Mimi Lerner, an avid gardener, dug into life. Just as she planted seeds in the earth, the mezzo-soprano planted seeds of encouragement and love through her singing, her teaching, and her relationships with others. Lerner’s generous spirit enveloped and touched everyone with whom she came in contact—and the seeds she planted sprouted deep roots. Her passion for gardening and her reputation as a “green thumb” extended to her passion as a teacher, a wife, a mother, and as a singer and artist. That passion continues to bear fruit after her passing, in her students, her friends, and her family.
Mimi Lerner’s path to opera and performing was unconventional. She was born in Poland at the height of World War II to Jewish parents. The three took refuge in the woods when she was only 1. After a year of hiding from the Nazis, the family made its way to Paris. Seven years later they moved to the Bronx.
Mimi’s hard-working parents lived in survival mode for decades and never really understood her desire for culture. Her son, Daniel, tells the story he heard about Mimi throwing a screaming tantrum at the age of 9 or 10, insisting that her parents allow her to take piano lessons. Eventually, she got her way.
Just as her parents’ spirit of survival had saved Mimi from the perils of the war, her own survivor’s spirit demanded that music be a part of her life. After graduating from the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art in Manhattan, she attended Queens College, taking a degree in music education. While at Queens College, Mimi attended a Pittsburgh Symphony concert at Carnegie Hall, where a friend introduced her to Martin Lerner, a flutist with the symphony. The relationship took root and blossomed into marriage.
Mimi began teaching in the Pittsburgh public schools, not giving much thought to a singing career. After a few years, however, fate stepped in. To fulfill a continuing-education requirement, Mimi began studying voice with a local teacher, Norma France. The seed was planted, and soon she enrolled at Carnegie Mellon to pursue a master’s degree in voice. Through the support of her musical husband and her teachers at the university, Lerner moved up from singing in the chorus to appearing as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah—the beginnings of a distinguished vocal career that ultimately included appearances at New York City Opera, the Met, and La Scala, to name but a few.
Mimi was serious and determined with her singing, Martin recalls, adding that he was impressed with her musicality and work ethic and knew that he couldn’t stand in her way. He had his career with the Pittsburgh Symphony during the regular season and played with the Grand Park Symphony in Chicago in the summers. When Daniel was born, Martin helped care for him while Mimi was on the road singing. They also offered room and board to students at Carnegie Mellon in return for babysitting services to ensure that Mimi could continue her graduate studies and career. Daniel describes his parents’ relationship as unusually supportive because they recognized music as a need as well as a career.
After Mimi completed her graduate studies, she joined the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, while still pursuing a successful professional career. She taught there for more than 20 years and the university eventually appointed her head of the voice department. Mimi’s students blossomed. She taught them to sing well, to become effective communicators, and perhaps most important, to be aware of their potential as people.
Mimi and Martin welcomed students into their lives and home. Nicole Taylor, who studied with Mimi from 1997 through 2001 while attending Carnegie Mellon as an undergraduate, was and continues to be deeply affected by Mimi’s dedication. The Lerner’s often invited Taylor and other students into their home, and Taylor says the students all felt like members of Mimi’s family. When Taylor graduated, Mimi held a brunch at her home for Taylor and her parents. During the celebration, Mimi encouraged Nicole to continue singing and discussed options for her future.
Mimi’s students dubbed her “Mother Mimi,” Martin says, because she was warm, caring, and loving. He remembers her as always busy, attending every recital, and supporting as many plays and operas as she could at the university. It was important to Mimi that her students feel her support, and the performances gave her an opportunity to gauge each student’s strengths.
For the final 11 years of Mimi’s career, she battled cancer. Throughout those trying years of constant health struggles, Mimi remained committed to her students. Sometimes they would come to her home for lessons when she was not well enough to go to the university. In March of this year, the cancer finally took her life.
