Surfing YouTube the other night (come on, admit it. you do sometimes too), I came across a video that brought back fond memories.

It was 1984. I was a senior in high school at the time, and was watching tv one evening when a commercial for the United Negro College Fund was aired. The commercial was sung and narrated by a black woman named Leontyne Price. I had no idea who she was, and her style was very different from anything I had ever heard on the radio, around the house, or at church. It was unmistakably operatic.

I was stunned. I remember walking into the kitchen where my folks were talking and asked, "Hey, who is Leontyne Price and what is she known for?" My parents had no idea who she was either, to which I replied, "Well, I don't know who she is either, but boy howdy that woman can sing!"

In the coming years I would learn much more about Price's career and contributions to music. It was my delight to be able to hear her in recital several times. My wife and I last heard her at her farewell recital at the San Francisco Opera house in 1994, if I recall correctly. Her lower register had become a bit husky by that stage in her career, but anything in the middle through top of her range was simply astounding in beauty.

As much as for the beauty of her voice, Leontyne Price should be remembered for her dedication to leaving a legacy. A winner of 19 Grammy awards, the National Medal of Arts, a Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime achievement in the performing arts, and the National Medal of Freedom, to mention but a few, she was also the first African American to sing a leading role at the La Scala, the premier Italian opera house in Milan.

Price was also the first African American to appear in a leading role in a televised opera. This occurred during the 1950s when bigotry and racism against African Americans were still openly expressed and tolerated. Because of the color of her skin, multiple NBC affiliates boycotted the performances, refusing to show them in their broadcast markets.

Miss Price was a frequent recitalist and concert soloist throughout America and Europe. In the 1950s-70s, long before there were "The Three Tenors," Charlotte Church, Josh Groban, or Andrea Bocelli, there was Leontyne, a true operatic superstar.

She leveraged that stardom on others' behalf everywhere she could. In the south of the 1950s, where tickets were sometimes not sold to blacks, or seating was sold on a segregated basis, she absolutely refused to perform at any venue which did not operate with equal access to all regardless of the color of their skin. Because of her popularity, venues had no choice but to change their mode of operation where she was contracted to appear, or they didn't get the contract.

In later years she became a counselor and advisor to many of the great singers who followed her. Renee Fleming, Kathleen Battle, Denise Graves, Jessye Norman, Leona Mitchell, and Barbara Bonney have all spoken of how encouraging and inspiring Miss Price was during their careers. She has worked with students in conservatory masterclasses around the world, and became recognized not just as a world class singer but also as a world class teacher.

Leontyne Price could've been like so many performing artists today, like so many successful people today in general. She could have luxuriated in her substantial earnings, lived opulently, and basked in the rosy warm glow of the adulation of thousands. She chose something different.

Leontyne Price chose from the beginning to be the kind of person who gives back to others. She chose to use her talent, her influence, and her connections to make a difference in the lives of young singers and especially enjoyed her work with young students from disadvantaged backgrounds. In that, more importantly than her discography, she remains an inspiration and an example to others.