University Times

International opera star and Bradford native Marilyn Horne will address the graduating class of 2011 at Pitt-Bradford’s commencement ceremony.

Horne, whose foundation sponsored a series of recitals by rising opera singers at Pitt-Bradford and who served as honorary chair of the $3.4 million campaign to build Blaisdell Hall, will deliver the keynote address during commencement exercises at 2 p.m. May 1 in the KOA Arena of the Sport and Fitness Center.

Last year, Horne’s foundation donated its archives to Pitt-Bradford. Horne has agreed to donate her personal archives collection to Pitt-Bradford as well.

Since her retirement from performing in 1998, she has returned to Bradford to perform for the Bradford Creative and Performing Arts Center and to attend the opening of Blaisdell Hall. Pitt-Bradford commissioned a bronze bust of Horne, which is on display in the lobby of Blaisdell Hall.

In 2000, Pitt-Bradford honored Horne with its Presidential Medal of Distinction, and in 2004 she became the first person to receive an honorary degree from the University at a regional campus.

In 1994, she formed the Marilyn Horne Foundation to champion the art of vocal recital. The foundation sponsored recitals for young singers at several locations, including Carnegie Hall and Pitt-Bradford, before becoming part of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute.

In 2007, the Metropolitan Opera Guild chose Horne as the honoree for the inaugural presentation in its “Met Legends” tribute series.