by Horne, who has been a visiting professor at Oberlin for eight years. In February, Horne participated in a pair of public master classes at Finney Chapel, in addition to hosting private lessons with conservatory students. During her stay, Horne and Rubin hosted a question-and-answer session in Stull Hall that spanned the singer’s storied career. In that setting, with a packed 40
room of conservatory students and other guests, the easy rapport between Horne and Rubin was on display. “It gives me so much pleasure to do this,” Rubin says. “I love Marilyn, and I think this professorship and residency is so important to a young singer’s education. It’s about the historical context. Here you have one of the greatest singers of the 20th century, who is able to verbalize and communicate with students about what she did and what she wants them to do. To lose that kind of resource would be criminal.” A portion of Rubin’s gift also provides career advancement opportunities for young singers. Horne herself selected the first recipient: conservatory senior Meryl Dominguez, a soprano from Brooklyn, New York, who will receive $10,000 to be used toward professional development opportunities such as lessons, master classes, auditions, and summer festivals, as well as travel and expenses incurred to make those experiences possible. “I was floored,” recalls Dominguez, who learned about the award in April. “But the first thing I thought was what an amazing opportunity this was, not only for me but also
In February, Marilyn Horne and Stephen Rubin discussed the legendary singer’s career before a packed audience in Stull Hall.
for future Rubin Scholars. But to be the first is such an honor.” “I am thrilled for Meryl,” says Associate Professor of Singing Lorraine Manz, Dominguez’s teacher. “Meryl not only possesses a special talent, but she’s also a lovely and intelligent young woman and a fine singing actress. She has always maintained a sense of stability and integrity in everything she has done.” Manz sees long-lasting implications in the award and in Horne’s residency at Oberlin. “I