Sarah Reese has enriched the world with her brilliance and courage. Her later dedication to public school students in South Carolina cultivated their talents and instilled in them a lifelong love of music. The extraordinary voice of Sarah Reese, a 1971 Furman University graduate, is among the most beloved in opera. After making her New York debut in 1981, the soprano performed with some of the world’s most famous orchestras and conductors and was the principal artist with the New York Metropolitan Opera and artist-in-residence at the Opera Company of Boston. Reese, who grew up in Pelzer, South Carolina, is also one of Furman’s first African American alumna, graduating in 1971. But even before enrolling, she faced the racism of the era. When Reese arrived as a high school student to audition for Furman’s music faculty – accompanied by her mother, voice teacher and others who supported her music education – the sight created such opposition that someone from the university called security. She would go on to have a brilliant career. In addition to performing in Switzerland, England, France, Monte Carlo, Italy and Russia, Reese has traveled to Toulouse, Strasbourg, Dusseldorf and Cologne with the Festival Orchestra of Sofia, Bulgaria, as the soprano soloist in Verdi’s “Requiem” and Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony.” She also performed with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in London and with the American Composers Orchestra at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Afterward, brought the world and her world-class talent home to rural South Carolina. Reese taught music at Pendleton High School and chaired the school’s fine arts department. In 2013, she was named a Yale Distinguished Music Educator, and in 2014, Furman conferred upon her a Doctor of Humanities.