Mimi cultivated her students to embrace and celebrate who they were at that point in their life as well who they would become. At her funeral, a former student told Daniel that Mimi had allowed the student, for the first time in his life, to be who he was. Similarly, Taylor recalled Mimi’s teaching style as free—even in warmups Mimi would work with Taylor’s voice just as it was on that day. This organic approach to teaching set Mimi apart and allowed her students to find their natural voices.
Mimi’s greatest strength as a teacher, say her students, included her goal to bring out the best in each student while never saying no. She encouraged her students to study opera, musical theatre, and belt. She was open to all genres of music. Daniel remembers his mother listening to Edith Piaf, Janet Baker, the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, and others, a wide-ranging list of singers that increased her ability to relate to her students.
Mimi also instilled passion in her students through the energy she exuded. Taylor recalls this energy as expansive. Mimi, she remembers, seemed to be much bigger than her small frame. Her flexibility during lessons increased her effectiveness and highlighted her joyful nature. She focused on the emotions that drove the composer and the lyricist while encouraging her students to discover their own perspective of each piece.
Mimi believed all performing opportunities helped her students improve, and led by example. In addition to her international appearances, Mimi also sang in her community, including singing as the cantorial soloist at the Rodef Shalom Temple for more than 25 years. She always encouraged and fostered performing opportunities for her students. Taylor says that Mimi helped her participate in opera scenes at the university and recommended her for a fellow cantorial position at the Rodef Shalom Temple. Singing alongside her teacher each Saturday morning was another opportunity to learn from Mimi. Taylor experienced first-hand what Mimi taught in the studio. She witnessed Mimi’s guileless performance each week and the way she emphasized the lyrics and the message rather than technique.
Whether in the synagogue or on the stage, Mimi sang with open, genuine expression. This generosity and embodiment of the message of each piece made her a favorite at Rodef Shalom. The people loved her because she exuded warmth, love, and honesty, says Martin. Taylor added that Mimi’s performance style was incredibly touching. She remembered hearing Mimi sing a piece based on The Diary of Anne Frank. Because of the feeling with which Mimi performed the song, Nicole wanted to sing this piece as well. She often asked Mimi about the piece and how she could obtain a copy of the music. Mimi would always agree to get it to her, but then they would move to another topic and the piece would be forgotten.
Years later, on the day of Mimi’s funeral, Taylor’s request for this piece was finally granted. After the service, where she had sung with other friends of Mimi’s, Taylor sat alone on a piano bench. She recognized Mimi’s prayer book and began flipping through it. A newspaper article floated out of one of the pages of the book. At first, she thought it was just a comic strip, but then noticed that the other side included a review of the Anne Frank piece, complete with all of the information needed to obtain the music. Mimi continued to take care of her students, even after her passing.
Mimi not only nurtured her students in the studio, she also developed lasting friendships. Her reputation as a singer and a good person was far reaching. When Taylor applied for a job in New York with the Union for Reformed Judaism, she felt that she got the job because of Mimi’s popularity and reputation. Musicians and people in the Jewish community continue to feel the positive effects of their relationship with Mimi.
For Mimi, the best way to communicate the beauty of the world was through music. Her favorite piece to sing was Lee Hoiby’s “Where the Music Comes From ” (see sidebar p. 30).
This seemed to be her mantra. When a dying member of the synagogue asked for Mimi from his deathbed, she went to his home and sang for him. She found joy in giving back, in using her talents to help others feel the joy she felt. This spirit of giving drew others to her, including her students.
Teaching was the epicenter of his mother’s life, Daniel said. Extraordinary teachers give all of themselves. Mimi nourished others, and everything grew.
Mimi perceived ordinary things as extraordinary and constantly shared her enormous awareness of beauty—in people, in nature, and in music. She surrounded herself with a garden of friends, students, and colleagues, and continually nourished each one. Her legacy lives on in the way she emanated joy through her performing, inspired others to love music, and nurtured lasting relationships.
